Numb toes

cohiba1223 said:

I have been riding for about four months on a Trek 5000 and I have come across a very odd sensation after about 30 miles, my toes go numb. I have had my shoes adjusted several times, no help. I tried thicker socks, no help. Let me know if you guys have any tips. What if I took a aspirin to thin my blood do you think that would help?

thanks,
ben

Cohiba1223...this is known as "HOT FOOT" syndrome. It's very common amongst cyclists. There are a few things you can do to remedy this:

1. Make sure that your Cycling Shoe Foot Bed is WIDE enough for your feet. Often times the shoes we ride in are just too narrow.

2. Make sure that you are not strapping in too tight. When riding for long distances, your feet swell. When your feet swell and the velcro or buckle staps are set to your pre-swell foot size, you're simply cutting off your circulation.

3. When/Before strapping/securing your buckles or velco on your cycling shoes, CURL YOUR TOES DOWNWARD! Then secure the straps. This will give your foot ample room to swell into the shoe as you ride. It sounds like 30 miles is your max swell point for your feet.

I hope this helps. Best wishes!

Tailwinds,
Vector7

If you do all those things that Vector suggested, and you still have the problem, you can do what I did, and take your shoes to a ski shop and have some custom footbeds made for them. You'll use these in lieu of the foam inserts that came with your shoes, but the point is that they will be molded to the shape of your foot, preventing hot spots.

They aren't cheap though - my pair cost around $90, but they sure do help on centuries.