Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Help Need in Work Commute & Mileage increase??

ok, i been biking on a program since early may. I have a road bike and started to bike to work. My round trip is anywhere from 27 miles to 38 miles in a day.

My goal is to bike at least 3.5 times a week an would love to bike everyday but, I seem to get aches and pains that are close to a somewhat serious injury. I know what serious injuries are since I use to do 5k and 10ks running. You get your knee hurt and you are out for a month or so. So in being cautios I lay off when I feel like an injury is comming on. The problem is I can not seem to get up over 70 miles a week in biking MOSTLY FLAT roads.

I use to run and at 38 years old I have picked up biking the last few years. I really started to seriously bike to work the begining of may.

The PROBLEM, is that I get all kinds of pains. Pains in my hamstring, pains in the front of my knees and basiclaly all over if I bike more than 2 times a week.

As of now I am putting in about 70 miles a week. It seems when I jump up to 3 times a week I hurt alot more and my legs are telling me hey you are close to knocking me out alot longer than just a few day s if you keep pushing it.

Additionally I am taking all kinds of suppliments to help my recovery.
1. Protien poweder.
2. B-6, B12 Glocusomien Condroytan or what ever it is.

I would like to put in over 100 miles a week which equates to 3 to 4 times a week for commuting. Is this realistic for 4 months of biking experience ??

Is there something that I am not looking at ??

Am I being too impatient ???

You may want to post this to the Commuting forum.

70 miles a week isn't too much if you have worked up to it slowly.

I think there are two likely sources of your problem.

First, there is a good possibility that you are having fit issues. The knee pain is very likely due to your seat height being incorrect, and your other pain could come from fit issues as well, especially if you are running clipless pedals. You local bicycle shop should be able to help you with this, as long as you ask them for someone who is experienced in fitting bicycles.

Second, cadence may be an issue. Aim to ride at 90RPM or greater for the bulk of your ride.

Finally, flexibility can also contribute to this. I had asymmetrical hamstring flexibility when I started, and that caused me to sit crooked on the bike and led to some weird back problems.

If you don't get relief, a good physical therapist with bicycle experience can work wonders.


cadence.

ericqu has some great points. I had this problem when I would mash up hills. I upped my cadence to 90 and problems went away. If you're going to be riding this much during the week, the fit suggestion is dead on. It's worth the money to get your bike dialed in for you. You mentioned you're taking in protein powder, but you don't say how much or what type. I started eating more protein after rides and it helped a lot, but I didn't use protein powder. I'd eat regular food if I could.

I would suggest you ask these questions in the commuting forum though. The people there have a lot of experience and great ideas as well.