Biking Every Day?

[Swan]

Well I haven't been on my bike since my last post... the better part of a week ago!
I came home and took on my newly-fitted-as-best-as-possible bike... And I really should have listened to the LBS when they said I was on the very wrong bike!

When I got on, I noticed it felt a little more comfortable... but as I started biking the usual route, I noticed a cramp in my neck/shoulders... my hands were aching sharply, my elbows were zinging, and my posterior was bruising as usual. I came off and ached so badly that I thought, "I can't do this, I won't risk nerve damage." I soaked in the tub and spent until today recovering. The pain lasted that long!

And I thought "well, maybe I'm just holding myself wrong. Maybe horseback posture isn't correct bike posture." ... It hurt anyway! So I'm off my bike and the image of my LBS guy shaking his head and tsking at the bike comes to mind every few seconds... I can't get back to them for another month or so (they're rather far away), and if there's not a lot they can do then there's not a lot they can do. I just have to wait until I can afford that new bike!

[tulip]

Sounds like you are locking your elbows, hunching your shoulders and gripping with a death grip. Support yourself with hour core; strengthen your core to make that easier. Bend your elbows, smile and breathe. If your bike is truly a bad fit, sell it and get an appropriate one. It should be fun, not painful.

[Melalvai]

You're going to love that new bike! All this pain now will make you love it all the more when you get it. You'll be so glad you suffered so much because there's no other way to truly appreciate it. (I try to tell my husband that...he doesn't buy it either.)

[Swan]

Well I haven't got that new bike yet, but I've hopped back on the sorry one I've got now and decided "what the heck, I'll be a kid again!" Still no falls (*knocks on wood and crosses fingers*) and I've managed to remember how to ride without hands, pop wheelies, ride up and down staircases, and swing my legs side-saddle just for fun while cruising downhill. It's been a very fun day : )

[EMoonTX]

Riding every day, slowly getting fitter and enjoying the heck out of the riding. (Cooler weather now than in August in Texas helps!) If I had not pushed myself to ride Grace-the-Assassin-bike in August every single day I possibly could--took two injury days after falls--I might have quit and wouldn't be as far along as I am. It is annoying that reconditioning at 67 is not like reconditioning at 27, 37, 47, etc, but as long as I don't push to injury (have only done that once with NewBike) the progress continues. Also discovered this week, when Thanksgiving prep kept me off the bike several days, that I now get cranky when I don't have time to ride. Riding the bike definitely works off the irritations of the day.

[ElizabethWaland]

I go biking daily years ago but it's down to twice a week now. Too busy. I only get to do it during weekends.