Ouch ouch my feet!

lost_in_thought

OK, so, as I have mentioned in the Ride Reports thread, I managed my first solo 100km today. Yay me.

Now, I had some minor backside achiness, and some very mild hand pain which was sorted out by moving hand positions, but my feet. My poor feet. They still hurt now, particularly the left.

When I'm riding along, they don't hurt when I'm turning the pedals, but as soon as I coast they start to ache.

It's sort of like a mild pressure pain on the balls of the feet, but the main ouchiness is along the outside of the foot, sort of from the outside of the ball of the foot to the point opposite the highest part of the arch. It's now achy and tingling slightly, which is very odd.

Ouch. Any suggestions?

-spider-

Do you need wider shoes? I had this problem with running shoes (many years ago).

whyamihere

You weren't wearing your SPD sandals were you?

lost_in_thought

No, I was not, whyamihere! I was wearing Mavic Avenirs with speedplays...

And, Spider, possibly I suppose, although they don't feel too narrow.

Wallace1492

Can you get SPD sandals? Would hav loved some of them in France the last 2 weeks

lost_in_thought

Yep, search Shimano SD60 or SD65.

Wallace1492

Fantastic!! Never knew these existed, wish I had found out about these a month or so ago, as was cycling a lot in France for a couple of weeks and joked about getting SPD Sandals, do you use them?

lost_in_thought

Wallace1492 wrote:

Fantastic!! Never knew these existed, wish I had found out about these a month or so ago, as was cycling a lot in France for a couple of weeks and joked about getting SPD Sandals, do you use them?

A lot, yes, for commuting from about may to about october. They don't make my feet hurt! I wonder if it is the shoes... but then I don't do that sort of distance on the FG.

jonginge

lost_in_thought wrote:

Wallace1492 wrote:

Fantastic!! Never knew these existed, wish I had found out about these a month or so ago, as was cycling a lot in France for a couple of weeks and joked about getting SPD Sandals, do you use them?

A lot, yes, for commuting from about may to about october. They don't make my feet hurt! I wonder if it is the shoes... but then I don't do that sort of distance on the FG.

Could be they're too narrow. Sometimes it's diificult to tell until you do a long ride.

It could be that you've done the straps/ratchet too tight and are restricting blood flow*. Feet tend to swell a bit on long rides.

As the pain is mainly on the outside of the foot it could be you need wedges (my memory may be playing tricks but I think Jash uses some). May need a bikefit to diagnose.

* Edit: I have inadvertantly over-tightened my mavics and got sore feet as a result.

cjcp

As JG says, the straps might be a bit tight.

Aidy

lost_in_thought wrote:

Ouch. Any suggestions?

lost_in_thought wrote:

They don't make my feet hurt!

Wear the sandals!

SPD sandals are awesome

greg66_tri_v2.0

Sounds quite similar to ski boot ache. As JG suggested, maybe straps are too tight; possibly shoes are a bit narrow (for your flipper feet).

If the shoes are new, they should spread over time. May also be new experience pain - IOW, your feet will adapt the more long rides you do and the pain will eventually go away.

In short, it's the same advice as always.

W

T

F

U

:twisted:

Aidy

Greg66 wrote:

In short, it's the same advice as always.

W

T

F

U

:twisted:

Widen The Footwear Units?

lost_in_thought

Hmmmm, I will have to experiment with strap tightness, methinks.

I shall perhaps also swap the Northwaves that live in London for the Mavics that live up here, and see if I have the same problem.

New experience pain? Well, although this is the first time I've gone over 100k riding solo, I've done several 40-50m rides with some foot pain, and a couple of other 100k+ rides with others, and there has been some foot pain, alleviated by removing shoes, but this is particularly bad. I can't quite work out what's changed.

And yes, I do have flipper feet. That's why I was good at swimming.

Jay dubbleU

Lit - when you wear normal shoes ie non cycling shoes do the heels wear more on the outside or the inside ? Most of us don't put our feet down completely flat and this can cause some strain over long distances - I had this problem on my first long distance walk but it can be sorted by getting your shoes fitted properly

Harry182

I used to pump my tires up to the maximum - 120psi - and found the soles of my feet were getting sore on longer rides.

Based on handling, rolling resistance, puncture resistance advice on other threads I now run my tires at 100psi.

As well as experiencing the above mentioned benefits - no more foot pain!

snig

try drinking loads and strectch before and after,with such a long ride your muscles will be taking a beating,if your hamstring starts pulling because of a lack of water or just the work load that will effect your feet but also your feet will swell over that distance so shoes that might fit at the start by the end may well be a size too small.

andrewjoseph

I had this when I first started riding on my roadbike, took me a long time to sort out. I still get it occasionally, but after I've been 'mashing' a bit, or when I pull up too hard from the bottom of the stroke.

I find it a lot easier on my feet when I spin, and try not to pull up at all.

il_principe

JonGinge wrote:

As the pain is mainly on the outside of the foot it could be you need wedges (my memory may be playing tricks but I think Jash uses some). May need a bikefit to diagnose.

* Edit: I have inadvertantly over-tightened my mavics and got sore feet as a result.

I use some custom footbeds as I've got strange feet, those combined with Spesh shoes have eliminated any foot pain. But, yeah you may well have over tightened them. Also your feet will swell more on longer rides, esp when it's warm - perhaps that was a contributing factor?

lost_in_thought

Hmmm, I always have my tyres at the max PSI, so don't think it's that...

Maybe you do have something with the 'warmer weather = more swollen feet' thing. The other 100k+ rides I've done have been in cooler weather, so maybe it's the distance in the warm weather that did it.

I will try looser straps on the next ride. Thanks kids.

Harry182

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmm, I always have my tyres at the max PSI, so don't think it's that...

Please let me clarify: Try running your tires at LESS than the max - say 90 or 100 PSI instead of 120. It's gotta be worth a try.

lost_in_thought

Harry182 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmm, I always have my tyres at the max PSI, so don't think it's that...

Please let me clarify: Try running your tires at LESS than the max - say 90 or 100 PSI instead of 120. It's gotta be worth a try.

Yes, I apologise, I understood what you were saying, but my point was seeing as I always run my tyres at or near to max PSI, the variant that is causing the foot pain can't be that as it's a constant over 3 bikes, not all of which give me foot pain...

Does that make more sense?

Harry182

lost_in_thought wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmm, I always have my tyres at the max PSI, so don't think it's that...

Please let me clarify: Try running your tires at LESS than the max - say 90 or 100 PSI instead of 120. It's gotta be worth a try.

Yes, I apologise, I understood what you were saying, but my point was seeing as I always run my tyres at or near to max PSI, the variant that is causing the foot pain can't be that as it's a constant over 3 bikes, not all of which give me foot pain...

Does that make more sense?

That does make sense.

And not to belabour the point but... I only experienced ball-of-foot-numbness on my new bike with it's much more stiff (in a good way) frame and wheels compared to my classic (read "old") steel frame and open pros. I assume you did your 100+ ride on the Viner? It's probably your stiffest (again in a good way) bike/wheels.

If loosening the straps doesn't work, try slightly lowering the PSI.

desweller

I was told that this is a symptom of feet being too wide apart. Is it possible for you to move your cleats to the outside of your shoes a bit? Say 5mm on both shoes?

Des

always_tyred

lost_in_thought wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

lost_in_thought wrote:

Hmmm, I always have my tyres at the max PSI, so don't think it's that...

Please let me clarify: Try running your tires at LESS than the max - say 90 or 100 PSI instead of 120. It's gotta be worth a try.

Yes, I apologise, I understood what you were saying, but my point was seeing as I always run my tyres at or near to max PSI, the variant that is causing the foot pain can't be that as it's a constant over 3 bikes, not all of which give me foot pain...

Does that make more sense?

Lit, this is just because you aren't used to racing shoes. I bet your normal commuting shoes, particularly the sandals, are pretty soft in comparison.

Hotspots are pretty common. Usually at the balls of the feet, but can be elsewhere depending on your pedaling style.

Loosening will help, but you don't want to have your foot shifting around in the heel area as a result.

Try some different insoles. Shoe makers like Carnac make high density foam ones which conform to your feet, but don't soak up pedaling energy. I'm sure you could find something similar at your local footwear emporium.

lost_in_thought

DesWeller wrote:

I was told that this is a symptom of feet being too wide apart. Is it possible for you to move your cleats to the outside of your shoes a bit? Say 5mm on both shoes?

Des

That's a new idea... I have my feet as far out as they'll go on the pedals, because otherwise a) it feels a tad uncomfortable, and b) my heels rub on the stays.

I'll add it to the list!

lost_in_thought

Always Tyred wrote:

Lit, this is just because you aren't used to racing shoes. I bet your normal commuting shoes, particularly the sandals, are pretty soft in comparison.

Hotspots are pretty common. Usually at the balls of the feet, but can be elsewhere depending on your pedaling style.

Loosening will help, but you don't want to have your foot shifting around in the heel area as a result.

Try some different insoles. Shoe makers like Carnac make high density foam ones which conform to your feet, but don't soak up pedaling energy. I'm sure you could find something similar at your local footwear emporium.

OK, to clarify, although I take your point about my commuting shoes being softer, I don't think it's that I'm unused to the racing shoes, I've been wearing these since I got the bike, on some rides longer than 100k, and many rides shorter, but close. I've had some foot pain on previous rides in the same shoes, but this was worse.

I'll look at the insoles though!

always_tyred

lost_in_thought wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

Lit, this is just because you aren't used to racing shoes. I bet your normal commuting shoes, particularly the sandals, are pretty soft in comparison.

Hotspots are pretty common. Usually at the balls of the feet, but can be elsewhere depending on your pedaling style.

Loosening will help, but you don't want to have your foot shifting around in the heel area as a result.

Try some different insoles. Shoe makers like Carnac make high density foam ones which conform to your feet, but don't soak up pedaling energy. I'm sure you could find something similar at your local footwear emporium.

OK, to clarify, although I take your point about my commuting shoes being softer, I don't think it's that I'm unused to the racing shoes, I've been wearing these since I got the bike, on some rides longer than 100k, and many rides shorter, but close. I've had some foot pain on previous rides in the same shoes, but this was worse.

I'll look at the insoles though!

I have just retired a set of ancient shoes, much softer than the "weekend shoes" I have. Even though both are several years old and I've used them both quite a lot, I still get hoptspots occasionally with the weekend shoes.

Note also that a solo 100k is a lot harder a lot more of the time than a group 100k.

Honestly, you young people, you won't be told.... oh, hang on, wrong thread.

Bugly

try orthotics - same reasoning as with skiing - give your arches support

good support = less or no pain

PinkPedal

I suspect you've probably already looked at this but I had sore outsides of my feet and some knee pain which was solved by angling my cleats so my left foot could point slightly outwards when clipped in. Might be worth a try?

chaz81

Have you called the Swine Flu emergency telephone number? :oops:

I think that might be a symptom of the terminal type...

Sorry.