Cycling

starseedxo

Your knees may be sore because your saddle is too low. Your leg should be almost straight (but relaxed) on the down stroke. As for the back-end soreness, I'd really recommend going to a local bike shop and getting fit for a saddle. And just to warn you, it will probably be more narrow than you'd expect. Those big padded ones are definitely not a good choice, as they will cause more chaffing thank a properly fitting one. And chaffing is no fun at all. I love mine, a Fizik Vesta, but it costs almost as much as you paid for your whole bike

astrose00

Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »

I know what the sit bones are... on animals. I'm going to school for vet tech, so I am fairly well based on animal anatomy. I guess I'll have to brush up on human anatomy!

I had never heard of them. It took the bike fitting for me to figure out where it was. Now I know exactly how to plop down on that thang!

Autumnfilly2005

I have a couple questions that are probably very stupid. One, where do you put the pedal on your foot? I know it's not the heel, but do you pedal with the ball of your foot or the arch, or does it not really matter?

Second, does biking improve your core because you're using your upper body to balance? I don't expect it to do the work of crunches or anything, but I could tell that even tilting my head to the side would shift my balance. (Though that could be just me. I definitely have balance issues on perfectly flat, level ground.)

starseedxo

Not dumb questions at all!

You should be pedaling with the ball of your foot. As you get better, and more addicted, you might consider getting bike shoes and clipless pedals, but wait until you are super comfortable on the bike first.

Biking is a pretty decent core workout, especially if you do anything off-road on gravel or dirt or snow. The more you strengthen your core, the easier you will be able to control your bike.

I started biking pretty seriously about 1.5 or 2 years ago, and I just signed up for a 100 mile gravel race in May today! Trust me, it gets easier, just keep doing what you're doing!

canadjineh

Pedal through the ball of your foot leading in to the big toe at the bottom of the stroke, but if you have clips for your pedals that will make it easier for you to do it properly and your muscles will be correctly working - easier on the quads. Here's a youtube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ZrbnR-0dI
- Don't forget some stretches to help your muscles relax and lengthen after your ride. Low back knee tucks, standing quad stretches, calf stretches, hamstring stretches.

verdemujer

First - please go take your bike to a local bike store and get them to fit the bike to you. The pain in your muscles above your knees can be from several things. A decent fitting will help. If its some place like a Performance Bicycles or other big bike store, don't fall for the hype about needing a new bike. You bike will work for what you are doing just fine. You just need to make sure it fits. My son has strange hips (and its not because he's a boy) so he rides with his knees out a bit. That means he needs a spacer to bring his pedals out for him and so less stress on his knees. No more pain for him now. Who knew? I also have a biking friend who can NOT ride with the ball of his feet on the pedals. He has to use his arches. So don't fall for that 'riding in clips' is the best thing either. Its true it helps but you have to really be riding miles for that to make a big difference. There are many times that I wish for the small time social ride that I could do the easy pedal on/off thing as easy as unclipping my shoes can be because I hate wearing my clips on the slow social rides. I miss being able to ride with my heels and my arches and play with my position more in those rides. As far as you sit bones - yeah - riding is the only way you will toughen that up but padded shorts are a big must. RaeNae pointed me to Amazon for bike short underwear that I could get in my size since finding XXL in a store isn't going to happen. I'm so happy I have those. Most people probably think I'm crazy because they have no idea I'm wearing padded underwear on under what ever shorts and capris I might be wearing that day. I don't look like a performance rider but I'm becoming one. You will too. Just keep trying. Riding, if the bike is set for your frame, is the second best exercise besides swimming that is easiest on your joints. For some inspiration:

http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2015743043_cycler29.html#_ga=1.86455256.1572562627.1421449041

I 'met' Bill at Live Strong and we are Facebook friends. The article is pure Bill. He's actually started running in 5ks this last year which is a first for him. I think bicycling has finally given him enough strength in his legs to overcome the disability of his feet. He couldn't run three years ago. He can now and I know its because of the bicycling.

verdemujer

And one more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhypalI94dk

Autumnfilly2005

Went for my third ride today. I brought my saddle way up, and adjusted the angle to make sure it was flat. I also tried to focus on my posture more, make sure I was resting on my sit bones. It felt a lot better. My legs are still tired, but at least the same felt uncomfortable instead of a torture device. Also, I went two laps down the street instead of one, and I went a little faster today.

Every ride I feel a little more stable when it comes to balance, pedaling, and being able to turn and stuff.

LifeInTheBikeLane

I was about 240lbs when I got back on a bike for the first time. I started off at a little under 1mile a day. I had to get my seat adjusted (I had no idea who to properly sit on a bike, figures. They teach you how to ride, not how to sit!) before I was able to ride without it being a pain in the butt. Or legs.

Start off slowly and take it one day at a time. You will gradually find yourself increasing in miles as you get more and more into it. In less then 6 months I went from 240 (Give or take a few) to somewhere between 170 and 180. It took a lot of work. I then had to buy a new bike because the one I was using was an improper fit anyways.....

You got this!! Good luck!

Autumnfilly2005

Thanks, that's a great inspiration!

Just_Ceci

The more you ride, the more you will be able to ride. When I started 3 years ago, I couldn't make it a mile without feeling like I was going to die. Last April, I rode 150 miles in 2 days.

I think I sent you a FR on MapMyRide (and on here).

bwogilvie

Autumnfilly2005 wrote: »

Went for my third ride today. I brought my saddle way up, and adjusted the angle to make sure it was flat. I also tried to focus on my posture more, make sure I was resting on my sit bones. It felt a lot better. My legs are still tired, but at least the same felt uncomfortable instead of a torture device. Also, I went two laps down the street instead of one, and I went a little faster today.

Every ride I feel a little more stable when it comes to balance, pedaling, and being able to turn and stuff.

It sounds like you've done almost everything that I would have recommended — you got some good advice in this thread.

One thing that many beginners do is to pedal too slowly. Most experience bicyclists pedal at a cadence (number of pedal revolutions per minute) of 60-90. If you have a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand, your right foot should make a full revolution in one second or less. Pedaling at a high cadence is much less fatiguing on your legs than pedaling at a low cadence. It can take a while to get that fast, and it might feel weird at first, but it's worth it. When I started, my cadence was usually in the 50s. Now it's usually between 80 and 90, except when I am going fast, in which case it's between 90 and 110. Competitive cyclists often pedal 120 rpm or more!

Autumnfilly2005

I went for my 6th ride today, and there were a lot of firsts in this ride. I once heard someone say that when you're trying something new, you need to try it at least 6 times before you make a decision about it. Today I feel like I reached some kind of threshold when it comes to cycling.

I added hills for the first time today. They were itty-bitty baby hills, but I could definitely feel a difference between uphill and downhill. I got a chance to practice my braking going downhill, and shifting gears up and down on the slopes.

I lost both my pedals for the first time today. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow both my feet fumbled and fell off the pedals at the same time. Instead of panicking and falling over (like I used to as a kid), I kept calm and was able to get my feet back on the pedals.

I was able to pedal with only one hand on the handlebars today. My water bottle fell off the back of the bike, so I stopped to pick it up. It was totally broken, so I have to get a new bottle now, and this time I won't put it on the rack in the back. When I got back on the bike and started pedaling, my phone slipped out of my bra and started to fall. I caught it (one-handed) and managed to keep pedaling (one-handed) while I put it back in my bra.

My butt seemed less sore today. I was very tender when I first got on the bike, but after a bit, I seemed to get used to it (or I got numb). What I've been doing to relieve pressure on the butt is to transfer some of my weight to my legs when I was coasting, but I did that much less today.

Today was my longest ride yet, both time and distance-wise. I can't say I'm at all going fast, my average pace was 9.2 mph, but I feel good about it. I know that speed will come in time. Also, when I'm used to only walking/running at about a 3.0-3.5mph speed, being on a bike seems much faster!