I went for a long (for me) ride today. I found that my riding position was hard on my knees, making the ride uncomfortable.
How tall are you? I'm 6'1" & i find that i can't really do more than 2.5 hours w/out a stretch or my knees, especially the sides, get sore. Besides your supposed to take breaks. the GS is also a narrow bike so tall guys are really cramped up. Bigger bike? Wider seat ?
My knees are usually ok (until I try to stand up) but my feet tend to fall asleep.
What helps is stretching your leg out straight into the wind while riding. Also moving your foot around to different parts of the peg (in, front, back, out on the end, etc) is good because it repositions the lower leg bones and muscles.
My wife used to adopt the "squid stance" of putting her feet up on the back pegs on long hiway trips too.
Thanks, James, I did try stretching them forward while riding, but was a little bit unsure of how squidly that was.
Rema, you and I are similar; 5'10", 32inseam. I don't get the cramps and I fractured my left kneecap in an accident. But, I did learn from therapy to put my hand behind my knee and squat down on my hand to kinda 'stretch' the knee. Maybe it'll help?
maybe i'm just kinda squidly at times, and i'll admit i've got some weird looks from drivers on the highway while doing this, but on long rides i'll just stand up for a bit. stand on the pegs, while keeping my hands on the bars, helps stretch the legs a bit. i'm 6'3'' myself, so i enjoy all the stretching out i can get. also, if you enjoyed the position on putting your feet forward like that, get case guards and then rest your feet on those. not hot engine to worry about, and roughly the same position. i've been known to sit like that for a few miles at a time on the highway as well.
I've done that.
I little over an hour and I get knee pain. But I get knee pain at the movies too. So go figure. :dunno:
I will have to try that stretch scratch. :mrgreen:
I've noticed a little bit of knee/leg pain on my GS. I think the trick is to not stay in the same position for very long. I'm always moving my feet position around slightly. Eventually that becomes less effective as time passes and I'll put my feet up on the engine case, stand up on the pegs, or even stretch out and sit on the passenger seat.
Talk about getting strange looks! ;)
I suppose the good news is the you need to stop every 125-175 miles or so to re-fuel which gives you chance to stretch.
Quote from: JamesGAlso moving your foot around to different parts of the peg (in, front, back, out on the end, etc) is good because it repositions the lower leg bones and muscles.
I was surprised at hw much of a difference that makes, but it does feel like it's moving the load from one bunch of little tired muscles to a rested bunch...
LOL, I like your avatar Roadstergal. Do you have a cunning plan, as cunning as a fox who used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University? :lol:
I noticed that I could move my feet around. If I moved them back, so the balls of the feet rested on the pegs, then that was good for a while... but I think it just made the knees worse in the long run. What seemed to give the most relief was resting the insteps on the ends of the pegs, and pointing the toes downwards and outwards.
Quote from: Rema1000LOL, I like your avatar Roadstergal. Do you have a cunning plan, as cunning as a fox who used to be Professor of Cunning at Oxford University? :lol:
"Jane - bury-me-in-a-Y-shaped-coffin - Herrington."
"I, on the other hand, am a well-rounded human being, with a degree from the University of Life, a diploma from the School of Hard Knocks, and three gold stars from the Kindergarten of Getting the shaZam! Kicked Out Of Me."
"Baldrick, does it have to be this way? Our valued friendship ending with me cutting you into long strips and telling the Prince that you walked over a very sharp cattle grid in an extremely heavy hat?"
:)