Fifty Plus (50+) - All you doctor types and cycling trainers -- I need your input.

I usually ride 30-40 of hills, short climbs, rollers, etc in the Atlanta area. No problem.
We have been in Florida for the past 6 weeks to enjoy the sunshine and warm temps.
When we got here I started out at 25 miles to be sure I could ride on the flat terrain without any problems. :rolleyes: Then I increased to 30, then 36, then 45, etc until I got up to 67 miles. I have rest days every other day or when I feel I need to rest.
Last week (March 12) I did 76 miles with plenty of rest stops and breaks. I drink plenty of fluids and eat enough before, during, and after riding.
For some unexplained reason (here's where I need your input) my abdomen and side of my chest and sides have been hurting. It started the night after the 76 mile ride (~30 hours after the ride ended). The blue arrows show the approximate locations of the discomfort.
I rested for 4 days (no riding) but the muscles still hurt. I did a short 36 miles today. While on the bike I felt no pain or discomfort, but as soon as I got home and off the bike, I could feel all those aches.
The bike is my Litespeed. I've been riding it since I bought it in 2001 -- coming up on 40,000 miles on it.
The strange thing is my legs did not hurt nor did my butt, and they still don't.
If this doesn't get fixed I'll be going to the doctor when we get back home. But we aren't leaving for Atlanta until April 1. I'd really like to enjoy these last 2 weeks of riding.
Got any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.
241772

Well you look much better with your clothes "ON".
Visit an Urgent Care office in FL.

my dog got out of the yard once, and he was gone for two nights. when he got back, he had those exact same pains! you are on "vacation" aren't you?

What my PT might say is that you've had a facet lock up, causing imbalance up and down the side.

I recommend you see a PT who is trained in manipulation.

It might help to lie on your back, bend the leg of the sore side up towards your chest, put your hands around your knee, and exert gentle pressure with the knee against your hands. Do for five seconds and relax. Repeat X 5.

Have you been riding in wind, Ron?

Oh, and do you normally stand when you are riding up hills?

Any chance you have bent the frame in transit? If the latter, it is possible that the bike is no longer tracking correctly and you are, without knowing it, having to put greater pressure on one side in order to maintain a straight course.

Have you been riding in wind, Ron?

Oh, and do you normally stand when you are riding up hills?
The wind finally slowed down last week. Before that I was riding in the wind for 5 weeks. It was like riding uphill for most of the ride.
I stand while climbing -- until I get tired. Then I finish off the hill seated. I've been standing and in the drops (to get out of the wind) several times during my rides.

Any chance you have bent the frame in transit?
Not a chance. The bike came to FL on the Bones 2. It has been back on the Bones three times since we've been here. Once to go ride with my grandson, one to go up and ride with lookinUp, and once to go to the bike shop to get the Speedplays installed. Not a scratch or crack or anything amiss.

Can someone please tell me what it is that makes people want to ask medical questions to complete strangers.......on the internet?

Hi Ron,
If you are in constant pain I would get to a clinic and would not wait to get back to Atlanta. If it only hurts when you move a certain way its probably a pulled stomach muscle or something like that. If you're on the Withlacootchie, be on the lookout for former 50+ guy Will Dehne (see pic). He rides a mostly white Stevens cross bike with aero bars and he will be making good speed. Will makes use of nearly the entire trail I believe.

Good luck and post when you find out what the problem is.
Don

Can someone please tell me what it is that makes people want to ask medical questions to complete strangers.......on the internet?

Because if you pick the right venue you'll often run into people who have had similar issues and you broaden your knowledge about causes and treatment options?

The wind finally slowed down last week. Before that I was riding in the wind for 5 weeks. It was like riding uphill for most of the ride.
I stand while climbing -- until I get tired. Then I finish off the hill seated. I've been standing and in the drops (to get out of the wind) several times during my rides.
These may be the reasons for the soreness. You have changed your riding style, and your muscles, used to the old one, are protesting about the new positions.

I know that riding in the wind can cause muscle soreness because I am adopting a slightly different position (ie, my butt is hard back on the seat, for example), and if you are being buffeted, your core will take a beating. Machka complains from time to time about a sore core from riding as stoker on the tandem, and after we have been dodging lots of potholes.

However, if the pain doesn't subside, it might be wise to seek professional advice.

If this pain has been there that long, I would recommend that you go to a walk-in-clinic or an Urgent Care Center if a walk-in-clinic is not available and preferably before you get back to Atlanta.

Although we don't have many areas in Florida that have hills (certainly no mountains), we do have some pretty brutal winds that are pretty much a daily occurrence in certain areas, especially here in the Tampa Bay area. The MUP that I do my daily rides at always has at least 10-15 mph winds at any given period of the day. I have noticed a lot of riders not used to riding in these constant winds that, when pedaling into the wind for a long period of time, tend to lean more to their right side to increase their power on the down stroke, tensing the muscles on that side. I don't know if this is what you did when riding into the headwinds, but it's something to rule out.