Knee "clickling"
Hi!
I've just returned from my first multi-day bike trip, camping on the way. To my great disappointment, I had to return much earlier than expected.
I was planning to ride some 600km (372mi), estimating 80-100km (50-62mi) a day. The first day I managed 85km (52mi) and the second day 105km (65mi). On the second day and after some 150km (93mi) I noticed strange pressure in both of my knees and every about 5-10km (3-6mi) they would "click" which made me quite concerned. This had never happened to me before. Do you know the feeling when you just need to crack your fingers? My knees felt exactly that way – pressure and a little discomfort inside them until they suddenly (and without pain) "clicked" on their own every few km.
I am in my late 20s and I've never had any problems with my knees. I guess they are not used to the recently purchased clipless shoes and the constant strain of pulling/pushing. However, I can't say that I set off for the ride completely unprepared. I don't own a car, so I cycle to work with normal shoes every day and even the clipless shoes had been used for some 300km (186mi) on various day trips before the camping tour. Sure, that was without 12kg of camping and other equipment. But I assumed this practice had been enough.
I still had lots of energy to complete the trip and I was extremely disappointed to have to return early. But better safe than sorry I thought. After taking the train home and a bit of rest the problems went away.
Do you have any experience with the knee problems I described? What do you do to eliminate them?
Thanks!