Long story short... 52 years old and 6'4". Rode all the time when a teenager up to mid twenties. Didn't ride anymore until 6 years ago, sporadically. Really got into it starting March this year. Started about 5 to 10 miles a day, now up to 25 to 35 a day. In a little over 4 months, have dropped from 258 lbs. down to prideful 215. Have been riding 90% in highest gear to develop more muscle, as well as more speed for better MPH average (around 14 mph). Most of my rides are consistently on level to moderate ground. Very rarely any tough hills to climb. But conversely, virtually no downhills to cruise.

Have had no problems other than muscle tightness and minor soreness ...until last night. Right knee started giving me some pain during a 20 mile ride. Dropped down one gear out of the highest, and seem to help somewhat. Near the end of the ride, I had dropped a couple more to alleviate the pain. Not a terrible pain, but pain nevertheless.

What could be happening, and what should I do? I primarily start out riding in a lower gear, but after about a mile or so I'm topped out. During the last couple of miles, I drop down a gear or two, but it doesn't vary all that much. Should I be warming up and cooling down better? Do I need a rest day thrown in during the week? Adjustments considered on my bike, such as saddle height? I really don't think the latter is the problem because all the miles I've put in, I haven't had any issues ...until now.

What to do?!? Thanks for any advice!

-Tim

You shouldn't be mashing the higher gears to build muscle. What you should be doing as spinning the pedals at somewhere between 75-95 rpm. It's much better on your knees and will build up the correct fast twitch muscles that are best for cycling. Once you start spinning, instead of mashing, the pedals, your average speed will go up and your knees will thank you.

You paid a lot of money for all those gears. Use them properly and shift often.

Take a few days to a week off and see if the pain goes away. If the pain does not go away, see a doctor as you may have torn something (ligament, tendons, cartilage). Hopefully though, it is just a strain from overuse or mashing in too big a gear. I concur with JerrySTL's advice about spinning, rather than mashing the pedals. Except for climbing hills, which you say you don't do, cycling is an aerobic activity. Finally, maybe consider cutting back on cycling and adding some other activity, like weights, yoga, or swimming to your workout schedule.

Focus on spinning. "Our" knees often do not hold up well to certain pressures, like trying to build muscle via mashing. Also, the slower you lose the weight (maintaining reasonable weight loss) the more likely you will stick with your plan. But, if you blow out your knee, it will be very difficult to continue.

Where is the knee pain?

This.

Just wanted to add that out of the 25 to 35 miles, I put in 10 miles in the morning, then the 15 to 25 in late evening.

Am I over-doing it? Should I cut down to one ride per day, with rest days thrown in?

It felt as if it was right in the middle of the knee-cap.

Those miles in any given day are not too many, unless your body is telling you that it is. Do not be in a hurry. However, the issue might be that you are not taking enough days off. It is hard to say, without knowing more about your journey to this point.

take care of the existing injury/pain... then quit mashing and spin...that is a hard concept for lots of folks to grasp, especially folks who were athletes in other fields...I though the idea stupid when I first started and resisted trying it...but it sure makes a difference...after a bit, your speed will actually go up and you can ride farther... so if further, faster appeals to you... spin.

I would see a doctor for that area of pain.

There probably isn't a runner or cyclist who hasn't suffered an injury or two over the years. Hopefully, you get enough early warning so that a minor injury doesn't turn into a major injury.

Fitness comes with recovery as well as work. And cross training. Cycling is one kind of exercise, and you are doing 2 to 3 hours of it every day with no rest days. I would say you run the risk of injuring yourself, if you have not done so already.

This is a DUMB, DUMB DUMB beginner mistake and and now you've learned why.

And it's not like the advice to ride with a cadence of around 90 rpm in a moderate gear that doesn't make you mash isn't ALL OVER the INTERNET.
You saw it and made a deliberate decision to ignore it because for some reason you think that what works for millions of successful cyclists won't work for you.

The question is are you smart enough to start using your gears correctly or continue to destroy your knees.

It's really up to you.

Guy goes to a doctor and says "doc, it hurts when I do this." Doctor says, "don't do that."

If you want to build muscle, lift weights. Cycling is the gym equivalent of many, many reps with light weights which builds endurance but not bulk (for the most part). What you are doing is just going to cause you pain and burnout.

Take a rest, use an easier gear when you come back. It should go away. If not, take a longer break from riding and/or see a doctor.

+1, no pain area around knee is good but middle of cap is really not good.

Slow-twitch muscle, not fast-twitch muscle, are needed for long duration rides. The fast-twitch are used for sprinting.

Unless you have consistent pain, and pain that is occurring randomly when not on the bike, I would wait on the doctor. Taking it back a few notches, spinning more, and icing your knees is where I would start.

Honestly, I did not "see or ignore anything." The highest gear felt fine to me, and did not feel as if I was putting too much pressure on my knees or anything else. Otherwise, I certainly wouldn't have been doing it, if I had known better. Maybe I should have researched proper technique in this area, but I didn't. I certainly did not think I was doing anything improperly.

Thanks for your slightly judgmental candor.

Haven't felt anything this morning, but I haven't been riding either.

Sorry if you didn't know this. I see lots of new riders that know but choose to do otherwise because they don't feel like they are "building muscle" or working hard enough when riding correctly.

I will allow that there are variations in cadence and style, but beginners need to try it the right way until they are fit and efficient on a bicycle and understand why they might want to make a change from the normal techniques.

By efficient, I mean being about to ride at least 2 hours at a 15mph pace on flat and level ground and not be tired or have pain afterwards.

More than probably (as long as you don't have any "knee history") it's hurting because you're overusing the joint, either in a normal way or in an abnormal way. Contrary to running, cycling is notoriously kind to the knees, so if your knee is hurting you're doing something wrong. You should take some time off the bike, at least a week, and see how it goes. Probably you're just overusing the knee without proper rest, but possibly because you're not pedaling in a physiological manner. But even with the rest, unless you have done so recently, get a bike fit. Sometimes with use your cycling shoes loosen up or the cleat position shifts, and even though everything once was properly aligned, something may got out of whack and because of that you're stressing out your knee unnecessarily.

Has anyone asked about saddle height? Too low a saddle position is very hard on knees.

The bike that I put the most miles on was honestly on a bike too small for me frame-size wise. But I did have the seat-post raised as far as possible (really to an unsafe point). On the down stroke, my leg was almost fully extended. If the saddle height was too low, it wasn't by very much, I would think. I now have a proper size XL frame bike.

So at 75 to 95 rpm's, what would be the proper gear range on a 3X9 based on the info I've given? Other than the highest gear (which is giving me the problem), what gear should I not exceed on generally level ground to maintain around 14 mph and not put too much pressure on my knees?

I'd recommend cruising with the large cog on the front and the middle one in the rear. You may need to go one size larger on the back. A lot depends on the number of teeth on those gears.

One thing working against you is your height. You probably have a lot of wind resistance. I'm your weight, but 3" shorter so I'm probably a little more aerodynamic even with my 'beer belly'.

If you decide to invest in another bike computer, many have cadence counters so you have a better idea of how you are spinning the pedals. I'm somewhat of a masher myself as I'm usually between 75-80 rpm.