Originally Posted by dokie
im new to the sport (2nd week) and after doing my loop that i found i like (around 25 mi) my legs are a little tired but i feel like i could ride again... what do you guys think is it ok for me to keep riding.. or should i rest.. my knee was hurting after yesterdays ride
the mileage isn;t what gonna hurt you, its the gears.
Best thing on days when you physically feel OK overall, but the legs are sore, is to go out for a moderate to light ride, 1 hr is good, and stay in a gear where you're able to 'spin' easily. Resist the temptation to 'wind it up'. 'Active Recovery' is one of the best ways to ease your legs back to normal. Not riding usually causes a longer overall recovery time and extended period at which your legs feel 'powerless' and 'wooden'.
Before all this - being in 2nd week - MAKE SURE that you're reasonably close to a good 'position' for you, on the bike - called 'fit' by many. This is really important!
hurting knees could be lotz of things - position of body and feet, pushing big gears and a bunch of other things. But if you get put into a good base position and start your riding experience with reasonable gears and higher rpms, you'll eliminate a lot of causes of knee problems - not all - but a bunch.
just 2 weeks into the sport. IF for some reason you're riding 'clipless', meaning shoes with cleats that lock to pedals, change over to a cheapie platform pedal with those open plastic toeclips for a while. If you have plaforms , but no toeclips, then get toeclips. Their main purpose is to position your ball of foot over the pedal spindle - or ball park close, anyway, so the simple style without toestraps will do as well as, or better than toeclips and straps. Ride that way for a month at least. Your legs/body will find a good rotation/position for your feet on the pedal. After a month, note how your foot and leg orientation feels and if you go to clipless, try to approximate that foot 'position ' and rotation angle and the 'feel' when you orient the cleats on the shoe sole. In any case its best to start with the ball of foot directly above the pedal spindle, and make very small adjustments from there.
This is all worthless if you haven't or don't get reasonably close on your body position on the bike. If the place you bought your bike can't get it done well, find someone/place that can. A basic 'Fit' session is a must for anyone who plans to spend more than a casual time in the saddle, a ride every couple weeks or so. A decent 'fit' will not only help safeguard against many injuries, it wil make a night/day difference in your riding enjoyment.
Do searches on BF for 'Fit', 'Position', "active recovery" - there's a ton of diverse info on here that will help make you aware and get you thinking about what you're doing and need to do to get the most of everything out of our wonderful lifestyle.