# New here, leg ache and my work commute



## gillelive (11 Oct 2010)

Hello, new to this forum, any advice appreciated. After reaching the age of 40 but still feeling 20 I finally decided to improve my fitness. I have left the car on the drive and started cycling to work (3 days a week) and the the usual day trips out with the family at weekends. This all started a few months back using my old mtb bike (with road tyres) but I have recently bought a specialized crosstrail. My commute is a 20 mile round trip and my longest single ride has been 25 miles. On my work commute I average 13mph dependant of the head wind and this takes between 40 and 50 mins. I am 5' 11' and weigh just over 12 stone. I am not looking to lose weight I just want to improve my overall fitness, get my heart pumping, get some fresh air and enjoy the ride. My question is about legs, how long does it take for thigh and calf muscles to settle down (stop aching) after years of minimal use. I am finding my legs feel hard and ache for a while after each commute. I would have thought after a few weeks they would have settled down or am I expecting too much? Don't know if it makes a difference but my commute is part road, part waterfront, some cobbles!, and some very patchy pot holed road near the local docks.


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## Chrisc (11 Oct 2010)

My experience having been in the same position as you this time last year is that it took about 6 months or so. 
I didn't really notice the soreness go and wondered if I'd just got used to it but now it's definitely stopped and even after 100 mile rides it's fine the day after. 
PS I reckon you will also lose some weight whether you want to or not, unless you can start hoovering up more food!


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## jay clock (11 Oct 2010)

If it is general muscle ache, I would maybe try getting a sports massage once a week for a couple of weeks. If it is knee or hip pain, check you have the saddle height etc all correct. A lot of new riders have the saddle too low in misplaced attempt to be able to reach the ground more easily. If you place your heel on the pedal when at the bottom of its travel (and with the pedal crank aligned with the seat tube of the bike) your knee should just about lock out. Then when you cycle with the ball of your foot on the pedal the knee will not quite lock out when pedalling. An inch or two lower and you will end up in pain.....


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## gillelive (11 Oct 2010)

thanks chris, hoovering up more food should not be a problem! definitly ready for my tea when i get home from work...

good to know that my legs are in working order, i will just need to stick with it...


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## accountantpete (11 Oct 2010)

The ache is the muscle repairing itself (and growing hopefully).

The uneven road won't help but basically unless you push yourself harder then the aches should get less as the established muscle copes with the journey.

A protein drink immediately after each ride will help the muscles as well.


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## Jaguar (11 Oct 2010)

Olbas Oil (or Superdrug's own brand) is really good as a muscle rub


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## gillelive (11 Oct 2010)

Thanks for the advice - just recently I have had a lot of head wind to deal with so I have pushed the legs and muscles harder than normal, hopefully things will settle down soon, it has certainly not put me off cycling. I am sure I will be back with more newbie questions soon.


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## Dilbert (11 Oct 2010)

Not sure what you do when you get to work but when I first started commuting (same sort of distance as you) I started having bad shooting pains in my thighs. Once the osteopath had beaten me back into shape he explained it was bacause I was getting off the bike and then sitting at a desk all day and my leg muscles were getting progressively shorter. He recommended doing a few stretches when I got to work to ensure the leg muscles didn't shorten. So far this seems to be doing the trick. I have just started commuting again after being off the bike with back problems over the summer and I am aching a bit to, the winds have been quite bad the last few weeks.


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## Alien8 (11 Oct 2010)

I think this also depends on your cycling _style_. I tend not to be very good at pacing myself and so most rides tend be at near full-on effort - but that's how I like it. Hence day-to-day I tend to feel my previous ride in my legs to a greater or lesser extent. This goes away after a rest day.


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## gillelive (11 Oct 2010)

For some unknown reason I did tend to cycle full pelt when I started, why I don't know when I only want to get from A to b, there must be some in built tendancy to go quicker or at least maintain the speed/time form the last commute. I have started to pace myself.

When I do get to work I am sat for most of the day which is one of the reasons I started riding....get out bed, sit in car, get out of car, sit in work and the same home then back to bed.....not healthy.


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## hillrep (11 Oct 2010)

Lots of good advice above, my 2p worth would be:

Make sure the bike is adjusted to your size, particularly saddle height. Small changes can make quite a difference.

Don't try so hard (and, as you've already learned, don't try to beat your record time every journey!). I occasionally manage to go less than flat out, it makes a tiny difference to the overall time but a big difference to how tired I feel. For me the traffic conditions have a much bigger effect on commuting time than the amount of effort I put in.

Try a lower gear (higher leg speed) for the same road speed. I certainly find high force/low leg speed much harder on my muscles than low force/high leg speed. You could even get a cycle computer that measures your cadence.

Welcome to the world of cycle commuting - make sure you keep enjoying it!


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## Jaguar (11 Oct 2010)

gillelive said:


> For some unknown reason I did tend to cycle full pelt when I started, why I don't know




Is that a man thing?


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## g00se (11 Oct 2010)

Hi,

+1 for checking the saddle height. I often borrow the wife's bike (with the child seat) to take the little one to nursery. The saddle is about 4cm lower than mine but it's a real strain on the thighs.

Also, what cadence are you cycling at? Some folks run in too higher a gear and that could make the leg muscles stiff (and mess up the knees too). Count how many revolutions ONE leg makes in a minute. For 'leisure' cycling, the form books says you should be hitting 60-80 RPM (more if you're pushing it).


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## Peter10 (11 Oct 2010)

By no means do I want to hijack this thread, but it probably doesn't warrant a new thread. The OP states aching in his legs & calf muscles. After a ride, I regularly feel aches from the muscles which make up the quadriceps, but I've yet to notice any aching in the calves. I'm wondering if I may be over exerting on my quadriceps and not enough on my calves. Any advice on this?


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## boydj (11 Oct 2010)

+1 on using lower gears and turning the legs over faster. 

Sounds like you are stressing your muscle strength rather than your cardio-vascular fitness, which is where you get your endurance from. I agree, too, that chasing your time every day is not a good idea. Try and relax and enjoy it - the times will improve as you get fitter. Throw in a hard effort once in a while by all means, but going for it every day will lead to staleness, tiredness and loss of enthusiasm.

Well done on the progress so far. Keep up the good work.


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## gillelive (11 Oct 2010)

Thanks for all the advice people much appreciated. I took it a bit easier on the way home tonight but had to deal with another head wind, why is this always on the way home!

I find that after a mile or so back on the bike the muscles relax and all is well, it's later when I am home and sat watching a bit of tv that the aches start but I am not worried I am sure it's just down to the muscles being stretched and building strength. As the days go by the ache is less but I will be taking some of the advice you have given. 

I did check my ride height again on the way home and no problem there, all appears well and the set up and advice given from my lbs has been good, I have every confidence in them.


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## Chrisc (12 Oct 2010)

gillelive said:


> Thanks for all the advice people much appreciated. I took it a bit easier on the way home tonight but had to deal with another head wind, why is this always on the way home!
> 
> I find that after a mile or so back on the bike the muscles relax and all is well, it's later when I am home and sat watching a bit of tv that the aches start but I am not worried I am sure it's just down to the muscles being stretched and building strength. As the days go by the ache is less but I will be taking some of the advice you have given.
> 
> I did check my ride height again on the way home and no problem there, all appears well and the set up and advice given from my lbs has been good, I have every confidence in them.



As you said in your op, it's just down to using muscles that have been snoozing for a few years. They get grumpy when you try to get them to do a bit! If you bike shop is OK and have set things up you'll be fine.
Although the aches subside to nearly nothing, after days where you've pushed a bit harder than usual or done more than your body really wanted you to they will be back. You just accept it as part of getting healthier, fitter and faster. And like you, I raced everywhere when starting...mostly still do. If you're riding alone you've only yourself to beat! It gets worse once you buy something like a garmin 500...


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## accountantpete (12 Oct 2010)

Peter10 said:


> By no means do I want to hijack this thread, but it probably doesn't warrant a new thread. The OP states aching in his legs & calf muscles. After a ride, I regularly feel aches from the muscles which make up the quadriceps, but I've yet to notice any aching in the calves. I'm wondering if I may be over exerting on my quadriceps and not enough on my calves. Any advice on this?





It depends on your foot position - if you angle the toe downwards then you bring the calf more into play just like standing on tip-toe. Personally I prefer my feet flatter and more relaxed.


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## crumpetman (13 Oct 2010)

accountantpete said:


> It depends on your foot position - if you angle the toe downwards then you bring the calf more into play just like standing on tip-toe. Personally I prefer my feet flatter and more relaxed.




It's irritating me somewhat that the other cyclists I see seem to have bulging calves and yet nothing seems to happen with mine. My thigh muscles have definitely got bigger but I don't feel anything much going on with my calves. Even out of the saddle going up hill it's usually my breathing that lets me down rather than my legs.


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## Globalti (13 Oct 2010)

Cyclists' calves don't do as much work as the thigh and buttock muscles and cyclists are notorious for stiff, inflexible calf muscles, I'm told.

To the OP, some stretching for a few minutes after riding will definitely help. I have been riding for 23 years and have managed to ignore all advice to stretch. Recently I suffered an overuse injury to my knees and a physio told me that stretching would help so I started to heed her advice and miraculously it is working; the knees are getting better. 

The stiffness you are experiencing is the damage caused to the muscle fibres so bear in mind that the improvement actually takes place during the three or four days after exercising when the muscle fibres repair themselves. It would really help if you gave them a chance to recover, a week off cycling and plenty of good food works wonders and you'll be amazed at how strong you feel when you return to cycling. Check out your thighs and bum, I bet they are more meaty now than before you started cycling; at least you won't end up like some of those blokes you see in their forties who have big bellies and no bum muscles!


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## Peter10 (13 Oct 2010)

accountantpete said:


> <br /><br />
> <br />
> <br />
> <br />
> It depends on your foot position - if you angle the toe downwards then you bring the calf more into play just like standing on tip-toe. Personally I prefer my feet flatter and more relaxed.<br /><br />


<br /><br /><br />

Thanks for the reply. I wondered if it had anything to do with my saddle position or technique. I might make a conscious effort next time I'm out to point the toe down, just to work the calves.


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## Fab Foodie (13 Oct 2010)

Hi

Some thoughts...

Great bike-fitting/set-up stuff here:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

Secondly, your bicycle is probably not the best for cycling into headwinds due to the upright MTB riding position and probable wide bars, so 13 mph might be a pretty severe workout over 10 miles! 

Clipess pedals and proper cycling shoes also improve pedalling efficiency. Single sided SPD types would be a good starting point.
Make sure tyres are road-types (smooth) and properly pumped-up, £25 or so on a Joe-Blow Sport track-pump is money well spent.
Locking-out the suspension is also highly beneficial.

Finally, your body will adapt to the effort.


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