First Proper Ride ~20miles

G.Zero

Hi I am new here and very new to the world of road cycling,

For my 21st birthday on the 20th I got a Specialized allez sport 18, I have been looking around on this forum and various other sites and tried it out and absolutely love it!

Well I have been going on little rides around the village this week but today I thought I would have a crack at something more substantial sooo I set my alarm for 8:30 (not something that I regularly do being a university student!) got ready and off I went with a vague idea of where I was going. Just over an hour later and 19.6 miles done over quite a few hilly areas some rather rough road surfaces but a lot of fun and I think I may be hooked already!

I only stopped at that distance as my kneck and the arch of my left foot were aching quite a bit, if it wasn't for these I think I would have been able to go much further my legs don't ache whatsoever!

I was just wondering about why it could be that my arch of just my left foot ached could it be to do with the fact that I am only using the plain flatbed pedals with cheap running shoes? as I cannot afford to buy anything else for the bike yet should I just put up with it for now..

Also I am guessing my kneck it is just a case of getting used to it as I am not used to looking up for long periods of time.

Josh

Frank the tank

Welcome on board mate.

Flat pedals and trainers are not ideal and proper cycling shoes and clipless pedals would be a sensible first "upgrade" when funds afford it. The stiff neck is probably due to you being fresh,but, if it persists it could be the set-up of the bike.

peejay78

well done on your efforts.

i think you've answered your own question, as have others.

riding without a fully supportive and solid sole for a long distance makes your feet ache. similarly, not being used to a riding position makes you ache.

two very easily remediable situations.

MarcBC

It may sound daft, but what part of your foot are you putting on the pedals?

PS What part of the body is the kneck?

G.Zero

Thanks for the comments and making me feel welcome guys I think I am going to like it here!

Yer I guess I have answered my own questions I just wanted confirmation and you have given me that, I will be getting pedals and shoes as soon as I can afford to, would I be better off with road or mountain bike style pedals as I have never had clipless pedals or anything even similar...

MarcBC: Haha the neck :? oops

And I am using the balls of my feet like the guy in the LBS showed me.

Josh

optimisticbiker

G.Zero wrote:

Thanks for the comments and making me feel welcome guys I think I am going to like it here!

Yer I guess I have answered my own questions I just wanted confirmation and you have given me that, I will be getting pedals and shoes as soon as I can afford to, would I be better off with road or mountain bike style pedals as I have never had clipless pedals or anything even similar...

MarcBC: Haha the neck :? oops

And I am using the balls of my feet like the guy in the LBS showed me.

Josh

Neck ache is probably having the bars too low relative to the saddle so you are craning your neck back to look forward...

While the LBS isnt totally wrong, there is a school of thought that suggests the pedal axle should be just behind the ball of the foot. Clipless pedals and proper shoes help here, not only with more effective power transfer but also maintain accurate foot position.

If you plan to do long non-stop rides, go for road cleats (SPD-SL)... for anything where you might walk or have to clip in/out a lot (like a town commute) SPDs on a MTB shoes are better... IMHO (and for the record i use both)

Frank the tank

With regard MTB/road shoe/pedal combo OptimisticBikerider is bang on the money.

G.Zero, only you know your type of riding.

night_porter

Welcome to the forum and the pleasures of road biking.

If it is only your left foot causing problems I would suggest that you loosen the laces of your trainers a little bit and see how that goes.

Like the others I use clipless pedals and shoes but let's be honest there are more cyclists in the world that use normal shoes without feet hurting so I doubt that not using them is the cause of your problems. Even clipless pedals will hurt your feet if they are too tight!

As for the neck ache it could be as simple as not gripping the bars too tightly as this will make you strain your neck. But one 20 miler isn't really a cause for changing the setup of the bike yet. Just get used to it and if it is still a problem after 250 miles then either ask again or go back to the bike shop you bought it from where they can see you sitting on the bike and advise accordingly.

G.Zero

Stanley222 wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

With regard MTB/road shoe/pedal combo OptimisticBikerider is bang on the money.

+1

Welcome to the mad world of BikeRadar and road riding!!!

You will be skint from now on as any spare cash will be buying bits for your bike and clothing in your never ending cycling quest!!!

Thanks for the welcome with regards to being skint I was always skint before, as a student that likes to buy a lot of clothes and just general stuff it doesn't bode well for my bank account!

night_porter wrote:

Welcome to the forum and the pleasures of road biking.

If it is only your left foot causing problems I would suggest that you loosen the laces of your trainers a little bit and see how that goes.

Like the others I use clipless pedals and shoes but let's be honest there are more cyclists in the world that use normal shoes without feet hurting so I doubt that not using them is the cause of your problems. Even clipless pedals will hurt your feet if they are too tight!

As for the neck ache it could be as simple as not gripping the bars too tightly as this will make you strain your neck. But one 20 miler isn't really a cause for changing the setup of the bike yet. Just get used to it and if it is still a problem after 250 miles then either ask again or go back to the bike shop you bought it from where they can see you sitting on the bike and advise accordingly.

Thanks for the welcome and advise I will have a go at loosening the shoe and see if I am gripping too tightly.

And to the others thanks for your advise it is all being taken on board thanks for the advise on shoes OptimisticBiker

Josh

G.Zero

Hi guys just thought I would update, I went for a shorter but very hilly 16mile route today and had my shoes slightly looser and it did help so thanks for the help with that!

My neck still ached a little but not as much so I think it is just a case of getting used to it

Josh