Does this happen to you? I’ve been logging serious mileage this year. Unfortunately, mostly on the training stand in the basement. I got out Sunday and it was amazing.
Anyway, it is not uncommon for me to do 100 miles in a week or so.
In the last couple months, my knees have started popping. Not all the time, but sometimes when I first start riding. This week, my quads have been super tight and my hamstrings are all twitchy. I was using clipless pedals for a while, but they seemed to go against my nature, so to speak. Now I’m back on toeclips and it’s a little better…
I read online that one should stretch to keep this from happening. Any advice? Glucosamine?
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04.28.09 at 11:04 am
Johnny
I was having quad weirdness and knee pain in the fall. It turned out that my seat was perfect — it was my pedaling. I was mashing my way up hills, instead of spinning in low gear. Pulling my knees in a little toward the top tube helped, too. Whenever i would detect it coming back, I’d notice I was returning to mashing (I’m stubborn, LOL).
04.28.09 at 2:04 pm
cube
Yeah, I seem to be duck-footed. My feet go out at the toes, and sometimes that feels more comfy, sometimes not. But maybe I also need to just slow down, go in a lower gear too.
04.28.09 at 9:36 pm
Allan
I rarely approach 100 miles in a week – more typical is 50-70 – but I used to have this all the time. I also used to ride in the highest gear I could.
I started using my lower gears more (for other reasons – I read it was more efficient) and it made a world of difference to my leg pain. Now I basically never have a problem. I don’t go slower than before – just on a lower gear.
I read that you should anticipate a hill; at the bottom, start dropping the gear down before you start having to grind. So that’s what I do. Try it.
04.29.09 at 10:44 am
Myke
If you’re experiencing any issues with your knees, it’s usually related to your pedals. Either not enough float, or improper cleat placement.
I definitely wouldn’t give up on the clipless pedals — especially if you’re going back to toeclips.