A newbie has asked me this:

Sadly I can't ride at the moment, due to soft tissue damage to my foot. I wonder if I can tap into your no doubt wealth of experience by asking you some questions about my riding style (or should I say lack of it!)

At the moment, I seem to be "damaging" the left hand side of my body; not by falling off, but by the way I ride. So far I've got a dodgy thumb, sciatica and this foot problem, all on the same side of my body. I've noticed that when I ride over rough terrain (the very rough cobbled type path which runs up round the back of the Top Barn at Rivington) that I have problems. When I go downhill, I stand up on my pedals (flat pedals), with the pedals level, the right pedal forwards. I'm finding that I seem to be putting more weight on the left pedal at these times, as it stops my right foot bouncing off the pedal….I hope this is making sense? So I'm getting various problems as my weight isn't being distributed evenly.

Would you have any practical advice that could help me to correct this fault, as I'm loving riding my bike, but I seem to be spending more time off it in pain at the moment which is making me a very dull woman lol. I only started riding in January so I'm still new to this but I want to overcome this and improve my riding. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Thanks for taking time to read this, H

The immediately obvious answer to a small part of the propblem is clipless pedals to help prevent the lady's foot coming off the pedal.
I can't think that that one issue is causing all of her discomfort.
The next thing I'd be suggesting is a bike fitting, some skills sessions (both with somebody knowledgeable if not professional) and GP and/or physio for the sciatica.

is clipless pedals to help prevent the lady's foot coming off the pedal.

wouldn't that just add needless distraction? I use flats with pins and my feet almost never slip off (ie a few times a year, say once every 50 rides)

I went from learning to ride a bike to using clipless pedals within about 6 weeks Simon so I've no experience of using flat pedals on off road rides but if they're just as good?
Do you think the person in question is very tense while riding, especially when things get a little intimidating? Maybe relaxing more (easier said than done for a beginner) will lessen the symptons?
Is the thumb issue being caused by the trigger shifters of the gears? Maybe a switch to grip shift would help?

so I've no experience of using flat pedals on off road rides but if they're just as good?

I think so – I used to get knee pain from spuds, and flats never jam up with mud, though in icy conditions they can freeze over and become slippery…

I've suggested H signs up to the forum so she can reply for herself

Is she aware of any muscle weakness on the right hand side of her body which is leading her to compensate by leading/controlling/weighting with her left? Agree on grips, but possibly before then moving gear shifters as I had similar problems. And also going to a GP/physio. Don't know much about sciatica but favouring the leg which it's in is kind of not going to help, that needs sorting.

H is still waiting for her forum approval. She says:
"Regarding my thumb, the gear changing isn't a problem, it's when I'm holding on, I get pain in my thumb joint. I keep my grip loose and I stay as relaxed as I can throughout my body. I get slightly nervous when my foot bounces off the pedal, hence the shift in body weight onto the left pedal. It's something I'm trying not to do. Would having my left foot forwards perhaps help?"

Got to be worth a try with the other foot forward..

No medic but could the sciatica be affecting the foot too?

Thumb joint could be many things worth maybe trying ESI grips or the more expensive option Ergon grips. (mine is always sore too but mines a little arthritis)

And as said dont push yourelf to hard into things your not comfy with and ride so tense it all becomes a problem.

How often does she ride? It sounds a bit off and on, like she's never quite making friends with her bike and getting comfortable cos of it. Well I wouldn't (might be just me tho). It might be worth avoiding all cobbles, finding a nice bit of simple compacted mud singletrack and hacking up and down it for a few hours whilst concentrating on weight distribution etc and whether it changes as she becomes more tired. In the process, she'll become more confident (don't know if this is an issue either, but might be) and that might transfer to her position on the bike as she relaxes.
Also, being in pain changes your position. It's hard to be harsh on yourself and force yourself to retain a position you know is right when it's hurting, this also might be the case, though you'd expect this to happen by weighting the right, and not the left!

Hi to "H" :-}
Left foot forward or right foot forward is a natural thing and although you can practice using both to some degree of success, you will always favour and feel more comfortable in your natural position.
A good way of seeing it in action is if you think about which foot you would automatically put forward to stop yourself falling if somebody pushed you from behind or even better, if you were skidding in the school hall in your socks (those were the days), which foot you would have forward. This is your natural lead foot. Snowboarders call it regular (left foot forward) or goofy (right foot forward).
Do you get pain in your thumb during any other activities that you do? I'd initially be looking to see if it's something inheritantly physilogical that is transpiring because your hand is in one position for a relatively long time which wouldn't normally be the case in day to day activities (I got through, but only just, my biomechanics element of my Sports Science degree). Ergo grips are a good call but take some getting used to and some don't ever manage it. If you turn your hand palm up and move your fingers into a holding position as if your were holding a pole, notice the flat spot from below the little finger to the wrist? Ergo grips support that.
The sciatica I dare say is already being dealt with? A few seat saddle forwards and backwards, seatpost higher and lower and stem changes will probably go a long way to easing it on the bike (although changes in any position on the bike are not in isolation – a change in stem length for instance will not just slow down the steering and make you lean more forward, it will also rotate your hip position and seated position on the saddle) along with spinning the easiest gear you can with higher revs rather than hard gear selection and hard pushes on the pedals.
I hope some of that helps.

I wonder if she has trapped a nerve and this is effecting the side of her body? Easy to do as a beginner when the back muscles aren't quite as strong and you're riding over cobbles. Strange to be getting pains all on one side like this, might well be worth getting this checked out if it's bad?

As mentioned above about flats, they can be fine for your foot never slipping off, but it very much depends on the shoe and pedal being used. Some shoes are better for walking than riding and just won't grip pedals.

I would suggest she rides a bit on on smoother terrain and try to work out what's happening. Is it only biking where she's getting pain? Get a few hours of smoother terrain in will help determine if it's bike fit and will help get the body used to being on the bike. Is bike fit good, ie not over stretching or standing too upright?

I always recommend stretching and yoga (or pilates) to people who have strange pains somewhere in their body as it's great for sorting things like this out.

H says:
In response to the latest post on Singletrack, I ride a couple of times a week and I'm very happy and comfortable on my bike. I'm fine on the mud tracks and keep wanting to find new challenges so I can keep learning more (loving speed more and more). It might not help that I ride alone so I've no-one to look to for advice while it's happening.

—————–
hopefully when she's recovered she'll try the Bog Trotters, though I've also recommended Manchester Mountain Bikers – sadly I believe her local club, the Grumpy Tribe, discourages beginners 🙁

H:
In that case, I will cede to the greater wisdom of those riding longer than me. But I hope you get it sorted, it sounds like a right pain in the assleg. Also, if Darwen isn't too far, they've got a great club, really good at catering for lots of different levels.

Also, if Darwen isn't too far, they've got a great club

tell us more, website, meeting where etc ? I get a lot of enquiries and I always try to steer people to a local club if possible.

Ah sorry, yes, good point. Web is here . I've never ridden with them, because I'm a real blue route only newbie, but Nezbo on here is a member (leads rides etc), and the general attitude is 'wait for the slowest' so there's a nice relaxed atmosphere to their ride outs, I'd imagine. Looking at their ride list, scheduled rides are Sat & Suns, led by different people, the odd visit to trail centres, but mostly local. They also seem to cater for 'beginners' mostly, but their rides have options for the more advanced.
There's also Blackburn and District but I don't know anyone who rides with them so don't know anything about atmosphere or level of riding on their ride outs.

Does she need to feminise her bike, has she got big chunky grips that she is struggling to relax her hand on?

Generally a lot of what she describes sounds like newbie tension, and with time it shoul subside. Can't see it being anything "organic" and unique to the LHS of her body as the symptoms seem too varied and I'd expect her to have noticed problems in other parts of her life away from cycling.

Thanks, I know nezbo but I wasn't aware he'd formalised his group.

Mabye try a Wattbike at the gym? They give a 360 degree chart showing power through the pedals for each foot, which will let you know if one side of your body is much weaker than the other.

It does sound like 'newbie'tension combined with poor core strength to me.
Does she have any balance problems?

sounds to me like too little weight on the right foot, so put more on there to stop it bouncing off rather than all on the left (or alternate right forward vs left forward). All weight on left foot, behind centre of gravity, maybe pulling back on bars to stabilise yourself – sounds like it might stress your body if continued for long ?

does H have grippy pedals & suitable shoes ?

does H have grippy pedals & suitable shoes ?

that's the first issue she's addressing, she tells me she's still using the original pedals which are probably the crappy cage type. I suggested she try something like DMR V8s

Kona flat pedals are some of the best I've found – also maybe a change of shoes? Vans aren't bad, and aren't too expensive either.

Either riding with a group or a skills day would probably make a big difference. It's possible that even just having someone watch you ride might give you pointers as to what's wrong…

…. then is she still riding in trainers or some other very soft soled shoe? Nice pair of 5-10s or similar would help her get a better platform, plus (if she has the same issues as me on flats) riding with the arch closer to the axle rather than pressuring the ball of the foot (riding on tip toes) too much

for the right/left thing I'd reiterate trying consciously to put the off (is the technical term chocolate?) foot forward, although tbh some proper professional help (fit, skills day, perhaps even phisio referral) sound like it's in order. last thing you want to end up with is tendon damage and 6 weeks or more off the bike

is ti worth getting in lots of miles on smoother easier going trails and paths to build confidence and bike posture etc by becoming more relaxed and "forgetting" about position and just enjoying the ride, hence relaxing more??
i used to get really bad tense neck pains when i started but never happens anymore…

is ti worth getting in lots of miles on smoother easier going trails and paths to build confidence

wouldn't that be very dull ?

It's what I did & it was boring in places but I'm glad I did. It's sorted out cramps in my thumbs, cramps in the arches of my feet and back pain – mostly because through doing 'pootles' I learnt how my bike should be set up for me, and every time I rode it I was a bit more sure. Now I have a bigger cockpit bike, a chopped saddle post, different pedals, going to try riding in my Etnies and my stem has been raised. Oh and the shifters moved an eight of an inch. Et voila, no backache, no cramps in feet, no horrible thumbs, nothing.
Hurtling is easy. Focusing inwards on yourself and identifying every little niggly thing and its source took weeks of boring pootles, but I now ride every other day. I'm damned if I could have done that with the way the bike came shipped.
Just my 2p worth. I'm no expert and a big fat nub.
YMMV.

I doubt this is anything to do with cycling.

Has she lived a relatively static life and then suddenly started doing exercise ?

Bad habits and musco-skeletal weakness has probably developed in that time.

Increased activity has probably brought up this these problems.

Problems with sciatica/hand/foot problem suggest nerve compression of some sort on her left but where or why is hard to say.

I would imagine core strength/pilates/yoga/streching type exercise would be the best answer.

H says:
"Can you please explain that I'm not new to exercise? Up until getting my bike in January I went to the gym twice a week, swam 80 lengths of a 25m pool in a single session once a week, I did and still do go out walking. Last year I walked up Snowdon and back down and I've done Go Ape. I'd hardly call that static :)"

H – what we really need to know is, has Barnesy taken any photos of yer bum yet?

😉

Problems with sciatica/hand/foot problem suggest nerve compression of some sort on her left but where or why is hard to say.

Too many parts of the body involved to be a "trapped nerve", surely? Sounds like local problems that she is focusing upon, quite why they're all LHS related is probably just coincidence.

Is she left or right handed?

two possible silly points:

1. Is there possibly a leg length issue, one may be slightly longer than the other, though how this would manifest is a different question

2. Does she carry a shoulder bag often? If so is it weighty and mainly on one side? apparently this can cause a core imbalance which shifts all sorts of things around.

has Barnesy taken any photos of yer bum yet?

I've not even met her yet! And behave yourself, that comes later 🙂 And of course she's reading this thread…

Hi, thanks everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. I got my password through today so I can actually comment myself now 🙂
I'm going to try new pedals and also new shoes if needs be. At the moment I'm wearing a good trail shoe with a decent sole, but the pedals aren't very grippy. The thumb prob is arthritis (so my doc tells me this morning); the foot's also slowly improving. I'm also looking at a skills course at Rivington with Muddy Tracks Mountain Biking….that's if the guy can get around to answering my email 🙂

At the moment I'm wearing a good trail shoe with a decent sole

I find ordinary walking boots work fine with spiky flats, and they're much better for pushing/carrying when they have to be done…