Originally Posted by xionchen4628

After a decade of not riding a bicycle, I finally came back with my purchase of a 2015 Trek 7.2 FX. Boy, what a joy it was to start riding a bicycle again. I have forgotten how much fun it was to ride a bicycle versus driving a car. Compare to what I used to own, it moves faster & smoother than I have ever experienced. The only difference is that the ride is more rigid/harsh than before, as I can feel even the smaller bumps. So far, I have been very happy with the purchase but I have encountered two issues during my last few rides.

Recently, I grabbed my sister and we went riding on a bike trail through the parks and streets. It took 2 hours for us to ride 13 miles since I frequently ended up waiting for my sister to catch up on her comfort-style hybrid bike with the fatter tires. Around the half way point, I noticed some soreness in the perineum area while riding. I ended up adjusting my position on the saddle by occasionally sitting further back on the saddle or standing up for a minute,which relieve some of the soreness.Once the ride was over, I didn't feel any more soreness except when I hopped on the bike to run a quick errand later that day and the day after. At first I have thought it might be the saddle that I am on but now I wonder whether it is my style of riding or how long it has been since I have been on the bike that are the major causes? Should I have been standing up more often instead of sitting down through most of the trip? I am planning a trip back to my LBS to look over how I am riding but any comment/suggestions before then are welcome.

Second, I also notice more discomfort in my palms during the "long" ride. I think the likely cause is that I have been holding the grip tighter than required. I probably need to relax my grip a little more.

In any case, I will be back on the trail this weekend. I am going to see if incorporating some changes in my riding will alleviate some of the issues that I have been having.