I'm not really sure if this is a new riders question or exactly what, but I think it applies to being a new roadie -- at least for me!

So here's my situation: I'm riding along, and everything's really very comfortable, but...

No, I didn't say my butt!

It's in my shoulders, and it's in my neck, and what's going on, and maybe this is from my downhill runs, cuz it's not all the time, but I did two of my downhills on "my" hill today, which is kinda winding, so I spend most of the trip down on the brakes. HARD on the brakes. What I find is that my shoulders are up by my ears, and after a while, that HURTS! And that hurt lingers. It's, you know, that tensed up ache thing, and I was thinking that I need to learn to keep shoulders back and down and then I wouldn't do that pain to myself when I'm riding!

SO, what should I strengthen to help make it "preferable" for my body to keep shoulders down and back without having to think about it real much. No gym membership, make these at home, minimal equipment things, please!

(braking muscles in fore-arms hurt when doing that downhill thing too, but I KNOW what's going on there: I'm deliberately torturing them! Up-side today: they are getting stronger, and I was letting myself go just a weensy bit faster on that down hill run!)

Karen in Boise