Over the last week I've started to notice a slight pain in my left knee. I noticed it for the first time last week after a long climbing route that I have done twice before in the past. The pain wasn't too bad on the bike itself but was very noticable several hours later when I had come off the bike. I took 2 recovery days after doing this ride as my HR went through the roof - during these 2 days the pain went away.
I did another day of climbing today on 2 small mountains that are both 4 miles long and both average 5.5% - 6%. Again, the pain was noticable but certainly not agonising. And again, it became worse several hours after I had finished my ride.
I do not believe that any of the following could be factors;
- gearing not low enough for the hills. I have a 30x27 at my disposal and have done climbs of this length and gradient a few times in the past without feeling this pain
- saddle height incorrect. I checked my saddle height and it is still 72.5 cms from the BB as it should be
- cleats wrongly positioned. Again, I haven't changed the position of the cleats on my shoes although it is possible that they could have moved slightly as I have had to do more walking than I should have in these shoes.
If anybody can throw any ideas into the mix I'd be most grateful!