My 'Bent Is Starting to Annoy Me

Peter Clinch wrote:
Jim Behning wrote:

The thing is you can ride an upright bike, get your ride done in 4
hours, get your shower, get your lunch and still see the recumbent
ride in hours later.

Depends a lot on the bike. If you check you'll find that the right sort
of recumbents hold the aces for speed. The UK End to End Land's End to
John O' Groats 800+ mile road record is held on a recumbent (a shade
over 41 hours), with Andy Wilkinson beating his own upright record to
get it, so you can can even factor out the rider.

I have no desire to sit in a chair 8 hours a day on vacation or at
work. The body is not designed to sit for that long.

Since it isn't designed for a bike saddle /at all/, that's not a good
approach to the argument!

Pete.
I figured it was just an exercise in typing. Out exercising beats typing
any day. Anyone that can do iron butt upright or lounging is amazing. I
am pretty beat after 8 hours on a mountain bike. It is not about the
bike but about my muscles that are not used to working. Sitting in a
chair to earn a living means bike riding can be painful in huge helpings.

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news:k9KdndLv2tVIPAzYnZ2dnUVZ_qqrnZ2d@prairiewave. com...

Big Jim has a good point here, but he does not realize how much we
recumbent cyclist insist on comfort, something that you can never get on
an upright.

When I ride an upright and it starts to cause me pain I get so freaking
mad I could kill myself for being so stupid as to think an upright could
ever be comfortable for more than half an hour. Screw all uprights all the
way to hell and back! The g.d. things are nothing but torture racks. One
thing is for sure, they were never designed for the human anatomy.

Ed, when I started riding again I had a whole lot of pains in just about
every part of my body from that damned bicycle.

But over time I learned to properly fit and to adjust myself to the bike.

I put in 7600+ miles this year and the worst pain I've had from the bike was
an occasional sore butt and that's usually near the start of a ride. It goes
away as I ride out longer.

I can certainly understand why you'd be angry at the pain from a bicycle but
when I started running way back when I had every possible pain a person
could have except when running they got progressively worse. Eventually I
had to stop running because my legs would be numb from the knees down for
days at a time.

I've ridden some recumbents and to be frank, I didn't find them that
comfortable and neither did I see any advantage to using them. Though I did
discover that I like short wheelbase recumbents with underseat steering.

"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news:3cSdnQOGOuNcLgzYnZ2dnUVZ_qyjnZ2d@prairiewave. com...

Yeah, but you are probably an iron man, a species of humans that I have
never had any truck with. Most of us are not iron men. We lose our
physical fitness and strength as we age - and so will you too eventually.
I can assure you that by age 70 you will worship at the altar of Ed Dolan
the Great. You will wonder how I could have been so wise and how you could
have been so ignorant.

Went on a little 400 mile ride back in September. Road down the coast from
San Francisco to Santa Barbara. The guy leading the ride was 75. The other
three of us were all in our 60's. No one was tired or achy from riding even
on the 90 mile days.

No reason for you to change from recumbents but obviously you never gave
them a proper chance to begin with.

Oh, yeah, and none of us would EVER be classified as "iron men".

Jim Behning wrote:
Peter Clinch wrote:
Jim Behning wrote:

The thing is you can ride an upright bike, get your ride done in 4
hours, get your shower, get your lunch and still see the recumbent
ride in hours later.

Depends a lot on the bike. If you check you'll find that the right
sort of recumbents hold the aces for speed. The UK End to End Land's
End to John O' Groats 800+ mile road record is held on a recumbent (a
shade over 41 hours), with Andy Wilkinson beating his own upright
record to get it, so you can can even factor out the rider.

I have no desire to sit in a chair 8 hours a day on vacation or at
work. The body is not designed to sit for that long.

Since it isn't designed for a bike saddle /at all/, that's not a good
approach to the argument!

Pete.
I figured it was just an exercise in typing. Out exercising beats typing
any day. Anyone that can do iron butt upright or lounging is amazing. I
am pretty beat after 8 hours on a mountain bike. It is not about the
bike but about my muscles that are not used to working. Sitting in a
chair to earn a living means bike riding can be painful in huge helpings.

I had those pains too, but my mix of ride and hike cut those back to
reason. I mountain bike into place where I have to carry the bike so my
saddle parts get some blood. I'm still sore at various places after 9
hours out in the wilderness. Better than 9 hours at a CRT (pick one).
Bill Baka

"KERRY MONTGOMERY" wrote in message
ink.net...

snip
If you only want to talk to this other jerk, Kerry Montgomery, then do
it
via email and do not bother the rest of us.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota


Ed,
Which part of my posting caused you to call me a jerk?
Thanks,
Kerry


Kerry,

Since May 2003, Edward the great has posted 8838 messages to 28 different
NGs. When does he have time to ride? How do you spell troll?

Chas. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

"Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote in message
ink.net...
"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news:3cSdnQOGOuNcLgzYnZ2dnUVZ_qyjnZ2d@prairiewave. com...

Yeah, but you are probably an iron man, a species of humans that I have
never had any truck with. Most of us are not iron men. We lose our
physical fitness and strength as we age - and so will you too eventually.
I can assure you that by age 70 you will worship at the altar of Ed Dolan
the Great. You will wonder how I could have been so wise and how you
could have been so ignorant.

Went on a little 400 mile ride back in September. Road down the coast from
San Francisco to Santa Barbara. The guy leading the ride was 75. The other
three of us were all in our 60's. No one was tired or achy from riding
even on the 90 mile days.

Do 100 miles a day for 2 weeks and then get back to me on the achy business.

No reason for you to change from recumbents but obviously you never gave
them a proper chance to begin with.

Oh, yeah, and none of us would EVER be classified as "iron men".

It is possible for guys in their 60's to do some pretty serious miles on an
upright provided they are physically fit. However, anyone who can also do
those kind of serious miles in their 70's is most definitely an iron man.
They are few and far between.

Most guys I know in their 70's already have one foot in the grave and I am
not far removed from that point myself despite over 30 years of bike riding.
I think what happens is that the body reaches its final plateau in your 70's
and there is no place for it to go from there but downhill. I have never
known anyone in their 80's who did not strike me as extremely frail.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"* * Chas" wrote in message
...

"KERRY MONTGOMERY" wrote in message
ink.net...

snip

Edward Dolan wrote:

If you only want to talk to this other jerk, Kerry Montgomery, then do
it
via email and do not bother the rest of us.

Ed,
Which part of my posting caused you to call me a jerk?
Thanks,
Kerry


Kerry,

Since May 2003, Edward the great has posted 8838 messages to 28 different
NGs. When does he have time to ride? How do you spell troll?

Chas. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Charles, those Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are unrelated to my Order of
Perpetual Sorrows and are in fact my mortal enemies. Women are not capable
of Saintliness since they come into the world essentially good and so there
is never any Great Evil for them to overcome. Nay, only us men can be Great
Saints and have Perpetual Sorrows.

For women to pretend to be Holy and Saintly is an abomination. They are just
merely good and that is all they can ever be. I am so far above the Sisters
that I refuse to even acknowledge their existence. Yea, I am a Great Saint
and the rest of you should never forget this most essential fact about ME.

I think when I get to 10,000 messages I will quit - if I don't die first of
a stroke or heart attack. Apparently, cancer is a possibility too according
to my many doctors.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"Jim Behning" wrote in message
ink.net...
Edward Dolan wrote:
"Jim Behning" wrote in
message nk.net...
Prisoner at War wrote:
wrote:
If I can ride a bike for 4-6 hours I consider it comfortable. My
Lemond road bike and C;dale cross bike fit that bill fine. I have the
bars only slightly below saddle, a Brooks seat and I;m fine. My MTB's
are torture machines and cannot ride for more than an hour before neck
shouler wrist pain start!!


I can ride my uprights all day continously and be comfortable.

The problem is that within two weeks my back will be aching like crazy.
And I am likely one of the few young 'bent-riders around at age 34.

I never had a problem with my wrists or shoulders from upright biking,
though. I do change hand positions for comfort, but no regular problem
has ever developed. It's only my back that's really affected. I agree
that frame geometry and a proper saddle do a lot for comfort on an
upright, and I don't blame bike-riding per se for my bad back -- it
kind of started in childhood and was really messed up in the Army but
upright bikes and even jogging exacerbates it.

My sports doc recommended a 'bent, and that was my excuse to splurge
thousands.

It's been great fun, but getting annoying now with all the break-downs.

I do better with the sore back issues if I keep up with core muscle
training. I got a pretty sore back on an 8 hour mountain bike ride/race
but part of that is a way to tight left quad. I need to stretch that
muscle more. Massage therapists have said I have tight hamstrings. I
need to a lot more stretching I guess.

Jim proves my point about uprights being essentially uncomfortable unless
you are in tip top shape. I refuse to do any kind of training just so I
can ride a bike. Perish the thought! I ride a bike strictly for the fun
of it and if I have to train in order to do it, then it is no longer any
fun.

Back problems especially won't go away unless you do some kind of
strengthening exercise to get those back and abdominal muscles into
shape. Furthermore, the older you get, the more this becomes a losing
proposition. I will not do any kind of training or exercise just so I can
ride a bike. What foolishness!

My cross bike is more comfortable than my road bike. I need to get a
shorter stem and maybe raise the stem a bit on the road bike. Little
things can make big differences.

All you are doing is rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship. Get a
recumbent and forget all this nonsense about trying to be comfortable on
an upright. It ain't ever going to happen.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota


In days of old people had to work all day to feed themselves. Since modern
man has chosen to not not work to feed themselves then you have to do some
activities to replace the work activities my grandfather did. Of course
you do not have to do anything. I just believe that doing some exercises
to keep muscles besides my legs is beneficial to me. Core exercises are
not just to help a person ride a bike. They help you stay healthy in all
the activiies you might do. I built a 2700 sf barn practically by myself.
I have a bunch of stumps I need to dig out. I have a few dug out already.
Sit ups, squats, curls and bench presses help the weekend warier tasks
less painful or epic. Of course if you do nothing but ride a bike then you
may never need to be in shape. Of course then you do not want to have kids
you might want to pick up. Or groceries you might take out of the car. I
ride a bike. I race maybe 20 races a year on the mountain bike, the cross
bike and maybe even run a road race. It is real hard to be competitive on
a recumbent but if you don't do those fun races then it does not matter to
you. I don't use a Macintosh either.

I agree with Jim on everything he says above. But I have never been strong
in my life. There are really only a few physical activities I can do with
any degree of comfort. Jim is an iron man, but he has to work at it too just
like any of us would have to.

I think an excellent cross training activity for cyclists is just plain
walking. I like to do lots of that every week. If you combine recumbent
cycling with walking you will not be in such bad shape, but you will still
not be in good enough shape to ride an upright. For that, you have to do
more just like Jim says. It would be a full time occupation for me to get
strong and fit enough to ride an upright in comfort.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"Jim Behning" wrote in message
ink.net...
Edward Dolan wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...

ALL TOP POSTERS ARE IDIOTS!

If I can ride a bike for 4-6 hours I consider it comfortable. My
Lemond road bike and C;dale cross bike fit that bill fine. I have the
bars only slightly below saddle, a Brooks seat and I;m fine. My MTB's
are torture machines and cannot ride for more than an hour before neck
shouler wrist pain start!!

4 to 6 hours in one day is not nearly good enough. Can you ride 8 to 10
hours a day for 2 weeks at a time? I thought not! No, if you want to be
able to do that you will have to get a recumbent. There is no other way.

The thing is you can ride an upright bike, get your ride done in 4 hours,
get your shower, get your lunch and still see the recumbent ride in hours
later. 6 hours on my road bike is 100 miles if I am riding easy. Yes I
have ridden for a week straight 5-8 hours a day. I could have ridden two
weeks but I scheduled a week for vacation. I have no desire to sit in a
chair 8 hours a day on vacation or at work. The body is not designed to
sit for that long.

Yes, by all means, get the day's ride over with as quickly as possible! That
is an upright philosophy, not a recumbent philosophy. I LIKE to ride my
recumbent bike. In fact, I like it so much I want to spend all day on my
bike. I am never in any hurry to get the ride over with. In fact, I like to
prolong the ride as much as possible That is what a recumbent does for you.

Riding a recumbent is not just for exercise and fitness, it is for fun. The
fun factor soon disappears on an upright after a couple of hours or so. Why?
Because they are uncomfortable.

When I was doing week long bike tours, the only cyclists ever cycling around
town after the day's ride were recumbent cyclists. Everyone else was back in
camp rubbing rubbing their butts.That is not for me as I am way too smart to
put up with that kind of foolishness.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota

"Tom Kunich" cyclintom@yahoo. com wrote in message
ink.net...
"Edward Dolan" wrote in message
news:k9KdndLv2tVIPAzYnZ2dnUVZ_qqrnZ2d@prairiewave. com...

Big Jim has a good point here, but he does not realize how much we
recumbent cyclists insist on comfort, something that you can never get on
an upright.

When I ride an upright and it starts to cause me pain I get so freaking
mad I could kill myself for being so stupid as to think an upright could
ever be comfortable for more than half an hour. Screw all uprights all
the way to hell and back! The g.d. things are nothing but torture racks.
One thing is for sure, they were never designed for the human anatomy.

Ed, when I started riding again I had a whole lot of pains in just about
every part of my body from that damned bicycle.

But over time I learned to properly fit and to adjust myself to the bike.

I put in 7600+ miles this year and the worst pain I've had from the bike
was an occasional sore butt and that's usually near the start of a ride.
It goes away as I ride out longer.

I can certainly understand why you'd be angry at the pain from a bicycle
but when I started running way back when I had every possible pain a
person could have except when running they got progressively worse.
Eventually I had to stop running because my legs would be numb from the
knees down for days at a time.

I've ridden some recumbents and to be frank, I didn't find them that
comfortable and neither did I see any advantage to using them. Though I
did discover that I like short wheelbase recumbents with underseat
steering.

To compare the kind of comfort you can get on an upright (by working at it)
and the kind comfort you can get on a recumbent right out of the box is the
difference between night and day. I rode uprights for over 10 years and
there is nothing you can tell me about them that I do not already know in
spades.

You DO sometimes have to fiddle a bit with the seat and various other
factors to get perfect comfort on a recumbent, but it can easily be
accomplished. Once you have your recumbent dialed in, you are through with
it for life. You can never say that about an upright as it will come back to
bite you if you get the least bit out of shape.

The chief advantage of a recumbent is the comfort factor. Most young
cyclists will never get into recumbents because they either do not ride a
bike all that much or they do not want to give up any speed. They will put
up with the discomfort that you get on an upright for the speed advantage.

Once I got into recumbents I never looked back and I now regard uprights as
nothing but torture machines. The fact is that you have to stay very fit and
strong to ride an upright. You can be a wimp like me and still enjoy a bike
as long as it is a recumbent.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota
aka
Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota