Due to a knee problem I never stand up and pedal.In the past it results in shooting pain down the middle of where my knee cap used to be.Today I tried it again ,I winced in pain ,wait there is no pain. I am standing up and pedaling,Have not been able to do that in years.I looked down and saw I picked up 3 mph going up a hill on my ride.I guess all this riding made my leg stronger.I'll take it.Now lets see how long it lasts.

Take it easy and remember it takes time. But good for you.

Had a knee problem for years but I had to learn how to ride out of the saddle many years ago. It was either that or walk the hills and I don't walk. But I was never an accomplished "Out of the saddle" Rider till I did some spinning classes. I did it but some knee pain was there. In the comfort of a nice warm gym and a bike that was not trying to throw me to the ground- I learnt the technique. Stay straight on the bike and go up a couple of gears as you rise out of the saddle.

But did a spinning class today and felt some pain. That's what I get for not getting enough rides in recently (For the past year or so if I think about it) that would push me to the limit and required that I exercise the whole body instead of just the straight legs and lungs.

Now you have learnt the technique- go and find plenty of hills so you can practise more and build up the knee joints and muscles.

I used to say that I would stand up and die--that is, be out of breath in 10 seconds. But I found that it gets easier the more you do it. Keep up the progress.

For me, I learned standing on climbs when I got my single speed bike. You only have two gears: Sitting and standing.

Maybe that's why there aren't many single speed recumbent bikes. There you have sitting.

It's gotta happen sooner or later. Maybe I'll do it myself.

Anyway, to the OP: you rock.

Some years ago I used to have a knee that clicked when doing a deep knee bend. Around that time, I began playing tennis regularly, 2 or three times a week. Eventually, the clicking went away. My conclusion was that exercise, particularly lateral movement, strengthened the structure around the knee. It was still necessary to pay attention to what I was doing though. Playing on hard courts caused discomfort but playing on clay courts was fine. Riding the bike, my knee seems to be to be fine also but I need to be sure it is tracking straight up and down. Early on in my cycling I found the right knee had a tendency to flop to the inside just about grazing the top tube. I corrected that with an insert in the shoe and all is well again.

I have had a similar experience.

Before I started cycling last spring I had a problem with my right foot. A physician suggested I had a partially torn ligament in it. I never really knew -- I just knew that I couldn't run without good arch support and it was tight -- especially when I got out of bed in the morning.

But, after a few months of cycling it feels so much better I hardly notice it. I still know it's there and try to keep good shoes on. But something about cycling improved it a LOT.