Weird health issue



flapsupcleanup

New Member
Aug 14, 2004
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I've been a strong rider for years, races, lots of fast group rides, etc. Even though I'm sorta old (recently turned 60) I can generally hold my own with the young bucks.

Early in this last season I had a ride or two where I bonked pretty badly and even though I didn't think it should have happened I just chalked it up to not eating or drinking right. Now when I bonk, the first thing I notice is achiness in my shoulders and neck and then it deteriorates quickly and I'm done.

After this I started feeling this "pre-bonk" achiness whenever I rode, even on very easy rides. It got to the point where I simply could not generate any power and I had a difficult time keeping up with even recreational riders. My first thought was that the bike fit which was a bit aggressive had finally caught up with my years so I had a big time fit done, raised the bars, eased everything up. After the fit and even redoing it again I still had the same symptoms. And even when I wasn't on the bike, I could still feel a strange neck and shoulder "fatigue" which made me feel vaguely disoriented all the time.

After several weeks of this I finally went to my doc who did a neck xray and although he said I had some arthritis and minor disc issues he didnt find a smoking gun.

So I went on my planned European cycling trip in the Alps which I do every year and I just suffered. One particular climb which I had done in 2 hours the year before without really pushing took me 2hrs and 40minutes and I was hurting.

About a week or so after I got back from Europe magically everything clicked and I was back to my old self on the bike. I felt strong, rode well and I even went back to the old aggressive stance and have been fine ever since. This whole scenario took about 3 months and I basically lost the season.

Has anyone else ever had something like this? I'm starting to think that I was on the wrong track assuming it was a neck/shoulder problem caused by the bike and that I had some sort of bug which sapped my power. I sure don't want to go through that again!