rsbob 

I doubt that I am unique in putting up with a cycling related pain or discomfort so that I can continue to do what I enjoy. I am not seeking advice on how to cure my ills but want to see what people are willing to put up with to stay up on their sport.

For mountain biking, I am willing to put up the next day with a sore back due to the impacts incurred. For me having to take ibuprofen for a day is well worth it.
For road biking, I tend to develop a sore left scapula. Initially it was like a stabbing pain but with a shorter stem, exercises and massage, it has become more of a minor irritant rather than a major pain.

So what do you put up with?

tempocyclist

Interesting. I have no reoccurring pain caused by road cycling. If I did, I'd likely get it looked into. I get sore, yes. But no pain or niggles.

Troul 

x2

The "pain" I deal with are the poor road conditions, unwanted environment encounters (poor societal logic & decisions) & recovering from those out of my pocket for repairs associated to it all.
I find myself submitting more camera footage to townships/cities of potholes & degraded landscape that impedes a route than anything else.

delbiker1 

70 years old with chronic spinal and shoulder issues, I have a fair amount of daily aches and pains. It is what it is, and not specifically from cycling. I do a fair amount of changing position, and that helps a lot. I also stop more often, even if just for a minute to lightly stretch. Cycling does aggravate arthritis in my hands/fingers, especially my left thumb.

indyfabz

A compromised left thumb from a triple fracture and ligament avulsion reattachment.

GhostRider62

Like many people once they get to a certain age, I have cervical stenosis and radiculopathy due to pinched nerves at C2-7. Pain was so bad yesterday and last night that I could not sleep. Cycling exasperates it. I also have 3 plates, a rod, and 25 screws in my left elbow that hurt when riding.

Other than that, I'm GTG.

Chuck M 

As my spring half marathon season is winding down, I'm spending more time on my Trek so the contact points on my tuchas are a bit tender getting used to the stock Bontrager saddle. I suppose I should see that as an indicator I need a saddle upgrade, but my ass eventually toughens up so I don't worry about it much.

freeranger

Only some of the "less than pleasant riders" along the same ride!

bruce19

I endure the psychological pain of knowing I no longer have the fitness of my 25 yr old self and I am 15 lbs over cycling weight.

mstateglfr 

My neck has ached multiple times this year. Thats very much new. Same bikes, same fitness level, etc etc. It doesnt feel good and makes sure I am aware of its existence, but I have still been able to do longer rides.

veganbikes

None really, I don't want pain if I am cycling. On occasion after a long ride I might have a touch of pain but that is the case for hiking or really any long exercise session but I shouldn't have immediate pain. If you are having pain you should see a fitter and if experiencing pain after that I would see a sports doctor.

seypat

I exercise to keep pain away.

Rdmonster69

A serious neck fracture with a skull to c-3 fusion ..... I have pain just walking around. Cycling doesn't help ....but helps me mentally.

I also shattered my left tibia. Between my neck and leg I'm looking at about 20 screws, 2 plates and 2 rods. The warm weather helps tremendously. I can't begin to describe the difference between a ride at 40 degrees and a ride at 70 degrees.

Last week at the end of a 30 miler I began to get spasms up my neck into the left side of my face and downward through the trapezius and Latissimus Dorsi. When that Lat spasms it gets your attention.

pdlamb

Ouch!

I may have perforated a disk the other week. Wonder if I can sue da mayor for lousy road pavement?

zandoval 

What's pain... There is no pain... Now make a hole an git otta tha way... I gotta ride!!!

Ha...

Note: 2013 - Fractured Sternum, Skull lacerations, C4-C6 compressions, Numbness right shoulder, Compression with Fractures T7, L1, L3, L4, L4 nerve compression, CMC dislocation, in less then two seconds. But the bike and I are alive and ridding still. Not the helmet though...

rydabent

None at all. I ride a recumbent bike and trike.

The "real" cyclist are always saying no pain no gain. As far as I am concerned you can put that where the sun dont shine. Pain is for fools. It is your body telling you dont do that.

indyfabz

My pain comes from an injury completely unrelated to riding. I have to put up with it if I want to continue riding. Has nothing to do with being a "real" cyclist, Wolfie, I mean Mr. Bent. You going to start trying to debase people who suffer through no fault of their own?

A350driver

After 3 hours or more on the road my hands are getting numb, my butt is sore and my shoulders get stiffened up. When we stop for pee breaks I always try to do a few quick arm/shoulder stretches along with some toe touches to loosen up my shoulders and back. Usually a couple hours after the ride is over everything is back to pain free. IPA helps….😇

rsbob 

Maybe I should start a thread which reads, How many people have no cycling related pain? And see how many with pain chime in?

A350driver

I know 4 guys who ride recumbents and they all say they have bad backs and necks from years of riding road bikes. I’d love to try a recumbent sometime, see how much more comfortable it is, I know it’s a lot faster as I spend a lot of time drafting theses guys when I’m on my TT bike!

Iride01 

No pains, just annoyances. I usually address anything that seems to have the potential for being a pain while they are still in the annoyance stage.

Recently it was hands starting to get numb around 2 hours of riding. Nothing else had changed recently on the bike and the only thing I could come up with was that I am getting older, semi-retired and losing muscle mass in my upper body. Cycling doesn't do much at all for upper body muscles other than the heart muscle.

So I started doing upper body exercises more regularly. Including squeezing on those spring things to improve grip strength and after 3 weeks of using them, last Saturday's ride had no sign of numbness. Now I just have to figure out if it now comes at hour 3 instead of hour 2. <grin>

Trakhak

Go ahead, but you'll get precisely the same answers from precisely the same people, including those with and without pain to report.

Of course, you can always try issuing a strict edict forbidding reponses other than those you deem allowable. That always goes well in forums.

GhostRider62

I have ridden a bent for tens of thousands of miles and indeed, the pressure on the hands, arms, and shoulders are absent. However, road vibration to the neck can be a little worse owing to the inability to unweight over nasty road but that also depends on how laidback and how the neck is supported. The derriere is complicated but mostly a wash compared to an upright (for me)

Rolla

At 62, I get some next-day neck stiffness if I ride in the drops a lot, but that's about it. Nothing that stem spacers and Aleve can't remedy.

couldwheels

My only pain is not able to ride as much as I wanted to because of free time constraints. I have none of what it takes to make decent living like mental stability and humor and my only hopes of having better financial stability and work-time balance is moving to Canada.