Hello all
Apart from my short commute to work on a hybrid, I've been trying to go out and cycle regularly on weekends on a road bike I bought last August.
The first few rides went fine, experienced a bit of neck pain after a while but it soon stopped.
However around October time after a few hours back from my ride I experienced a lot of pain on my left calf. This subsided and eventually went over the next 2-3 days, but it became a recurring issue over the next rides thereafter. I went to see a physio who checked my legs etc and told me I had to stretch properly before and after a ride. This is something I hardly ever did
Although I started stretching (a bit??) for the next few rides
I went to see the physio again as little had changed regarding this 'pulled calf' muscle pain that lasted 2-3 days after each ride. He checked me again and as he couldn't find anything wrong with my legs/knees, he said the cause of the pain was probably due to the mechanics of the pedaling than with the knee/muscle area. The fact it recovered was a good sign and he suggested going for a fitting session.
I'm 179cm in height and the bike is a carrera TDF with an 'L' frame size which according to the spec has a 58cm top tube. When I bought it I used one of those on line calculators to determine saddle positioning etc.
So in the interest to solve this nagging problem and determine my future commitment to cycling I decided to spend £95 (caar-ching !!) and get properly fitted. This was done at a place near my home which used video/software to follow stickers placed on you etc. A few subtle adjustments were done, esp. raising saddle height a bit, rotating handle bars, etc, and the lovely girl also tinkered with the cleat position on my shoes and even fitted some mini wedges on the left one.
Next time I went out, the position on the bike felt more comfortable, I had no neck pain, etc. However the feel of a pulled muscle on my left calf was still there. Maybe less sharp, but same recurrance. Ohh well, must be that it needs a bit of time to fully recover I thought. And timing-wise it was the right moment as this was X-mas / New year.
I'm not a fair weather cyclist, but I'll have to say during Jan to mid Feb I didn't go out, it does get icy on some of the roads I use and almost had a fall before Xmas so during this time i used the static bikes at a gym I normally go to. I noticed there was no calf pain when I used these bikes, which was a good sign.
I was very keen to go out on the road again so I started going out at the end of Feb. I used my hybrid first time and didn't notice calf pain. Two days later i did 50km on my road bike and I was v happy!!
. No calf pain. I'd like to stress out I did pay more attention to stretching pre/post ride.
I was keen so went out the next day again as I was experiencing the bug full on! However half way through this ride, about 50 mins after i set off, i started to feel this sharp pain on the top of my left knee cap. I wiggled it, tried to pay no attention and carried on. Sadly things got worse. To the point that I was still far from home and had to stop. There was something wrong, this wasn't calf pain but pain on the knee itself. I had to come back pedalling one-legged. I couldn't really do much with my left leg. Eventually got home and put some ice on the knee straight away, which helped.
I thought this was a one off, after all, it was my third ride in 4 days. I'm also in my early 40s, not early 20s any more
However sadly, and worryingly, this knee pain now appears earlier and earlier into a ride (40 min, 30min), on flat ground, 85/90 cadence. I shake knee, massage it, but there is no choice but to turn round and carefully come back home. Ice. Painkillers. Knee hurts for a few days.
I'm not happy folks. I feel frustrated, I want to get out there and improve, get fitter, tackle more hills, buy a better bike! , but now the 'old' skeleton and body seems to be throwing curve balls at me.
OR, should I think this also must have to do with those wedges that were fitted during the expensive fitting session I had?
After my last curtailed ride last week, in anger, i removed them from my shoe and placed the cleats so they match my original markings.
Due to commitments I've not been out this weekend so won't know if these wedges were the cause of my pain. If they are, I'll be naming and shaming the place where the fitting got done.
In the mean time, I've been reading about this type of pain and how it has to do with your VMO muscles, how these need strengthening to avoid this pain, etc.
Is this something I should focus on from now on??
Thanks for reading guys. Sorry it got a bit long, but I had to write all my ramblings here!!
Take care
Jose
Apart from my short commute to work on a hybrid, I've been trying to go out and cycle regularly on weekends on a road bike I bought last August.
The first few rides went fine, experienced a bit of neck pain after a while but it soon stopped.
However around October time after a few hours back from my ride I experienced a lot of pain on my left calf. This subsided and eventually went over the next 2-3 days, but it became a recurring issue over the next rides thereafter. I went to see a physio who checked my legs etc and told me I had to stretch properly before and after a ride. This is something I hardly ever did
Although I started stretching (a bit??) for the next few rides
I went to see the physio again as little had changed regarding this 'pulled calf' muscle pain that lasted 2-3 days after each ride. He checked me again and as he couldn't find anything wrong with my legs/knees, he said the cause of the pain was probably due to the mechanics of the pedaling than with the knee/muscle area. The fact it recovered was a good sign and he suggested going for a fitting session.
I'm 179cm in height and the bike is a carrera TDF with an 'L' frame size which according to the spec has a 58cm top tube. When I bought it I used one of those on line calculators to determine saddle positioning etc.
So in the interest to solve this nagging problem and determine my future commitment to cycling I decided to spend £95 (caar-ching !!) and get properly fitted. This was done at a place near my home which used video/software to follow stickers placed on you etc. A few subtle adjustments were done, esp. raising saddle height a bit, rotating handle bars, etc, and the lovely girl also tinkered with the cleat position on my shoes and even fitted some mini wedges on the left one.
Next time I went out, the position on the bike felt more comfortable, I had no neck pain, etc. However the feel of a pulled muscle on my left calf was still there. Maybe less sharp, but same recurrance. Ohh well, must be that it needs a bit of time to fully recover I thought. And timing-wise it was the right moment as this was X-mas / New year.
I'm not a fair weather cyclist, but I'll have to say during Jan to mid Feb I didn't go out, it does get icy on some of the roads I use and almost had a fall before Xmas so during this time i used the static bikes at a gym I normally go to. I noticed there was no calf pain when I used these bikes, which was a good sign.
I was very keen to go out on the road again so I started going out at the end of Feb. I used my hybrid first time and didn't notice calf pain. Two days later i did 50km on my road bike and I was v happy!!
. No calf pain. I'd like to stress out I did pay more attention to stretching pre/post ride. I was keen so went out the next day again as I was experiencing the bug full on! However half way through this ride, about 50 mins after i set off, i started to feel this sharp pain on the top of my left knee cap. I wiggled it, tried to pay no attention and carried on. Sadly things got worse. To the point that I was still far from home and had to stop. There was something wrong, this wasn't calf pain but pain on the knee itself. I had to come back pedalling one-legged. I couldn't really do much with my left leg. Eventually got home and put some ice on the knee straight away, which helped.
I thought this was a one off, after all, it was my third ride in 4 days. I'm also in my early 40s, not early 20s any more
However sadly, and worryingly, this knee pain now appears earlier and earlier into a ride (40 min, 30min), on flat ground, 85/90 cadence. I shake knee, massage it, but there is no choice but to turn round and carefully come back home. Ice. Painkillers. Knee hurts for a few days.
I'm not happy folks. I feel frustrated, I want to get out there and improve, get fitter, tackle more hills, buy a better bike! , but now the 'old' skeleton and body seems to be throwing curve balls at me.
OR, should I think this also must have to do with those wedges that were fitted during the expensive fitting session I had?
After my last curtailed ride last week, in anger, i removed them from my shoe and placed the cleats so they match my original markings.
Due to commitments I've not been out this weekend so won't know if these wedges were the cause of my pain. If they are, I'll be naming and shaming the place where the fitting got done.
In the mean time, I've been reading about this type of pain and how it has to do with your VMO muscles, how these need strengthening to avoid this pain, etc.
Is this something I should focus on from now on??
Thanks for reading guys. Sorry it got a bit long, but I had to write all my ramblings here!!
Take care
Jose
