Thread: Feeling my age
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Old 07-13-19, 09:17 PM
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downtube42
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52 is nothing. Ignore it, and definitely do not allow it to be an excuse. Moving on from there...

Gradually increasing ride distance does two things. First and most discussed it increases your fitness. Second, it gives you the opportunity to learn about issues that arise with longer distance. If you don't resolve the issues at one distance, they will magnify with longer distance and you'll hit your limit. OTOH, if you get good at resolving issues with distance, you'll find your actual limits are ridiculously far out there. In fact distance isn't a limit, only time and eventually the need to sleep.

People ride hundreds of miles in a day. Ordinary people with normal natural athletic ability. And they are not suffering horribly. I'm not suggesting you're destined to be a ultracyclist or randonneur, I'm just saying these issues can be resolved.

As suggested, conventional wisdom is that on longer rides it's better to have multiple hand positions. Although I believe that's true, I have done hundred mile days on flat-bar bikes, with little issues. All the points of contact between human and bike are key.

I suggest going back to 20-25 mile rides and work on getting very comfortable. First make sure your seat height is right; incorrect seat height can screw up everything. Saddle fore/aft, angle, and handlebar reach need to be right; if you're constantly slipping forward and pushing yourself back on the saddle, that will cause both butt and hand pain. Your wrist angle could be a problem with those bars; IMO you want to have a position with wrists fairly neutral. As for saddle, is it broken in? Is it the right width?

Keep at it.
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