Antiquated

I just started riding more seriously to get in better shape and I've noticed most of my leg soreness is in my right leg, particularly my calf and hip. Is this normal? It sounds really silly.

I feel like I'm probably putting in more effort on my right leg and relying on it too much but every time I make a conscious effort to use my left leg more, it feels awkward. If I really think about it I can use both legs equally but only on flat ground when I'm not tired. As soon as things get tough, the right leg carries more of the load. I can only tell this because the next day the soreness hits.

I do believe I am "right footed" if there is such a thing because I kick with my right foot and my first step from standing always tends to be with the right leg.

I'm still using flat pedals but plan on making the switch to clipless by spring. Are there any drills or anything I can do to ensure I'm driving both legs equally? Has anyone else experienced this?

berner

No one is perfectly symmetrical. Most often one side is stronger. This may be due to skeletal or muscular imbalance. I have some sort of imbalance myself which I can't see in a mirror but I notice the bike shorts wear more on one side than the other but is otherwise barely noticeable.

A common drill to help smooth out pedaling is to leg with one leg at a time, taking your foot off the other pedal completely. Do this for minutes at a time for each side several days each week.

thumpism 

It could be from swinging your right leg over the saddle on mounts and dismounts. This normally is not an issue but I discovered on my last tour that a lot of this activity all day long for weeks affects hip and leg.

Regarding symmetry, if you ever break in a leather saddle you're likely to notice the "butt print" is not as symmetrical as you'd expect it to be.

Garfield Cat

Some bike fitters would have you walk just to observe how "off" you are. There is a close relationship between how you walk and how you pedal. The first thing my fitter noticed while walking is that my right was "off" and perhaps I had an injury in the past.

As you get more "serious" by putting in more miles and hours on each ride, these asymmetrical things just might show up.

HvPnyrs

Agree with earlier post suggesting single leg pedaling drills to address possible muscle imbalance issues.
Added benefit of improving pedaling form and efficiency. Particularly if you tend to default to low RPM Pedal mashing.
Of course you'll need to have foot retention, or it's a non-starter.

zze86

I have flat feet with the left foot being flatter then the right. This has resulted in my right leg being sigificantly stronger than my left. I can feel the pressure differences when pedaling, both from right foot to left foot and variance in individual foot.

I read on a certain fitters website how he will shim different parts of the foot after getting this close. Might be something to consider.