Dismounting from your bike



Uawadall

Well-Known Member
Jun 14, 2015
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I can usually deal with soreness and ride through the pain, but have had to get off the bike for a few minutes at times because of it. I like to do rides on unplanned routes from time to time and am more prone to this on those rides do to being unsure of whats next. To me, it feels like quitting sometimes, but theirs burning legs and theirs ON FIRE LEGS. Today wasn't too bad, 22 minutes of stopping on a 49.6 mile/3480 ft/16mph, but that was more stopping than I wanted.

Do you feel disappointment when you dismount from the bike before you wanted do to fatigue?
 
When you feel pain in any part of your body when you dismount, that simply means that you are abusing your body although an exception is when the bike is not yours and you are not used to it. But using your own bike and you experience discomfort, you have to re-program your riding schedule and itinerary. One of my legs has a swelling like a mouse when it suffers undue fatigue so maybe you have to be on the lookout for such symptoms.
 
Can't really over work your legs. That painful feeling means your muscles are working extremely hard. I would douse it away with protein and you should get a substantial small gain of muscle. Take a day or two off rinse and repeat.
 
Can't really over work your legs. That painful feeling means your muscles are working extremely hard. I would douse it away with protein and you should get a substantial small gain of muscle. Take a day or two off rinse and repeat.

I know myself well enough and recover pretty fast, its more of a hit to the pride type thing. Wether its a 30 or 80 miler, I don't like getting off the bike before I planned.I watch this youtube channel called cycle core and he's big on the importance of muscular endurance. You can have all the lungs in the world, but without muscular endurance, you'll get cooked out there. You are correct though, hard work and nutrition is the remedy for getting stronger.
 
I suffered from this during my younger years, but I seldom suffer from muscle aches nowadays. I guess it's because I'm a lot more fit and eat better. But it's perfectly okay to dismount your bike, and get some rest before re-commencing with your ride again.
 
Yes. Keep riding and man it up , hope that will go away. Is nothing too really serious to go and see a doctor. Or put some analgesic ointments, those really help to relieve your muscles from the pain.
 
Yes. Keep riding and man it up , hope that will go away. Is nothing too really serious to go and see a doctor. Or put some analgesic ointments, those really help to relieve your muscles from the pain.

Lol...this question this question was more about how other members fell when they make more stops than planned, not so much medical solution or reason why this happens. As fas as the "man up" thing, everybody has their limit before they make a stop or pack it in for the day. We can all only "man up" for a set distance before reality and fitness realities take over. Maybe I framed the question slightly wrong?

I think part of it is, I often expect too much out of myself. That 50 was the most climbing i've done in a while and was the day after a pretty fast group ride I did. It was also the first 50 miler I've done in a while. My sit bones were also a sore from the start. It was a great ride, but I want to get to the point where I can do 50-60 without stops. I ride often enough, but haven't done too many over 35-40 in the past few months. Heres a glimpse of last weeks mileage breakdown:

Mon:
Tues:18.2
Wed:24.4
Thurs:
Fri:
Sat:35.7
Sun: 50

Nothing to think about except getting use to bigger rides I guess.
 
I only stop to take a ****, fix a puncture or ask directions if lost on rides under 60 miles or so. And I rarely get lost 30 miles or less from home...

For those longer rides in the 80-120 mile range I'll take a short break to eat off the bike and trust me on this next bit...if I blow sky high and the power goes away, I WILL stop and do a quick self-massage of the legs. I may elevate the legs...take a quick walk about...eat a little more...stretch out...but, I'll get back aboard quickly and reduce the tempo and get home. Death march or low gear spinning. Whatever it takes. I try to keep it rolling.

Everyone stops. Sometime. Somewhere.

You'll start rolling longer miles and then longer, faster miles and the stopping will dissipate. Your legs will deal with the time-to-failure better as you increase your strength and endurance.

And never forge, "Pain is just weakness leaving your body.".
 
I only stop to take a ****, fix a puncture or ask directions if lost on rides under 60 miles or so. And I rarely get lost 30 miles or less from home...

For those longer rides in the 80-120 mile range I'll take a short break to eat off the bike and trust me on this next bit...if I blow sky high and the power goes away, I WILL stop and do a quick self-massage of the legs. I may elevate the legs...take a quick walk about...eat a little more...stretch out...but, I'll get back aboard quickly and reduce the tempo and get home. Death march or low gear spinning. Whatever it takes. I try to keep it rolling.

Everyone stops. Sometime. Somewhere.

You'll start rolling longer miles and then longer, faster miles and the stopping will dissipate. Your legs will deal with the time-to-failure better as you increase your strength and endurance.
And never forge, "Pain is just weakness leaving your body.".

You mentioning massaging your legs reminds me of an amusing incident that happened several years ago. We were all out doing a club ride. I stopped alongside the road to talk to one of my team mates. I mentioned that his wife would be along shortly, since she had stopped at the car dealership rest stop. He wanted to know what she was doing. I said she was chatting and eating. He then replied, that knowing her, she'd be on her back with her legs in the air. I knew what he meant, but was floored at how he said it. I then mentioned that if that were the case, the car dealership would be selling a lot of extra cars today with that kind of show. He never caught on and kept repeating himself. I shook my head and went on. :)
 
I can usually deal with soreness and ride through the pain, but have had to get off the bike for a few minutes at times because of it. I like to do rides on unplanned routes from time to time and am more prone to this on those rides do to being unsure of whats next. To me, it feels like quitting sometimes, but theirs burning legs and theirs ON FIRE LEGS. Today wasn't too bad, 22 minutes of stopping on a 49.6 mile/3480 ft/16mph, but that was more stopping than I wanted.

Do you feel disappointment when you dismount from the bike before you wanted do to fatigue?

If it's a warm day, I started getting a hot foot and definitely have to get off the bike to get the circulation going again in my foot.

I don't see how a lot of randonneurs do these long rides without getting off until a control comes up. I get stiff and have to take a breather off the bike.
 
I have a local route that I take quite often. It has a stretch of about a mile of climbing hard - 8% then 9% then 10% then 11% and then right near the top it changes to 12%. A week or two ago I had to stop near the top to take off my jacket because it was too damn hot. Then I was passed by three kids who had apparently been trying to catch me and couldn't. I wasn't riding very fast but at 11 and 12% there was no way I could safely mount so I had to walk to the top.

It bothered me a little that I had to stop because I didn't dress properly. But when I left my home it was pretty cold.

All these kids have been taking lessons from me and not stopping but I don't think that's a good idea. I ride at my pace because as an old fart I know my limits. But these kids push themselves really hard and should be stopping to catch their breath at the tops of these hills.

Unless you're training for racing I don't think that you should worry about stopping when you feel you should.
 
Either you are pushing yourself too much which if so you are going to damage muscles which will take a long time to heal which means you'll be off the bike a long time; OR, you're not spinning at a higher level of cadence, called spinning, which should be between 80 to 100 revolutions per minute in lower gears, if you're pushing, or mashing, in higher gears and cranking at 40 to 60 rpm's you put too much stress on your leg muscles. There is a method of training to improve power that does have 2 days out the week, spread out over a week, that all you do is mash that day, but you ride shorter distances when you do that, and you don't do that you hurt so much you can't ride or have to get off the bike to rest. The rest of the 3 to 4 days you're spinning at the higher rpm's and on those days you can ride longer distances, but again you don't ride till you are so tired you have to stop to rest.

The bike fit issue won't cause that severe of a reaction unless you have the seat so low that your knees almost hit your chest which I doubt you're doing. I'm not saying bike fit is not important, but unless the bike is severely poorly fitting to you the cause of your pain is more than likely not being caused by the fit, AGAIN, you may see some very minor improvements you get the bike fit more dialed in, you can either do that professionally at an LBS or see these web sites and try to do it yourself first before spending $200 plus parts, which is how I've always done it-by myself:
http://www.bikefit.com/s-13-road-bikes.aspx
http://www.cobbcycling.com/comfort-issues/mens-comfort-issues/ (scan down the page till you find your particular issues, but you know need their saddle to feel good!)
http://cyclingtips.com/2010/04/science-of-bike-fitting/

Muscle soreness that stays with you the following day IS NOT from lactic acid build up, lactic acid is completely washed out of your system in about 60 minutes after you stop riding. If you are sore the next day, but not in pain, then you should keep your legs moving but at a leisurely pace. Muscle pain while you ride is more than likely from over using under conditioned muscles, in other words you're pushing them to far too soon without the proper training to build them up.

If the pain only exist only while riding, then lactic acid could be part of the problem, but that is usually a burning sensation and not a pain. Read this site in regards to that: http://www.getridofthings.com/health/athletic-health/get-rid-of-lactic-acid/ Also make sure you stay well hydrated, you should drink 12 to 16 ounces of water before you ride, then consume over time about 8 ounces every 20 minutes (personally I take in my water in smaller gulps, about 2 ounces every 5 minutes); make sure you are breathing deeply through your nose using your diaphram (which means you need to do core excercises to improve your breathing) and then exhale out the mouth. You should also try working out at least 5 to 6 days a week with 1 to 2 days off as rest days and those rest days are spread out over the week not in succession.

If you get the burn feeling while riding simply back off the intensity and spin easy till it goes away.

Also immediately after riding you should first stretch out, then consume something that is high in protein. I happen to like Met-Rx Big 100 Colossal bars, their high in protein and filling, I carry these in my saddle bag to eat along the ride and eat another one when I get home. As food goes you should fine foods that are rich in magnesium, fatty acids, and vitamin B's, get this in food and NOT a pill!

You can also use baking soda but be careful with this stuff, all you need is 0.3 grams per 2 pounds of body weight in 12 ounces of water, for example a 170 pound person would only need about 1 ounce of baking soda; do not go more than the amount suggested (depending on body weight of course), in this case more is not better. (There are some web sites that suggest using more than I suggested, as much as twice as much, I disagree, it's better to use less and not be worried about overdoing it) You must also make sure that the baking soda powder is COMPLETELY dissolved before drinking it, nor take when you are over full with food or drink. Don't forget baking soda is high in salt so if you have issues with using too much salt don't do the baking soda routine, it can cause hypertension, congestive heart failure, kidney stones, and kidney failure, therefore do not use it at all if you have a history or family history of such problems. Baking soda is a last ditch effort in my opinion, and if doesn't work then stop using it.
 
I usually get irritated by pains and sores while riding, but in general I can handle it. If only I had a super comfy seat.
But riding for shorter periods of time should minimise any problems!
 
Some of these post are kind of funny. Its not some medical thing that will leave me broken, EVERYONE has there limits. Take guys like Weatherby and Bicycleman on this very forum who cycle up to 200 miles at a time. That is beyond impressive,but would you expect either to do 300,400 straight? We train hard to make are limits greater, but they are still there. I still remember my first ride, it was only 6 miles before my legs were very sore. I was fit at the time and could have easily ran 6. Next week, I did 15, week after, 18, 20, 30, 40,etc......Within a few months, I did my first metric century. I could have easily chocked it up to some medical thing, but that wouldn't make much sense.

Not trying to be rude or resistant to advice.This post was more about the feeling you get when you can't finish that monster hill or get off the bike for reprieve for few knowing you have 20 miles left.
 
I know how you feel. I hate when I set a goal and I believe I can achieve but fall short. How I deal with it is I set sub goals to the main one. For example, I should be able to cover x distance in x time. So, if ultimately fail the final goal, I would have at least accomplished one thing.
 
Even back when I was young, in fit, averaging 15,000 miles a year, and racing, and I still had issues going over 158 miles in one day, that was the longest ride I ever did and my **** hated me for a couple days afterwards. So some people can ride seemingly forever without pain others can't. Maybe the blame could be placed on the saddle for not being able to ride further without extreme discomfort, I don't know, I was using the most comfortable saddle that I had found for me in those days; or maybe my **** still wasn't tough enough but I find that hard to believe with all the training I had to do.
 

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