New member and 1st time post

[Ohio2Erie]

Been riding as an adult since mid 80's. Started racing in 89 and raced until July 4 weekend of 96. Suffered a right knee injury during that race (mtn bike). Still got 1st place for my age group. Not bragging, just want to offer some background. At that point I had attained level of cat 3 road, and expert mtn bike. When it was still USCF and NORBA. Looks like now all racing is handled through USA cycling, correct? Right knee surgery spring of 97...recuperation period and was riding again that summer. Knee is fine, its a little "gravely" and minor clicks but its been checked out and all is good. My son was born Dec 2001, my daughter Feb 2003. Needless to say my wife & I were very busy after the kids came. Point is my last race was the one in 96. I bought a Fuji cross bike six years ago and fell in love with it, so much so that I have barely touched my road or mtn bikes. I started back on the road bike 10 days ago. I have long had osteoarthritis (OA) in my cervical vertebrae, (back of neck). I did 4-5 hours on the road bike, and afterward the OA flared up worse than ever. I see my MD in 1 week, but I don't think he will be able to do much for me. I'm taking Ibuproven and that helps better than Tylenol. Naproxen used to make me nauseous, but I will take some again and see if it helps. Lidocaine 4% patches don't help much, nor does Voltaren gel. I have long wanted my kids to watch their dad race at least one time. I'm all about building good memories for them. I'll be 62 in April, still in good shape. I still have some go-go juice left in me. I raced at 146-147 pounds and currently at 151. I want to do a cross race this fall near my home, and my kids are going to come watch. I believe the organizers do a masters race. Nice smallish course, the kids can walk around and see a lot. I know from experience that I need to start back doing road riding with a group for good training e.g. intervals, hills, sprints. I need help with this neck OA, its very painful. If there is anyone out there that can offer advice please do so. If there is a "health guru" on this forum I would greatly appreciate if I could contact that person. Trust me when I say that changing position on the bike via stem, bars, brake hoods, saddle height does not help. Thank you very much!

 

[cobbwheels]

Trust me when I say that changing position on the bike via stem, bars, brake hoods, saddle height does not help. Thank you very much!

Welcome old timer! You should try using both suspension seatpost and suspension stem / suspension fork. Something from Suntour or Redshift brands. Road bumps hitting your front wheel gets transmitted to your arms, then shoulder, and ultimately your neck. Road bumps hitting your rear wheel is transmitted to your spine and then your neck. They make a huge difference in riding comfort, especially on long rides.

I remember when I hit sharply protruding road stripes at a certain speed, the bike is knocked around violently, I can feel the violent vibration on my teeth so it's definitely putting a strain on my neck too. This is where the suspension seatpost and stem comes in. To protect your body and neck from shocks so you can last much longer on rides.

You probably haven't tried sitting fully upright on a bike like people do in a Dutch bike. But this is a valid option if nothing else works. Doing this on a road bike means having your dropbar at the same height as your saddle and using a very short stem like the stem on downhill MTB's. Since you ride MTB's, the handling with very short stem shouldn't be a problem to you. You will sacrifice your aerodynamic posture here and cause a lot of drag and make your slower......But if nothing else works, you have no choice but to do the Dutch bike position.

 

[Ohio2Erie]

Welcome old timer! You should try using both suspension seatpost and suspension stem / suspension fork. Something from Suntour or Redshift brands. Road bumps hitting your front wheel gets transmitted to your arms, then shoulder, and ultimately your neck. Road bumps hitting your rear wheel is transmitted to your spine and then your neck. They make a huge difference in riding comfort, especially on long rides.

I remember when I hit sharply protruding road stripes at a certain speed, the bike is knocked around violently, I can feel the violent vibration on my teeth so it's definitely putting a strain on my neck too. This is where the suspension seatpost and stem comes in. To protect your body and neck from shocks so you can last much longer on rides.

You probably haven't tried sitting fully upright on a bike like people do in a Dutch bike. But this is a valid option if nothing else works. Doing this on a road bike means having your dropbar at the same height as your saddle and using a very short stem like the stem on downhill MTB's. Since you ride MTB's, the handling with very short stem shouldn't be a problem to you. You will sacrifice your aerodynamic posture here and cause a lot of drag and make your slower......But if nothing else works, you have no choice but to do the Dutch bike position.

Thank you very much for responding. I do appreciate it. I have considered what you suggest, but I don't want the added weight of those components to my road bike. Frame & fork are carbon fiber and does help with road chatter. I already ride with a short stem. Dutch position would certainly help, but I don't want to sacrifice aerodynamics and speed. Over the past several weeks I've been adding lot's of bumpy/chattery elements to a cx course I started developing six years ago. Rode that course for 3 hours yesterday evening, focusing on how I am riding it. I think that is a big part of the problem. Moving forward i'm going to ride that course more out of the saddle, thus letting my legs and arms take the hit with the bike "bouncing" under me. I am also going to start doing free weights, or another type of workout to strengthen my arms, upper back and neck muscles, (i'll research it) to find best and safest workout. And neck stretching, also possibly neck traction. I see the MD next week. Likewise on the road bike more out of the saddle riding, so incorporate some steep hills. Hopefully all of that will help. Thank you again for reaching out, I truly do appreciate it.

 

[cobbwheels]

I think that is a big part of the problem. Moving forward i'm going to ride that course more out of the saddle, thus letting my legs and arms take the hit with the bike "bouncing" under me. I am also going to start doing free weights, or another type of workout to strengthen my arms, upper back and neck muscles, (i'll research it) to find best and safest workout. And neck stretching, also possibly neck traction. I see the MD next week. Likewise on the road bike more out of the saddle riding, so incorporate some steep hills. Hopefully all of that will help. Thank you again for reaching out, I truly do appreciate it.

You're welcome! You have your own CX course, damn! Not many of us owns enough land to make our own course!

Some of the suspension seatpost designs are as light and obscure as regular seatposts. Take for instance this carbon seatpost design (Canyon and Specialized make these and other manufacturers):

I really think you need it in your special case (neck OA) especially when riding a CX course for 3 hrs. Not really needed in a short <1 hr ride, you can stand all you want. But in >3 hr ride in bumpy terrain, you'll wear out your legs standing way too often. Sitting more will save your legs for attacks and sprints and it's only tolerable to sit over bumpy sections with some sort of suspension, this is why full suspension XC MTB are becoming more popular in long XC MTB races.

 

[Ohio2Erie]

I had no idea those post's were out there. I was thinking old style suspension post's. I will definitely look into that, maybe tonight. Thank you! I wish I owned enough land to put in a CX course. I live in Loveland Ohio, 2 miles from the Ohio to Erie, paved, multi-use trail. Thus my username. If I remember correctly when the O2E trail is completed it will be the 3rd longest system in the country. Running for a good 20 miles, parallel to the paved trail, where it goes through Loveland, is a dirt and gravel trail, legal to ride, but it's all pretty much flat. Within a 2.5 mile section of that trail, there are 3 wooded sections with trails that I can drop into, also legal. So I do that for a few hours, then back up the hill toward home where there are a couple of other areas that I can ride.

 

[cobbwheels]

I had no idea those post's were out there. I was thinking old style suspension post's. I will definitely look into that, maybe tonight. Thank you! I wish I owned enough land to put in a CX course. I live in Loveland Ohio, 2 miles from the Ohio to Erie, paved, multi-use trail. Thus my username. If I remember correctly when the O2E trail is completed it will be the 3rd longest system in the country. Running for a good 20 miles, parallel to the paved trail, where it goes through Loveland, is a dirt and gravel trail, legal to ride, but it's all pretty much flat. Within a 2.5 mile section of that trail, there are 3 wooded sections with trails that I can drop into, also legal. So I do that for a few hours, then back up the hill toward home where there are a couple of other areas that I can ride.

Sounds like a lovely trail nothing like it around my place. I misunderstood your post and thought you built it.

I actually use old style suspension post. The one with accordion style rubber boot for gags and laughs because it's ridiculously cheap compared to the the model in the small picture I attached to my post!

I thought it's going to be incredibly useful in your 3 hr CX training. Because when I saw your neck OA flared up after 4-5 hrs that gave me a good idea on the problem. One of them is the neck muscles becoming fatigued after 4 hrs of riding. It's a very common issue among roadies. The neck muscles getting fatigued will absolutely factor in your neck OA pain.

One solution to strengthen your neck muscles against fatigue is riding more, another solution is smoothing your rides, (avoiding bumpy roads, or using wide tires or using seatpost suspension)

A seatpost suspension will certainly help avoid flaring up your neck OA during 3 hr CX training on bumpy trail....If the actual CX race is well under 2 hrs, you likely won't be needing the suspension post during the race and swap it out for a regular non-suspended seatpost to maximize your performance during the race.

 

[manojwyw]

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