Cycling - shoulder are aching, any advice please? :)

[Chopstheduck]

I've had very stiff shoulders the past couple of days, mainly in the deltoids. And also a bit in my back - the traps. Could this be cycling related? Anyone had similar? Wondering if I am doing something wrong or need to adjust my position somewhere.

It could possibly be from weights, but I haven't really changed my routine there, whereas I have been upping the miles and intensity on my bike.

Are you putting too much weight on your arms? Maybe try tilting the saddle nose up slightly?

Ooh thanks will try that!

You could also try tweaking your handlebar height.

I'm training for a long bike ride and often get sore shoulders. I've been told in the past it's from riding with my arms straight/locked out so that the shoulders take the brunt of supporting the weight of the upper body. The solution is, apparently, to ride with slightly soft/bent arms and use your abs to hold your body up (rather than using your arms to 'prop' your body up). I've found it very difficult to make the change in position.

I've switched to a road bike now, and feeling a bit better. My hybrid bike, the distance from saddle to bars is very short, so it is very easy to rest too much weight on my arms. Now I'm on the road bike, it is def easier to maintain a better form. I do keep telling myself to keep my shoulders down and elbows soft as I can feel it going stiff during the ride.

Now my new problem is a sore undercarriage! I'm riding in quite a low position and so bumping on the most sensitive area! I'm hoping it will pass with time, as it was getting very painful tw the end of todays ride. Did 15 miles today, but hoping to increase distance after the tri in a couple of weeks.

For a sore undercarriage, buy some chamois cream (no, it's not just for fellas) and be liberal with it(!), the best shorts you can afford and, if you can, go for a seat fitting. My local bike shop have a gel seat thing that you sit on so they can see where your sit bones are and sell you a suitable saddle. All that might will help. Have you had your bike fitted to you? Some small adjustments in saddle height and handlebar height can make a difference too.

I will def get the saddle position checked and off to google chamois cream! I do have some decent shorts, but I bet I am goign to end up having to replace the saddle. Thanks snowgirl!

I know they're old fashioned and heavy (if weight's a consideration) but I'm a big fan of Brooks saddles. I have a sprung one on one bike, and a Brooks B17 saddle with copper rivets, very fancy (but got cheap in a sale) on my Cannondale CX. The sprung one was like sitting on a sofa from Day 1. The unsprung one took a lot of miles to break in but was worth it and is now fine. I read all the reviews on Wiggle and elsewhere before deciding which one to go with. I think a good saddle makes you spend more time cycling, so is an investment. Think I only managed about 5 miles using the saddle my Cannondale came with. It was agony! (And apparently the same as a Charge Spoon which a lot of people love).

I agree that a change of saddle can make a huge difference. padded shorts help a bit but since you can only get tri shorts with a very small amount of padding it didn't help for races until I changed my saddle.

how's it going? are you ready for Sunday

I finally took the plunge and actually wore my shorts without knickers under, and used cream and that made a big difference!

I hope I'm ready! last day of training today - will do a shorter 13 miles this morning and weights this afternoon, then rest tomo to be fresh for sunday. Forcast is rain :( I did do 20 miles in rain on Thurs, so I've had a little practice in rain, but I do hope it is dry!

Since I'm only doing the cycle leg I can wear proper padded shorts, but I had wondered that about tri clothing. I'm planning swimming lessons in Sept with the hope of one day doing full triathlons. I can run and cycle, but I am not a good swimmer atm.

I will check out those saddles, thank you. They look more like what I have on my hybrid, which I've never had any problems with. I have spent a fortune on bikes this past month though, so I need to behave for now! As well as buying the road bike, and new shorts, cycling shoes, new pedals, etc I also had to change the cycle carrier as we changed the car last month.

Then after road biking my hybrid seemed so heavy and sluggish!! So, I changed the tyres, gone from 700 x 38 down to some nice slick 28s, and fitted some butterfly handlebars. I also put the clipped pedals that came with the road bike on it and it looks more like a touring bike now!

I'm wondering if I should change out the handlebars on my Pashley for something like butterfly handlebars - well, something where I can change my hand positions a bit more... Does it make a big difference?

I feel too old for a road bike! My husband used to ride one, but I could never get on with it. I hate mountain bikes too - simply useless on the road. So a hybrid is best for me but I still like the thought of mucking about with it a bit... I wonder what slicker tyres on my Cannondale would feel like? (Pashley has beautiful cream Schwalbe Marathons and I have never had a puncture since riding it, touch wood, so heavy as they are, I'm sticking with them! But Cannondale still has its original tyres that are not slick but also not out and out nobbly..... I do keep wondering about changing them out!)

Good luck for the weekend!

thanks Joffery.

Final training ride is complete! 13.2 miles in 50 minutes, which I'm very happy with considering the hills, the crappy roads, junctions and losing my chain!

I got Continental Ultrasport tyres from Halfords. Halfords links don't work, but it's item number 806398. They are a really good deal atm, £12.49 down from £21.99 plus if you buy two, you save 25% on the second. So I got two for £21.86!! They have made a LOT of difference, particularly on the uphills!

These are the handlebars. I love them. The ends are actually adjustable so you can set the position you want. The ones I had before were the sort of moustache type, prob the same as you have on your pashley? These allow me to get a far flatter position. The ends I find are great for pulling up hills, and the tops I find put me in a similar position to the drops on the road bike - great for downhills!

I love pashley bikes! They are sooo pretty. It's def worth swapping and changing bits to get it right though. Mine has also had a new back wheel, I still need to change the front to match, and better brake pads, which made a huge difference to stopping distance.

50 mins including losing your chain? You're going to ace it! Have fun on Sunday! Be interested to hear how you get on.

I like those handlebars. Am not sure what would suit but I'm not madly invested in keeping the bike 'in character' if you know what I mean - am all about comfort!

Those tyres do sound a good deal. I usually buy on Wiggle - although British Cycling no longer seem to offer the Wiggle discount, only a Halfords one so I may look at Halfords, too... (Well, when I have more money - soon though I hope!)

Joffrey - there's no such thing as 'too old for a road bike'. Is there? . Did your husband's bike fit you? My first road bike was too big for me and didn't work for me anything like as well as one that does.

Chops - IMO it's really hard to figure out how fast you can go on a flat, not-many-sharp-corners tri course, compared to how much ground you can cover on the road. I totally totally mis-estimated how fast I'd go in my last tri, just because it's rare you get to ride in those sort of conditions. It sounds like you'll do a great job.

Teams set off quite a bit before me I think (I'm 35-39 wave) so I won't be seeing you on the bike course! Hope you have a blast. Learning to swim is key for tri I think - it gives you so much confidence. I did a 1-day amazing learn-to-swim-front-crawl course last October. Almost overnight it turned me from someone who could barely do 25m of splashy exhausted crawl to someone who could swim up and down the pool reasonably stylishly and efficiently. It also spurred me back to doing sport....I started Couch 2 5k in November and here I am doing triathlons a few months later.

Damn, where did my post disappear to!

Joffery, I dont think there is such a thing as too old. A lady on a Breeze cycle ride I did last week was shopping for road bikes and she must be mid 50s at least :)

Pootle, that is amazing, well done you!! Maybe next year we will race together - I am 35!! I'm going to do the lessons starting sept then the girl doing the swim on our team has offered to teach me too, which will be great for the transition to open water. We're on at 12, apparently the only relay at 12, not sure what the mates challenge thing is about.

Good luck tomorrow, Chops! Hopefully it inspires you to do the whole thing and I'll perhaps see you on a start line next season :)

How was it, Chopstheduck? I tried to spot you....heard the announcer say the Team Mel C cyclist was on the way but I was the far side of transition area at the time, and then faffing with kit & last minute loo trip etc.

See you on the start line next year?

It was amazing! I had the best time ever. Our rack was right at the far side too - right where the swimmers come out. I must have come straight past you. I did it in 45.01, which in very happy with.

How did you get on?

I'm def up for it next year. Our swimmer will prob be back too.

I didn't love the headwind but did really love the atmosphere and the tailwind bits. Hit my self-imposed target time and finished in the top 10 so I'm pretty happy

That's brilliant that you had such a good time you're up for it next year! And a very respectable first-tri bike time, especially in the wind.

top 10, well done you!!

Kudos to chops and pootle! Brilliant stuff.

Re. road bikes, it was more the dropped handlebars that bothered me, but my husband's old Claude Butler was way too big for me anyways! If I could ever afford another bike, I'd quite like something like a tourer. I'd have to drop some serious weight for a road bike! (But eating cleaner again and cycling every other day, so hopefully some weight loss might happen...)

The more I think about it, the more I think I want to get some slicker tyres on my Cannondale. Think it would make a difference...