18. Author: MACS

One of the benefits of a road bike is that there are several different safe had positions that you can alternate between for comfort and power in different circumstances (uphill, downhill, flat, tired, fresh, beginning of ride, end of ride, curves, warming up, cooling down, fast, slow, etc, etc). The neck craning issue disappears very quickly!

If you enjoy riding and plan on continuing I'll second rfenst about getting your current seat professionally fitted and take it a step further and suggest you get the entire bike fitted... when the bike is properly fit to your body and riding style your hands won't get numb and your knees won't be sore unless it is just a normal "working out" sore. Most bike shops will do a fit for around 100 bucks and it will take a couple hours, then the bike will feel like it was custom made for you.

the gloves are only going to absorb some of the shock from the road, if your hands are getting numb that is a fit issue, could be as simple as moving the seat forward or backward or raising or lowering the handlebars.

Good luck!

Some good advise here on saddles, etc. I have been riding both road and mtn for almost as long as I have been a runner. Used to do 80+ mile training rides when building up for a longer road race.

Road bike: Masi Grand Critirium

Mtn bike: Yetti

Maybe next time I'm over there we can get X and cover some miles. I'm sure you will notice it takes a lot longer on the bike to get the same benefits of a run but it is easier on some parts of the body. (not counting the ass)

If your hands are getting numb keep moving them around the bars to different positions and take weight off them occasionally.

DED

Numb hands, not so bad. Numb crotch, that's when to worry.

Masi and Yeti, nice bikes (IIRC, lol)! Ever ride the Solvang Century? I did many many moons ago, it was a great ride.

#20 Actually, I'm just glad the thread wasn't about you...cycling on and off your meds again.

:)P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meds? I don't need no stinking meds!

(multivitamin, fish oil, and glucosamine and chondroitin)

Rick... Fo Sho.

Cycling on and off road is great fun. Before back troubles ended my cycling I used to get in 2.5 to 3.5k miles a year. Several century rides, (100 miles) and a 137 Aiken to Charleston, SC ride. I like it because you are going somewhere not just exercising in place.

Your neck muscles will strengthen for the road bike, and the idea is to keep most of your weight on the peddles not the seat or the bars.

Seat height and fore/aft adjustments are critical to your knee health. Spinning faster in a lower gear is also much easier on joints than grinding away on a higher gear.

I know you know about hydration, wearing gloves and a cycling helmet.

^ 24

Never did Solvang except the local 1/2 marathon once. My longest ride was the Arizona Challenge which is approx 325 miles from Phx up into the mountains of northern Az. Also several El Tour de Tucson which is 111 miles.

DED

MAC(S),

I would imagine it is hard for a f@t a$$ to ride a bike.

DED

Never did the Vuelta del Bisbee, huh?

My bikes: Road: Pinarello Montello with Dura Ace

Mountain: Klein Pinnacle Elite Deore XT

trek 5000 OCLV with campy record\chorus combo (bought before LA rode them). Campy vento wheels, look pedals. Old flight saddle.

fisher wahoo M/B

old giant nutra cro\mo hybrid

Man, you guys got great bikes. Mine is just a fuji team (aluminum) I got about 11 years ago. Ultegra, etc. lol. Got it from Colorado Cyclist, it was biggest standard production frame I could find. Too cheap (or poor) to get a local custom frame to fit my large frame. GT Karakorum MB, broke the frame 3 times. Maybe why GT went out of business.

'..Cycling... '

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Its not that hard. I've been doing it for years.

A-Rod.

MACS, you have high arches? Flat feet? Mine are high, and some Scholl's arch supports right off the shelf fixed everything for me.