Beginner's aches and pains.

graham_g
graham_g Posts: 652
edited April 2008 in Road beginners
I've been following the Cycling plus sportive training plan (for beginners) for the last month and beuilding up mileage. Did 60 miles at the weekend and felt OK with it until straight after the ride. My back is getting used to doing the longer distances but I'm getting lots of aching in my shoulders which goes beyond the ususal 'not used to it' discomfort that inflicts the rest of me!

Any ideas as to why my shoulders, particularly my right shoulder, should suffer?

Comments

  • TheBoyBilly
    TheBoyBilly Posts: 749
    Not sure why one shoulder is affected more then the other but are you sure your bike is set up correctly? You might just need a little tweak (e.g. saddle or bar position) here and there to take the weight off your shoulders
    To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity - Oscar Wilde
  • graham_g
    graham_g Posts: 652
    I've been doing some tweaking - saddle moved back slightly to take a little more weight off the arms. There is quite a large drop from saddle height to bar height (about 4") despite my having 50mm of spacers and the stem angled up! Ribble winter frames are obviously a bit too 'racey' in their geometry for me at this early stage.
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    ribble frames are very racy you are right - but that sounds like a fair few spacers and 4" height difference doesn't sound too bad.

    be cautious of moving the seat to deal with reach though. the seat layback should be adjusted so that your kneecap is directly over the pedal axle when the cranks are horizontal.

    reach should be changed by using a longer or shorter stem.

    re. the shoulders - you need to have the reach so that your arms are slightlybent - to absorb road bumps with your elbows flexing - not your shoulders

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