Pedal pedal pedal

[Turkina]

I've got a few questions for those who are knowledgeable about bike riding.  Next weekend I'm going to do a century ride with a couple friends, at a casual pace (AKA we want to get through it and enjoy ourselves).  It's pretty cool, get to ride out to the very end of Long Island.

My questions...  Especially on my road bike, I've been having problems with my shoulders.  They start to hurt a bunch around 15-20 miles. Can I do something body-mechanics wise to help out a bit?  The one I separated a couple years back crashing my GS especially... but medically things check out OK.  I'm not the lightest rider (200 lbs) and so I think I'm putting too much pressure on my arms.  Which leads to the next one.  I know I'm going to get blisters in the webbing between my thumb and index finger, and gloves won't solve it all.  Should I tape up my hands before and see if that works?

My feet go numb after a bunch of miles but I know how to deal with that... just put pressure on the pedals to keep blood flowing and take a walkabout at the rest stops.

I'll be okay with the ride, although I've only done 20-30 mile rides for training.  Long Island is a very dangerous place for 2 wheeled transportation.  Today I almost got 'right-turned' at an intersection.  Some dude thought he was going to beat me to the corner, snuck up behind me and cut in front   I don't have more than a couple hours worth of time to ride, and by that time, I'm too stressed from traffic and I want to go home  My dad got rear ended years ago on his bike...

Any other tips you bicycle-learned guys can give me would be great!  Maybe stuff on keeping from bonking on a ride that long Thanks

[weaselnoze]

for the shoulders, have you thought about new bars?  risers?  could also help the pressure on  your hands.  taping would work but might be uncomfortable as your hands sweat.  also consider getting some different gloves with padding in the areas you need it

[crash]

it's been said time and again, but grip your tank with your knees (this will actually improve your maneuverability as well) and use your abs/back to hold up your body. that will take some pressure off your arms/hands.

do the chicken (elbow) flap every so often.  that will remind you to keep weight off your hands and relax your upper body.

[cernunos]

Hmmm, I don't think bicycles have gas tanks   . Love the little GS, Chile (very friendly people), and this forum.

C......

[davipu]

crash, he's talking about people powered bikes.   a couple of quick pointers
shave down there. when you start to chafe it really sucks, tape is your friend.
half a powerbar every half hour, and hard candies in between, I used to eat jolly ranchers and whould just take the thing in the wrapper and suck on it, and when it was gone spit out the wrapper.
and get a camelbak you have no idea how much water you need till your out and you hit the wall.

[jiggersplat]

if you have an adjustable stem, raise the bars up.   also, try sorta shifting your body weight back and try and use your legs to carry some weight.

[crash]

well slap me in a tutu and call me silly.  that'll teach me for not reading carefully  

[Jake D]

I used to do some pretty long rides and had the same problem with my arms.  

I would just push off of the bars, sit all the way back, and ride with no hands for a bit, shaking out the arms to get the blood moving.  I'd do this every 10, 20 minutes.  But usually my longer rides were on a "rails to trails" converted railroad track, so there was little danger of me getting liquified by a car.  

Also, do you ride with clipless pedals?

[BadBatzMaru]

for your shoulders you can get a shorter stem.  depends on if you are reaching too far.. don't mess with the seat if that is set correctly, cause then you'll end up with knee problems.. but you could slide it forward a bit.. i recently moved my saddle up and dropped 15mm on the stem and this helped a lot with back and shoulder pain. probably will help with your hands too cause it sounds like you are putting too much pressure on them.. actually, what crash said is right cept there is no gas tank to put your knees on... you shouldnt be holding on the bars tight at all... if i ride up on side you and smack your arms, the should just give w/o making the bike swerve.. if that would cause you to crash, then you are holding on too tight and have too much weight up front.

as far as the feet.. get some inserts for your shoes if you are using cycling shoes. those are harsh as hell on your feet. my carbon soles were killing me after 10 miles, but now i got some good inserts that help.

what ride is next week? is that the montauk century or 5 boro tour?
good luck with it!

[CasiUSA]

I'd also advise to go into a pro bike shop for adjustment. They charge you about $25, but they ensure that all your settings are right. They'll set you up with the plum-bob to make sure your legs are not hyper/underextending, and adjust your stem/bar height accordingly.

Another thing, just as a matter of my personal taste- Why not throw some slicks on the MTB? I do the 5 Borough every year with 1.5" slicks on my hardtail MTB, and it's way comfortable-  faster than roadies in some parts. Unless you're in it for speed, I find that a nice hardtail with Standard (Not compact-drive) gearing works great.

[BadBatzMaru]

most pro bike shops in the city suck at doing fits.. in my experience anyway. i hate most nyc bike shops. just trying to sell some  fred an expensive bike he/she doesnt need. then put em up on a trainer for 10 minutes and say, ok its adjusted well now...   lemme know if you know otherwise... and yeah casi, slicks on the MTB is a good call. i did the NYC century twice like that..

[weaselnoze]

oh jeez. i just see now that u were talking about bicycles.  hehe. i ride as much as i can during the warmer months.  exclusively road biking.  i also do centuries and long bike rides.  i've been doing the MS150 for 9 years now (im 20 yrs old).  its 150 miles long so i know what u mean about the hands.  adjust  your hands on the bars accordingly.  generally speaking, road bikes have bars that curve down and back.  im sure urs does too.  with that, there are so many positions for your hands.   i also use a camelback as a water source.  drink a lot the nite before and eat plenty of carbs  for energy!!!!

[Turkina]

Heh, I was out riding the GS today so I wasn't near my computer.  

Next week is the Montauk Century.  Friends suggested I join them.  Ended up taking my road bike and my dad's out of storage and got them set up, gave my dad's to my friend for the ride.  I'm going to try adjusting the stem and seat and see if that works.  As for seat height, I've pretty much got that down, but I see the point with moving the seat forward.

Slicks on a MTB would be awesome for city riding  Unforunately, I've got a full suspension on my MTB, and the suspension takes all the energy out of your pedaling.  Next time I'll get wise and get a hardtail and swap in a suspension post if I'm doing bumpy stuff.  Actually next bike I want to get would be a cyclocross and a spare set of wheels and bars so I can change out for terrain

Hmm, what else... No clipless.  I just wear my old trail running shoes and strap in.  Maybe now that I know Sidi stuff fits me, might go clipless in the future  :dunno: I get the numb stuff doing elliptical jogger too, not enough movement in the feet to keep blood flowing.  Camelback... I'll have a good 70 oz of water stashed on my bike, no worries  I will keep in mind about the snacks on the trip.  Seems like I should take more snacks and candy than what I thought  

Know what's the worst about road bikes?  Cringing and feeling your butt cheeks clench every time your skinny little tires go over some of New York's famous crappy pavement.  Praying that you won't bend a rim or blow out  

[weaselnoze]

candy is not the best.  eat real food.  candy will just give u a sugar boost. you need more than that.  eat carbs and more carbs.  get electrolytes from sports drinks like gatorade (on long trips i like gatorade, or similar, in a water bottle in addition to my water). protein after the ride to help muscles heal.  

clipless shoes and pedals are a must for me.  an important part of a bike shoe is a stiff sole.  your feet shouldnt bend.  running shoes= not good.  my clipless shoes are virtually unbendable in the sole.  toeclips are better than nothing however.  it helps you keep the ball of your foot on the pedal where it should be.

[pantablo]

clipless for sure. otherwise you'll look like a 'fred'. I prefer Look pedals since they have a larger contact area for your shoe which helps prevent hotspots and pain in your foot.

[yamahonkawazuki]

i ride 165 mile rides every year, first two i did on mtb with slicks, last ones were on roadies mtbs were heavier, but more comfy, but i ride in hilly terrain, heh my top speed on an mtb with slicks goin downhill was around 58mph, acc. to speedometer that was fun :mrgreen:

[Turkina]

clipless for sure. otherwise you'll look like a 'fred'. I prefer Look pedals since they have a larger contact area for your shoe which helps prevent hotspots and pain in your foot.

Heh, the bikes my friend and I are riding on are 15-20 years old.  At that time, clipless pedals were the in the realm of 'unobtanium.'  Nowadays you see bikes up and down the price range, but back then, $500 bikes were expensive.  No carbon fiber, Cannondale wide tube aluminum frames were the thing.  (My dad's and my Schwinn LeTour frames were a step below top of their line Cro-Moly frames) So, being a 'Fred' means nothing to me :nana: :mrgreen: Shifters on the downtube!  

Maybe when I've got some cash, I'll get a new bike and a set of toe-clips on the pedals for the times when I'm riding not so seriously

PS: That's why Pantablo got his CBR in red... he wanted to fit in

[yamahonkawazuki]

heh ive got a schwinn super letour rode it in a charity ride last year tires were old, bike was old, i was the only mug that did NOT have a flat, an i was prayin for 1  :x  

[Turkina]

So, went on a training ride with my friend today.  It's May... why is the weather so cold and nasty?  15-20 mph winds from the north and damp.

Things went okay, other than doing the last half of the ride without a rear brake   The nut holding the brake came loose, the brake came out, and my rear rack tried to fall off my bike     Sucky.  Tomorrow I go rectify that situation.

Trek Interchange racks are sucky I don't have braze-ons on the seatstay, so instead of a clamp thing, Trek expected me to hook it up to the rear brake...

[Turkina]

For f---'s sake, I go and make sure I have my i's crossed and my t's dotted (or is it the other way around) and find out I managed to lose one of my bike gloves in the last couple of days.  Spend a good hour not managing to find it.

Just what I need  :x  :guns:

Good thing weightlifting gloves have pads where I need them, I'll use those I suppose... Tomorrow shouldn't be too much of a problem, 100 miles isn't so bad, is it?