Originally Posted by
ultrarider7
Being 5 years older than you and male, my opinion my not be worth much. However, I too have lingering issues but with my knees. For the first 2-3 miles they ache. Once I am past that point, I'm fine and have ridden as much as 60 miles in a stretch, but usually my weekend trips are 30-40 miles. That said, it wouldn't take much during those first few miles to say the heck with it. I agree with those who say you need to push yourself more each day. I try to ride 15-20 miles daily and one long trip on the weekends. I am no athlete, in fact I had become pretty sedentary in recent years until deciding it was time to ride again. It had been 22 years since I rode a bicycle on a regular basis. The first couple of weeks were difficult, but now the days that I cannot ride, whether it's because of weather or conflicts, I really miss it. Keep pushing yourself and I think you'll see steady improvement.
My knees the same. My sports medicine Doc is a biker. He says stretches and warm up. 2 miles is warm up. If I miss extra days between rides, my knees start out more fussy.
While holding down a couch and rising to visit the fridge for supplement (beer is the liquid staff of life, bread being the solid version) the joints become avascular. It takes time for vascular improvement, So I roughly massage my knees above and below the joints and also the muscles. After a ride. It assists a warm down. Foam rollers contribute toward joint and muscle happiness.