Training & Nutrition - Quad aches and pains during ride and after

Hey all. My boyfriend and I recently bought bikes and started riding. My boyfriend notices a lot of achey aches and soreness during most every ride and after. He has been riding for 3 weeks now and rides about 16 miles every other day and building . I thought maybe lactic acid build up but please any advise would be great.

It's not lactic acid. It's just muscles unaccustomed to this exercise. It'll go away in time. To help it go away, be sure to get plenty of protein. If you're vegetarians/vegans you may need to pay more attention to that. In any case, pay attention to it.

The beginning is the hardest part as your muscles slowly start adapting to the routine. A quick, daily self massage will help to decrease inflammation and help your legs recover quicker.

Depending upon your BF's initial fitness level and the nature of the 16 miles (flat or hilly), that's a respectable, maybe overdone, ride for just starting up. If he's getting sore during the ride he perhaps should be riding a shorter distance and building up gradually, most say 10% distance/week. A good deal depends upon age of course: BF could be 25, 35 or 65; who knows! BTW, the every other day isn't a bad idea, but the fact that he's getting sore during the ride seems to indicate that he's not recovering from the prior ride. Takes a while to get the muscles used to cycling stresses and range of motion.

My two cents, stretch out well before and after the ride and hydrate. Get everything a little loose before jumping on the bike. Also, warm up on the bike for a while--I don't suggest riding hard at first, let the legs get used to turning the cranks. Warm up gets rid of the leg pains too and the ride will go better. Things get fatigued and recover, just keep up the schedule and he will be fine.