Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - 5 hours on the saddle for the first time

Today i finally got a day off from work and decided to ride the entire length of the Van Fleet trail here in Florida. After five hours and 59.8 miles later i was done. when i first got home i felt light headed for a good 30 minutes or so. showered took a nap etc etc. well my legs feel fine,my lower back is ok but the pain on the bottom of my feet is a first for me. What cause it? is it "hot foot"? Im new to long distance so im not familiar with this. I commute to work twice a week and ride a local trail 2-3 times a week but I have never experienced this kind of discomfort.is it normal?

congrats on a new personal distance record! it'll be that much easier next time around.

if you felt light-headed when you got home, you might not have eaten & drank enough to keep yourself energized & hydrated. but if you did eat/drink enough, it could just be the jump in distance. you'll get used to it!

what kind of pedals are you using?

thanks for the reply! i have time rxs pedals on my bike.

Could be your feet are sensitive and you may need stiffer shoes with a custom made footbed.

thanks for the reply. i think custom shoes might be out of my reach right now.

Yes, your shoes may be at fault if you are suffering from "hot foot" or Morton's neuroma. It has to do with compression of the main nerve trunk that runs through the metatarsals, or small bones at the ball of the foot. The bones are pressed inwards, usually by small shoes, too thick socks for the shoes, or shoes done up too tightly.

Pedals usually have little to do with the problem if hard-soled cycling shoes are used. Soft soles and pedal intrusion cause bruising which is a rather different sensation to hot foot.

You will need to examine the size of your shoes, and maybe go a size larger for the next pair. Try wearing a thinner pair of socks to allow decompress the metatarsals. Choose a wider footbed on your next shoes. You can try moving your cleats back several millimetres -- it is nothing unusual for long-distance riders to have their cleats way, way back so the pedal spindle is almost under the instep.

Or... I used to suffer badly from Morton's neuroma, especially with Shimano MTB shoes. I changed to Specialized Taho shoes because of the special footbed that has a raised piece right in the middle of the foot ball -- a metatarsal button that acts to force the bones upwards and spread them away from the nerve trunk. Those shoes wore out and when I went to buy another pair, I couldn't find them again in my home city.

I bought another pair of Shimanos, but transferred the footbed from the Specializeds... which helped but the liner was collapsing.

Then a friend told me to take two old expired credit cards and slip them into the space above the depression in the sole where the cleat backing plate is located. Hey presto! No hot foot on my current pair of shoes for 20,000km! Apparently, that depression allows the ball of the foot to collapse into it, causing the metatarsal bones to pressure the nerve.

Just some suggestions based on experience that cover the basic through to expensive.

It might be caused by what Rowan says, but it also might be because your seat needs to be raised a little bit. Evening out the push and the pull that your feet exert on the pedals can help reduce the hotfoot.

Thanks for the reply! it might be the shoes. One of the biggest problems I have finding shoes is that i wear 4E wide shoes. Im already one size bigger on my current shoes so I dont think i could go another size up? Also the soles of my current shoes are not hard enough. does my weight affect that as well? I stood up on the pedals for some miles. socks I was wearing running socks by brooks which are thin; last 8 miles i had to undo the straps on my shoes. The cleats are all the way back. I appreciate all the great help.

does anyone know who makes an extra wide(4E)cycling shoe with a very stiff sole?

Eat/drink before you get hungry/thirsty.
Wider/longer shoes or thinner sox. Feet can swell a bit during distance riding, specially in a humid state like Florida.

thanks for the reply

Lake makes wide shoes, at least 2EE, some 3EE and a few 4EE. They sell direct
but if there is a problem with the shoe there is basically a $20 turn around for
shipping costs. Buying shoes unseen is worse than buying saddles.
www.lakecycling.com
Sidi Mega shoes are wider, but $$ usually. Most everybody else just sells
"medium".

thanks for the reply. I had a pair of sidi dominators (mega) and i was very happy with them.When i switched from MTB to road i sold the shoes.im regreting it now.im using a pair of Nike ventoux plus wide but as soon as I can afford it I'll most likely go back to Sidi.

If your feet was hurting more during the ride, keep looking at the shoes first.

If your feet only hurt after the ride, check how tight your calves are? If they are tight, massage them both and try to keep them loose.

thanks for the reply. I had a pair of sidi dominators (mega) and i was very happy with them.When i switched from MTB to road i sold the shoes.im regreting it now.im using a pair of Nike ventoux plus wide but as soon as I can afford it I'll most likely go back to Sidi.

Actually, that should be when you can afford two pairs. Otherwise it's almost inevitable that when you go to buy again, they won't be available.

But it does seem that we have narrowed down the problem (so to speak) to the width of your shoes and the pressure the narrow ones are creating on your metatarsals.

Wow 4E width, no wonder you are having problems. There has got to be some company that makes custom cycling shoes. Even Sidi mega are only designed for like E or 2E width I believe.

You might try building you own shoes out of some football cleats since they would be available in wide widths for big guys and use some carbon fiber and epoxy to make a cleat mounting surface and stiffen the sole.

Here is a link to some 4E wide football cleats. I think you could modify something like this at a reasonable price compared to getting custom shoes.

http://www.newbalancetampa.com/shop/product_detail.asp?model=MF1200MK

Of course these Rocket7 shoes would be the best but pricy.

http://www.rocket7.com/

does anyone know who makes an extra wide(4E)cycling shoe with a very stiff sole?
Try biking sandals. I also have 4E width and I have used both Lake and Shimano sandals--it is easy to adjust them to accommodate your foot width. I have also looked for wide shoes, but the few I found were around $200. Good luck!

thanks for all the replies. Wow Rocket shoes are very$$$$$$$$$.

I would like to thank you all for all the great advice. I just got back from my long ride today and all your tips made a big difference.
changes from last week:

1. the seat went up a inch
2. ultra thin socks
3. loose straps on my shoes
4. ate every hour
5. two mouth fulls of water every 15 minutes
6. got a handlebar bag and a rear rack with bag so no more back pack

all this equals to happy feet and no lighthead. I did get a little discomfort when i hit the 80km mark but uncliped one leg at a time to stretch and continued on to the end.

once again thanks everybody!

I would like to thank you all for all the great advice. I just got back from my long ride today and all your tips made a big difference.
changes from last week:

1. the seat went up a inch
2. ultra thin socks
3. loose straps on my shoes
4. ate every hour
5. two mouth fulls of water every 15 minutes
6. got a handlebar bag and a rear rack with bag so no more back pack

all this equals to happy feet and no lighthead. I did get a little discomfort when i hit the 80km mark but uncliped one leg at a time to stretch and continued on to the end.

once again thanks everybody!

After about 3-4 hours in the saddle I step off the bike and walk it for about 30 seconds every hour. For me that helps a lot, especially after the next 3-4 hours. If I stay in the saddle over 5 hours I get uncomfortable with my feet, seat and two outside fingers. Last long ride I had cramping in my right calf after 4 hours. I'm sure it was because I did not take in enough liquids. I also use a small back pack, but it also becomes uncomfortable after 5 hours.

Continue to enjoy the long rides!

does anyone change socks after a few hours or do you wear the same ones for the entire trip?

does anyone change socks after a few hours or do you wear the same ones for the entire trip?

I am going to change socks on my next 100 mile ride about the half way point.