Diagnosing Sore Muscles

[pooks]

Since my rides have been pretty short I haven't had much in the way of muscle soreness. You know, I'll feel a burn in my thighs if I'm pumping up hill or feel a little weak and quivery for a sec when I get off the bike, but no residual soreness.

Today is the first time I've had a little. Not enough to bother with ibuprofen, even. Which means (I figure) that I'm not pushing it. (Today I did 6.4 miles which is 1/3 farther than I've gone before.)

But I'm noticing some upper arm soreness -- the outside muscles. (No idea which ones those are.) I also noticed that my arms are pretty straight when I'm riding my hybrid, and if I'm not careful I could be locking them straight. I've read other people's comments about numb wrists, or keeping arms bent, and am wondering if I need to adjust my handlebars in some way.

So, anyway, are the outside upper arm muscles some you'd expect to be a bit sore if you pushed yourself a bit farther than usual, or are they muscles that would only be effected if something's adjusted wrong?

Also, I found it interesting that my husband says it's the underneath of his thighs that burn when we go uphill. It's the top of mine.

[KnottedYet]

I'm thinking the arm muscle you're describing is the triceps. This is the critter that straightens your elbow (or prevents it from collapsing). Do a google or encyclopedia search and see if that's it.

Could be sore because you're being careful NOT to lock your elbow - so it's acting kind of like a shock-absorber and doing work, which is how it should act. If you've not been doing a lot of arm work before, this muscle could be weak. It'll get stronger pretty quickly!

When the elbow is truly locked, you don't have to use the muscles as much. It's less work, which is why folks fall into the locked-elbow pattern in the first place.

[pooks]

Actually I looked it up and it's my deltoids.

On a hybrid, are your arms supposed to be fairly straight, since you're upright rather than bent over? I guess that's my real issue, is wondering if my arms should be this straight. I caught myself putting my weight on my wrists, which I know is wrong, too.

I'm thinking I may have to fork over some money for a bike fitting.

[KnottedYet]

Hmmmm, I can't think why your delts would be crabbing at you. Unless the bars are in the wrong spot so your shoulders are wrong and your delts are firing up to try to protect your shoulder joint.

A bike fit might be a very good idea.

[donnambr]

So here's the thing about bike fitting that perplexes me. I am primarily a utilitarian/transportation, urban cyclist who has a high performance, upright bike. (Breezer) The thing is, really excellent fitters don't seem to know how to do a fitting for a person who is using such a bike. Most of them don't seem to think you need a well-fitted upright bike. I think they have this misconception that just because you don't go long distances really fast or ride on unpaved single track, fit isn't important. Maybe they think we will just toodle around the block with it on the weekends, even though we try to assure them otherwise. I spend hours on my bike, but not the corresponding high mileage. It's in stop-and-go traffic, over bridges, potholes, a great variety of roads and streets, on bus racks, light rail trains, and usually hauling everything but the kitchen sink. Eventually, I will pull a trailer. I might be wearing work clothes, which includes skirts or I might be wearing more exercise-type apparel.

Case in point: common advice is to have your arms pretty much straight when your riding. I can see that on a non-upright bike. What I have noticed is that if I don't have a slight bend of my elbows, I will begin to put a lot of pressure on my upper back, shoulders, & neck. One chiropractor's visit and a lot of yoga stretching later, it's getting better, but still a problem for me. Heck, my chiropractor knew how I needed to adjust my upright, but the fantastic LBS fitters who do a fantastic job with road & mountain bikes don't seem to know that or think it's important to pass this along. I bought my bike from a LBS with a fantastic reputation, but I've come to the realization that he really doesn't grok fitting a upright rider - it's all road bikes for him. He sells Breezers because he's impressed with the quality of the bike and he doesn't seem to be "afraid" of internal hub gearing. I can't help but wonder what else I am missing about a good fit for upright bikes. I can't find a single book that even has a proper fit diagram.

I'm beginning to suspect this is because the dominant focus in the US is on racing, touring, & mountain biking. Well, pooh to that! Ok, rant over, thank you for your patience.

[pooks]

Exactly -- that's my question and I'm glad you spoke up because it raises a new question -- if I pay $50 for a fitting, does the fitter even know the specifics of fitting for an upright? I'd never considered that issue, but now that you raise it, it makes sense.

[KnottedYet]

Dang, there's a whole new field for me to get into: fitting commuter bikes! It's true, we do need to be fitted differently. (touring bikes, too.)

The specifics for the waist down should be pretty much the same, but the waist up is going to be different.

My boss does athlete fits, but I don't think she does commuter fits. Oooh, now I gotta do some research....

Meanwhile I can recommend one of my favorite bike books:

The Essential Bicycle Commuter by Trudy E. Bell

[donnambr]

Dang, there's a whole new field for me to get into: fitting commuter bikes! It's true, we do need to be fitted differently. (touring bikes, too.)

I really think that if someone developed expertise in proper fitting of upright/commuter bikes, they would be opening up an area with huge potential. Gas prices are never going to go down again, and will most likely keep increasing. People are struggling with obesity and other health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle. A good chunk of humanity is not interested in athletics or exercise for its own sake with no other purpose (including me). In this light, utilitarian cycling becomes highly appealing. I've tried road & mountain bikes in my life, and detested them for such purposes and I'm not the only one. Still, we need bikes that won't hurt our bodies as much as other cyclists do. I think this is what "comfort bikes" are trying to do, but I personally don't find them particularly comfortable.

The specifics for the waist down should be pretty much the same, but the waist up is going to be different.

Well, not precisely - remember that being upright, my pelvis will be placed differently. That changes things quite a bit. Then there is my 7 inch sit bone distance measurement...

My boss does athlete fits, but I don't think she does commuter fits. Oooh, now I gotta do some research....

Exactly, and while I am sure she is very good at what she does, she may not even be able to fit an upright rider correctly. The guy I bought my Breezer from is an excellent road bike fitter, but couldn't spot my fitting problems. I'm going to guess that American fitters who knew about this have grown old and died. I wonder if any exist in Denmark & The Netherlands.

A local, bike fringey LBS in my neighborhood asked for help from the community in moving to a new place. I went over there today after work to help out, and we got into just this discussion afterwards when the beer came out. These guys put together upright commuters out of old bikes pulled out of the trash, and they totally understood what I meant. Their "bike fitting" expertise in this area has been a matter of trial, error, wild guesses, and visits to the chiropractor. The owner has a 1948 West German military bike he uses as his primary means of transportation. He has this dream of someday being able to sell new, upright commuter & utility bikes in the European style. Meantime, they do a pretty good job with society's discards.

Then people I know and meet are always telling me about their road/mountain bike they used 3 times and is sitting in their garage. They liked riding a bike when they were a kid but have never been athletes and have no interest in that. It doesn't surprise me that they didn't get along with their "athletic" bike. There has to be another way, gotta find it... anyway, this moves along out of the fitting realm and into the philosophical, so I'll stop now..

Meanwhile I can recommend one of my favorite bike books:

The Essential Bicycle Commuter by Trudy E. Bell

I want this book but it's out of print. I've got Alibris searching for a copy that is cheaper than the $50 one it found me about a month ago.

[pooks]

Oh good, I'm glad to see this going somewhere. It does sound like a needed niche service, and it also reminds me of something I need to post, but not here.... Look for the "urban/commuter" topic I'm about to start.

[KnottedYet]

My library system has 2 copies. (I don't have my own, I just am a repeat offender checking out theirs) Try sno-isle.org and get an interloan. Depending on your library system, they may charge you for shipping and limit your checkout time, but at least you'll get to read it.

There is a utility brand we saw everywhere in Germany and the Netherlands called "Pegasus". We even rode a couple. They were great commuter-mobiles! I think with the big trend right now in 700c commuter bikes we are seeing the market making the step in the "Pegasus" direction.

I sympathize with the 7 inch sitbones. I have ridden maybe 30 miles on my new Brooks B67. Even though the leather is still hard and not broken in yet, it is such a relief to have my pelvis completely supported! Feels like I'm sitting on a kitchen chair. Can only get better as the leather softens to my particular anatomy.

Sexy bikes ARE sexy... but they are best for what they do best:going fast/going extreme. Utility bikes are also best at what they do best: just plain going. I don't need to go fast. In fact, a racer would probably be a mess on my commute and the crap I ride over. I don't need to go extreme, and a lot of my energy would be wasted by a suspension and big tires on my commute and fun rides. Kinda like a 2 seater Audi would be waaaay sexy, but would suck at hauling my kid and dog and luggage and groceries. And an SUV would be waaaaaay sexy but would suck at gas mileage and be awkward to park and maneuver in the places I go. My little station wagon does what I need.

Perhaps shops need to do a better job of educating customers on how to choose the bike that meets their needs, but the fact of the matter is that shops need to sell to survive, and if a wannabe weekend rider comes in fixated on a racer or a mtn bike the shop will sell it to them, even if a utility bike would do a better job for functions that customer wants.

It's up to us (and bike clubs and such) to do the educating. I doubt utility bikes will ever be sexy, but they can be fun and "easy" and useful. (look at Electra's advertising) I tout my bike to anyone who asks me about it. It does what I need and it wasn't expensive.

When I need a bike to do a different function really well (like loaded touring) I'll go buy one.

Whoa, this was a long post. sorry!