century problems

Quoted message said:

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a
big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly
throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

Is your seat level? Both problems could be caused by having a saddle that's tilted down at the
front, causing you to slide forward towards the bars. In such a case, you're actually spending the
entire ride pushing back from the bars to maintain position, which can cause lots of problems around
the shoulders and neck. And the tension could definitely contribute to headaches.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comschainreactionbicycles.comsOpen ↗

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess
as to what component(s) might be the cause? Or

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you even think this might be caused by something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a

couple

Quoted message said:

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like
a big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank
regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and

gels

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[not all things at each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

Is your seat level? Both problems could be caused by having a saddle

that's

Quoted message said:

tilted down at the front, causing you to slide forward towards the bars.

In

Quoted message said:

such a case, you're actually spending the entire ride pushing back from

the

Quoted message said:

bars to maintain position, which can cause lots of problems around the shoulders and neck. And the
tension could definitely contribute to headaches.

Whoah! You're good Mike.

I'd also suggest that you lay off the chocolate while on a ride. Though it doesn't seem to effect
most people, some do get headaches from it.

The real problem is, of course, inexperience. The more you ride the easier it will get.

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

This is caused by the effort to hold your head up as you look down the road. The saddle thing Mike
mentioned will likely help, but you might just need more time in the saddle to condition those
muscles to hold that position for that length of time. Of course, one solution is to ride faster so
you're not out there for 7:45 ;-)

You might want to check into adopting a more upright position. Are you using a racing style stem
that's parallel to the ground? Where are your handlebars relative to your saddle height? It may be
too early in your riding career for you to be hunkered down like the pros. You may need to gradually
work towards that over time as your neck muscles get better conditioned.

Quoted message said:

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a
big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly
throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

I'm no nutritionist, but a) I sure don't know of anything wrong with having a big breakfast before
you ride. If you're going to carbo-load, you need to be sure to get protein, too. From what I've
read, it's best to balance your protein, carbohydrate and fat intake to keep your blood sugar levels
from getting out of whack. It does sound to me like you had an awful lot of refined sugar. But the
headache might just have been an extension of the neck and back pain thing.

Riding more will always help!

Bob C.

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a
big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly
throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

This is in addition to everything else that's been posted in reply to your querie. It's no big deal
to pop a couple of ibuprophen before a big ride. Don't do it before every day's training ride, but a
couple before a century or an exceptionally long/hard weekend training ride can help reduce joint
pain and help hold off the neck pain and headaches.

But if you take them all the time, they'll stop being effective and they'll mask the pains that tell
you that you're having problems with your bike fit/position that need to be addressed. Also, they
can be bad for your kidneys and liver if you take too many.

Bob C. Not a doctor and I shouldn't be playing one in r.b.m.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Psycholist
"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a
big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly
throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

This is in addition to everything else that's been posted in reply to your querie. It's no big deal
to pop a couple of ibuprophen before a big ride. Don't do it before every day's training ride, but a
couple before a century or an exceptionally long/hard weekend training ride can help reduce joint
pain and help hold off the neck pain and headaches.

But if you take them all the time, they'll stop being effective and they'll mask the pains that tell
you that you're having problems with your bike fit/position that need to be addressed. Also, they
can be bad for your kidneys and liver if you take too many.

Bob C. Not a doctor and I shouldn't be playing one in r.b.m.

Also Salon Pas or similar pain patches help. I start out a century with a couple Excedrins and rubbing Icy Hot on my neck and upper back and carry the pain patches with me to apply at mile 50. My bike fits fine but I have a big heavy head and I get painful neck/back muscles too.

Marco del Pollo said:

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple of cups of
coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride.

If you are used to drinking two cups of coffee every day, skipping them will give you a headache.
Using a couple of aspirin that have caffeine in them will probably keep the headaches at bay,
although they aren't the equvalent of two cups of coffee.

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...

Marco del Pollo said:

prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17
mi, 30 mi, 52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all
things at each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?

At the speed you were gong you probably weren't burning any carbs at all. Hence no reason to eat
sugar at all.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01>...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at the gym.

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between my shoulder
blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time was
7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple of cups of
coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a big
breakfast would be good so ate a protein bar with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior
evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30
mi, 52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at
each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

I get a headache around lunchtime virtually every Sat and Sunday. A Coffee clears it every time. By
lunchtime on a weekday, I'm usually up to 4 cups by that time. When I was unemployed last year for a
few months I managed to wan myself off caffine, but am now back to square one.

Any chance it was just a withdrawal headache ?

M.

Marco del Pollo said:

After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between my shoulder blades that
continued for the remainder of the ride [total time was
7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do

Handlebar too wide or narrow could cause it, or handlebar too low. Too low puts more weight on your
hands/arms/shoulders. Too wide / narrow stretches or squeezes your shoulder blades.

Quoted message said:

After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple of cups of coffee in the
morning -- but decided not to have any before the

Don't mess with your routine, especially if it involves caffeine. Caffeine can be good or bad for
headaches, but changing your usual dosage in either direction is likely to cause a headache.

Quoted message said:

ride. I didn't feel like a big breakfast would be good so ate a protein bar with water. (I had
pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of

I'm not confident in carb-loading via dinner the night before. You should have had exactly whatever
breakfast you had for your metric centuries.

Quoted message said:

water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30 mi,

A sports drink might have helped.

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?

Possibly; especially with not having sufficient complex carbs, you could certainly have bonked.

I've read that eating in very small increments constantly while riding is a good strategy, and I'm
going to try it in the spring. Small stuff like fig newtons (which are purportedly great cycling
food, BTW) should be easy enough to eat while riding -- eat one (or a piece of one) every few
minutes, however much you can eat steadily in little bits without causing digestive problems or
slowing you down.
--
Rick Onanian

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01>...

Quoted message said:

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple of cups of
coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a big
breakfast would be good so ate a protein bar with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior
evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30
mi, 52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at
each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?

If you're addicted to caffeine, then caffeine withdrawal will usually cause a very noticeable
headache, which will last for a few days or until you take more caffeine. So drinking coffee every
day except on the day of the big ride doesn't seem like a good idea. Better (but too hard for me) is
to not drink coffee regularly but to drink coffee for a big event; this supposedly improves your
ability to burn fat and some other good things.

Marco,

I'd suggest you find somebody in your bike area who does bike fitting - preferably a physical
therapist.

I did a fitting last summer and found that while my bike fit was pretty good, my body fit wasn't - I
had poor hamstring flexibility, with one side less flexible than the other. This both torqued me
around and meant I didn't have the proper posture.

Fixing that made a world of difference for my on-bike comfort, and improved my efficiency a fair
bit. No longer do my hands, neck, and back hurt on long rides.

On the food side, I'd tend to blame the caffeine. Some people get headaches from low blood suger if
they bonk, but you were eating a fair bit of sugar, and you didn't describe any other symptoms of
bonking (for me, getting tired, really hungry, and not being able to ride faster than 5 miles per
hour). That also could be dehydration, but that seems unlikely as well.

You might want to weigh yourself before and after long training rides. Dehydration can be hard to
judge when cycling because the wind takes away the sweat.

Oh, and the other question is "how far were your training rides?" If you were only riding 30 miles
at a time, your body is likely to rebel if you ask it to ride 100.

--
Eric Gunnerson

Visit the C# product team at csharp.netcsharp.netOpen ↗ Eric's blog is at weblogs.asp.netericguOpen ↗

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. "Marco del Pollo"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

Problem One After about 3 hours I began experiencing a pain in my upper back between

my

Quoted message said:

shoulder blades that continued for the remainder of the ride [total time

was

Quoted message said:

7:45]. I imagine I need to take my bike to my LBS for an adjustment but would you have a guess as
to what component(s) might be the cause? Or do you even think this might be caused by
something else?

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache. Normally I drink a couple

of

Quoted message said:

cups of coffee in the morning -- but decided not to have any before the ride. I didn't feel like a
big breakfast would be good so ate a protein

bar

Quoted message said:

with water. (I had pasta for dinner the prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly
throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17 mi, 30

mi,

Quoted message said:

52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all things at each
stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the

refined

Quoted message said:

sugar?

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

Quoted message said:

Problem Two After about 6 hours I began having a headache.

I get a migraine from too much bright sunlight. You'd think, "good thing she lives in Seattle, eh?",
but reflections off of the water is enough to trigger it. If I was riding a century in bright
sunlight, I'd definitely need a pair of sunglasses, a piece of equipment you didn't mention.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist:
home.earthlink.netWelcome.htmOpen ↗

New CD coming out this month! See: tiferet.nettiferet.netOpen ↗

"To forgive is to set the prisoner free and then discover the prisoner
was you."

Per Elmsäter said:

Marco del Pollo said:

prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops [17
mi, 30 mi, 52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not all
things at each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?

At the speed you were gong you probably weren't burning any carbs at all. Hence no reason to eat
sugar at all.

This is silly. Of course there is carbohydrate burning at reduced effort levels.

For back pain:

1. See Mike's recommendation on seat position.
2. Take yoga, or do other exercises to improve core strength and hamstring flexibility.
3. Work on position. There's plenty of references on this. The spine should be neutral, not bend.
"Relax the belly".

Dan

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article said:

"Marco del Pollo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:t_DWb.15555$IF1.1877@fed1read01...

Quoted message said:

I rode in a century last weekend -- first I have done other than a metric last May. I bike
regularly [I'm in SoCal] including spinning session at

the

Quoted message said:

gym.

I'm riding the Solvang Century in March and want to resolve these problems before then.

Thanks in advance.

This is in addition to everything else that's been posted in reply to your querie. It's no big deal
to pop a couple of ibuprophen before a big ride. Don't do it before every day's training ride, but
a couple before a century or an exceptionally long/hard weekend training ride can help reduce joint
pain and help hold off the neck pain and headaches.

_ I recently read that you need to be careful with NSAIDS and endurance events. Some of them can
interfere with kidney function and make hyponatremia[1] more likely. The article I read
suggested that Tylenol was okay, but that ibuphrophen and aleve were not. Personally, I would
avoid taking anything until pain shows up and I would be extreme cautious about taking anything
when hot and tired.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]intranet.micds.orgone.htmlOpen ↗

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psycholist said:

This is caused by the effort to hold your head up as you look down the road. The saddle thing Mike
mentioned will likely help, but you might just need more time in the saddle to condition those
muscles to hold that position for that length of time.

Also, if the helmet is too low, neck pain results from cranking the head up too high so the helmet
is not obstructing vision.
--
Rick Onanian

On 12 Feb 2004 09:07:27 -0800, [email hidden] (Michael Murray)

Quoted message said:

Any chance it was just a withdrawal headache ?

M.

Yes

Curtis L. Russell Odenton, MD (USA) Just someone on two wheels...

You ought to try going cold turkey from a gallon or more a day. If I could see straight, I would
have gone back and killed the army doctor that gave me the order.

On Thu, 12 Feb 2004 05:37:54 GMT, "Tom Kunich" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The real problem is, of course, inexperience. The more you ride the easier it will get.

As well, the more you ride, the better your adjustments will get, until it's quite nicely dialed in.
--
Rick Onanian

"Per Elmsäter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dan Connelly said:

Per Elmsäter said:

Marco del Pollo wrote:

> prior evening.) I had plenty of water and drank regularly throughout the ride. At SAG stops
> [17 mi, 30 mi, 52 mi, 70 mi, 85 mi] I ate fig newtons, peanut M&Ms, energy bars, and gels [not
> all things at each stop]. I'm wondering if I overloaded on the refined sugar?
>

At the speed you were gong you probably weren't burning any carbs at all. Hence no reason to
eat sugar at all.

This is silly. Of course there is carbohydrate burning at reduced effort levels.

Not enough to deplete the glucogen

glycogen

Quoted message said:

stores, therefore no reason to replenish them during the ride.

Unless you do a hell of a lot of low intensity training that is not going to be true for a long day
out. I say this as a holiday trundler.

Per Elmsäter said:

Not enough to deplete the glucogen stores, therefore no reason to replenish them during the ride.

Okay, so if I have two riders do a 7 hour century, one on Atkins drink (protein and fat w/ only
trace COH), the other with, say, a 5:1 C:P ratio drink, there will be no difference in how strongly
they finish?

Do you have any support for this assertion? It goes everything I've read or experienced. The aerobic-
superaerobic transition is a fuzzy line, not a first-order phase transition where a carbohydrate
metabolism "turns on". Additionally, there's almost always super-aerobic efforts during long rides
(hills, etc), no matter what the average speed.

Dan