bad neck and headaches after rides

k3vinjam3s

Being new to road cycling and only having my first road bike for less than a month I'm having a couple of niggling problems. As I'm starting to up the mileage after the longer rides the back of my neck is really tense and sore and this is leading to a headache/migrane. I know I'm adequately hydrated so assume is the new position that I'm not used to yet. Is this likely to get better because at the moment its becoming unbearable!

rick_chasey

Might want to raise your position slightly so you're not straining your neck so much to look ahead.

Is your helmet on a little tight?

The neck-ache gets better the more you ride. I used to get it a lot. No more.

Bozman

The headaches disappeared when i had the snip!

rpd_steve

?!? Where's the link there? lol

I wouldnd worry too much. Its quite normal to get it as you start, but not to cause migranes ect... You can make sure that all of the spacers for your step are below the stem, and if they are allready then you can flip your stem. (They normally angle down so you can have it angled up to make the bars higher).

Then as you get more flexable over time you can drop it again. You dont want to worry about being in pain when you could ease into it.

tiredofwhiners

Also if you are overreaching (i.e. arms locked out) then all the vibrations from the road go up your arms and into your neck. If your arms are more 'relaxed' then t=your elbows will act as shock absorbers and the neck strain will reduce.

Also, don't grip the bars like you;re squeezing the life out of them.

wishitwasallflat

If you can afford it a bike fit should sort it all out and set you up nicely for trouble free cycling ahead. Failing that any new activity will raise muscle soreness and stiffness. The neck positions required on road bikes are pretty unnatural - look at how someones head sits relative to their body when their standing or walking compared to on a road bike (especially for all the fit reasons cited above) so be sure to work up to longer distances, times and efforts steadily and let your body learn and adjust to this new position. If you are pretty fit it could well be that your overall strenght and fitness have allowed you to go out a bit too hard too soon and your neck hasn't had time to adjust - if you back off a bit and rebuild more slowly then that could well sort it out. Lots of forms of exercise will build CV fitness and leg strenght so cycling can feel easy when you start but very few forms of exercise build the muscles which hold your neck in that position - perhaps snooker is one of the few!

k3vinjam3s

The above makes sense a lot to me and was what I was thinking. Ive been weight training for about 10 years and have always trained my legs and kept myself fit. As I've made the transition to road cycling I've found I've need able to push myself quite hard without much leg ache so maybe it is the rest of my body catching up so to speak. I guess ill have to put up with it till it gets better as I'm not one for holding back.

As for the bike fit. I'm not sure if anywhere near me does them, I live in stockton-on-tees in Teesside. How much do they normally cost like?

wishitwasallflat

k3vinjam3s wrote:

As for the bike fit. I'm not sure if anywhere near me does them, I live in stockton-on-tees in Teesside. How much do they normally cost like?

Small world my friend I am over in Darlo! Bike fits seems to be around the £100-120 mark for a full proffesional job. The only place I know of near us that does them is the Specialized Concept Store in Harrogate but I am sure there must be places nearer than that. Try asking at Westbrook Cycles Stokesly or Cestria Cycles in Chester le Street as they both have very good reps as serious roadie shops and I am sure they would know who does good fits in our area. Failing that post on here with a new thread - Good bike fitter in Tees Valley - and I am sure someone will reccomend somewhere.

k3vinjam3s

wishitwasallflat wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

As for the bike fit. I'm not sure if anywhere near me does them, I live in stockton-on-tees in Teesside. How much do they normally cost like?

Small world my friend I am over in Darlo! Bike fits seems to be around the £100-120 mark for a full proffesional job. The only place I know of near us that does them is the Specialized Concept Store in Harrogate but I am sure there must be places nearer than that. Try asking at Westbrook Cycles Stokesly or Cestria Cycles in Chester le Street as they both have very good reps as serious roadie shops and I am sure they would know who does good fits in our area. Failing that post on here with a new thread - Good bike fitter in Tees Valley - and I am sure someone will reccomend somewhere.

Ha ha it is a small world isn't it. Where do you normally ride? I get out to the outskirts of darlo like sadberge, woodham and newton aycliffe. Looking for rides further afield but unsure of which roads are good to ride and cycle friendly.

Chris James

Do you wear anything under your helmet? The headache could be due to cold air?

I sometimes get headaches between the eyes in spring if I don't wear a cap under my helmet.

Just a thought.

g00se

And another quick thought - do you use a helmet with a visor? If you do, it may be forcing you to ride with your neck craned back too far to see under the peak. Also, it breaks rule #35 http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/

k3vinjam3s

Normal road helmet with a small visor but it doesn't restrict my view. The headache itself I think comes from the neck ache afterwards as its always at the back of my head. So I don't think the cooler air is responsible.

g00se

Would flipping the stem bring the bars up a little? Might be worth trying for a while to see if that helps? Also, when riding, does you're body 'fall' into your shoulders? Maybe you should try making a concerted effort to curve your shoulders down to bring your neck up - together with bending your arms a little. I know when I'm a bit bushed, I've got the habit of locking my arms and leaning forward so that my shoulders are further back - compared to my spine - than they should be.

Peddle Up!

Bozman wrote:

The headaches disappeared when i had the snip!

Your headaches, or hers?

joshr96

Stem might be a bit long. That might be causing the bad necks.

Monty Dog

+1 on over-reaching - try flipping the stem or fitting a shorter one such that you can ride with relaxed grip and elbows that aren't locked

robcretro

got 1st road bike a few months ago,was getting stiff painful neck , no headaches.
tried exercises i used to do in pilates, stretch neck in all directions, hold for about 10 seconds.
all ok now, and i'm 64 so not as supple nowadays.

wishitwasallflat

{quote="k3vinjam3s"]Ha ha it is a small world isn't it. Where do you normally ride? I get out to the outskirts of darlo like sadberge, woodham and newton aycliffe. Looking for rides further afield but unsure of which roads are good to ride and cycle friendly.[/quote]

I'm in Heighington which is about 8 miles west of Darlo - there are loads of good routes - from here - I don't have a GPS so can't send you any saved routes but on Google maps plot route from Heighington to Melsonby (B6276 B6275) turn of to Melsonby and come back up B6274 to Winston then Staindrop and back via Ingelton B 6279. All around inside the Melsonby/Peircebridge/Winston triangle is full of nice roads (quite country roads but very dirty this time of year!). I also do A 688 out to Barnard Castle and find it not too bad. Or try A 68 out from Darlo to Toft Hill and out towards Hamsterly - again I find the A 68 not too bad and there are some great (hard for me but I am not a strong rider!!) hills! Come of the A 68 up around Toft Hill and roam around that area and there are again nice back roads but be prepared for cleaning sessions afterwards!

deepblue

this was EXACTLY the problem i have logged on to ask about tonight (minus the headaches)
hope you dont mind me piggy backing your thread?

i did 28 miles last Sat and have been in agony for a week now.
i initially put this down to not being used to the postion as i am coming from MTBing and this is the first time i have been on a 'racer' as i used to call them for probably 25 years.

the one over riding impression my 3 rides have left me with is the ammount of vibration and bumps that travel through the bike into the saddle and h/bars (being used to a hardtail MTB with wide squishy fat tyres this was a bit of a shock to be honest)

i did have my bike 'fitted' but once at home immediately lowered the seat as i felt i was much too high up and it wasnt inspiring confidence..

so to add to this thread, i am inclined to go with the theory that my position is leading to a lot of shocks travelling into my shoulders - but seeing as though i was fitted (and then lowered the seat) should i go back and be re fitted or simply higher the seat again?

i hope this is not a serious problem as my 3 rides have got me close to sticking my Scott Scale on ebay and committing fully to being a roadie....

k3vinjam3s

wishitwasallflat wrote:

{quote="k3vinjam3s"]Ha ha it is a small world isn't it. Where do you normally ride? I get out to the outskirts of darlo like sadberge, woodham and newton aycliffe. Looking for rides further afield but unsure of which roads are good to ride and cycle friendly.

I'm in Heighington which is about 8 miles west of Darlo - there are loads of good routes - from here - I don't have a GPS so can't send you any saved routes but on Google maps plot route from Heighington to Melsonby (B6276 B6275) turn of to Melsonby and come back up B6274 to Winston then Staindrop and back via Ingelton B 6279. All around inside the Melsonby/Peircebridge/Winston triangle is full of nice roads (quite country roads but very dirty this time of year!). I also do A 688 out to Barnard Castle and find it not too bad. Or try A 68 out from Darlo to Toft Hill and out towards Hamsterly - again I find the A 68 not too bad and there are some great (hard for me but I am not a strong rider!!) hills! Come of the A 68 up around Toft Hill and roam around that area and there are again nice back roads but be prepared for cleaning sessions afterwards![/quote]

your not far from where i do a lot of my riding. im mainly on the country roads about 5 or 6 miles east of you. with little villages such as great stainton, little stainton, stillington, bishopton. these roads all interlink and are nearly always quiet. also the bank going into great stainton is just right for my hill climbing ability right now as i can choose to power up it off the saddle or up my cadance in a low gear and feel a burn lol. ill check out some of the roads you suggested but probably come up from melsonby and south of darlo to around where you are now. im hoping i can really start upping the mileage soon so these are all good suggestions of where to go. thank alot

wishitwasallflat

k3vinjam3s wrote:

im mainly on the country roads about 5 or 6 miles east of you. with little villages such as great stainton, little stainton, stillington, bishopton. these roads all interlink

I ride those roads too but only at weekends or in the middle of work days - that's my commute road into work and most folk use it as a race track (nice roads though so I pick my times on them carefully). You alway see loads of riders on them so maybe I am over cautious. Down Melsonby way and that part is nice riding as well and driving is a bit saner in my experience.

k3vinjam3s

wishitwasallflat wrote:

k3vinjam3s wrote:

im mainly on the country roads about 5 or 6 miles east of you. with little villages such as great stainton, little stainton, stillington, bishopton. these roads all interlink

I ride those roads too but only at weekends or in the middle of work days - that's my commute road into work and most folk use it as a race track (nice roads though so I pick my times on them carefully). You alway see loads of riders on them so maybe I am over cautious. Down Melsonby way and that part is nice riding as well and driving is a bit saner in my experience.

I agree that these roads can be abused by some drivers. I tend to use them mainly at quiet times of the day. No doubt we have passed each other lol. If so I'm the bulky looking chap on the black giant defy 1!

andrewjoseph

deepblue wrote:

...so to add to this thread, i am inclined to go with the theory that my position is leading to a lot of shocks travelling into my shoulders - but seeing as though i was fitted (and then lowered the seat) should i go back and be re fitted or simply higher the seat again?...

are your arms out straight and locked, are you lifting your neck up a lot? what pressures and size are your tyres?

keep yourself relaxed, maybe raise the stem in you can, lower tyre pressure amd keep a bend in your elbows.

the saddle position should be the base from which everything else flows. get the foot/pedal, saddle/knee position right, then work on the rest.