It's worth a thought, but I don't wear my bike trousers in the lounge sitting on the sofa, or working at my desk in my office, yet have the same problems as I do on the bikes.
Yep asked the quack, had to see them last week as an emergency because of my latest knee injury. Not interested in having problems riding a bike, but yes a bit concerned about having the trouble sitting around at home. Got to wait for a little more healing to take place before having a session or two at a physio and get their opinion. But, I'm lucky enough to have Bupa through work so have also started the ball rolling with that and should be getting a consultation and ultrascan in the next few days. I think putting it down on here really made me realise that I do need help with it and can't just try to work around it again when my knee heals.
Exercise strengthens our cardiovascular systems. For example, see ‘Movement means artery health improvement’ below: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/exercise-and-your-arteries
Plus no one hears or smells you fart through your Yoga session, win win. Unless it’s just me who noticed that during Yoga classes………
Modern rider saddles do tend to keep one in situ with very little fore and aft movement possible.My Honda is a good example of this type of seating arrangement, though generally comfortable.The old type dual seats enabled the rider to move about forwards and backwards very easily and thus was very helpful on long journeys. There we are, perhaps the price of progress.Of course these sort of considerations didn’t matter when I was a teenager and as fit as a flea.
Having done the sportsbikes, to flat bars, to ADV style progression…there lies my answer! I used to get serious serious knee pains and hip lock (is that a thing? Which ever it was painful!) Multistrada1200, later followed by the solution and real comfort with a GS, as Ducati seem to have strange ideas about seat comfort. The 1260s I took out was torture within an hour and seemed to push me on to the tank. Luckily, as I get older fashion awareness fades, but common sense prevails. Cant run with the GS? Then an ADV style bike with an aftermarket seat. The new XR I found especially comfy.
I have exactly the same issues. I’m 58 now and still train a bit though not like I used to. Track days nearly kill me nowadays but I’m not packing in, dam it!! It’s the position. Moving my arse from side to side thrusting from the knees hurts like fuck. I compensate through my arms as I have loads of upper body strength (wrong I know). I recently did 3 days off road in the Algarve. People said it would kill me but I found it easier than than track riding by a long chalk. A lot of it is out the saddle with a soft knee as opposed to being held in a medieval torture position like on a track bike. My cardio and general fitness is pretty good for an old twat, it’s just my knees I struggle with. And like you, if I’m driving long distance I sometimes have to extend my legs to stop the dull aching.
I’ve been skirting around this for probably 2 years now, and it’s getting worse not better. Since starting this thread I’ve seen 2 Physios, one through Bupa and one through my Gym, both have given me exercises to do and I’ve adjusted my gym sessions. Oddly it’s my old M1000 that’s proving to be really hard on me. A couple of weeks ago I did @100miles in a morning on my 999, obviously a proper sports bike that should not be comfy, but it’s physically so much bigger than the monster that I’m just not as cramped up on it. Obviously I knew I’d done some miles on it afterwards, but it was OK after a couple of minutes. I did @30 Miles on my Monster yesterday and could hardly walk afterwards. The problem on the Monster is my legs and hips. I’ve tried some dodgy brackets to drop the pegs an inch to see how it was, and I’ve sat on an inch thick sheet of high density foam to see if raising the seat would help. I’ve also tried some higher bars without improvement. It appears to be all about the relationship between the saddle and the footpegs, and probably the width of the bike. After only a very short time on the bike I start to get cramps in my Thighs, and my hips feel like they are dislocating. If I stop at a junction and have to put a foot down, about 30% of the time when I lift the foot back onto the peg I’m instantly in a huge amount of pain with cramp in that Thigh and Hip which is really difficult to shift on the go, so I often have to stop at the side of the road. This simply does not happen on my 999. I was also recently lucky enough to test ride a 1200 Multistrada for about an hour. I had no problems at all with cramps etc. After my ride yesterday my hips were so stiff and uncomfortable I was struggling to walk and had to do some stretching exercises to get the movement back.
I think Multi might be the answer. I'm able to stand up & ride even on motorway. Ideally do that if you have a segment of road that don't need gear change - head far away from engine noise to be able to tell when to shift, and display too low to be safe to look there. I'm also able to just have my legs hanging off the bike, as if I was standing. Just pulling the legs a bit more apart and feet with tips up, so I don't scrub my shoes on the tarmac. I'm 185cm (Sorry, born on continent, imerial not my thing) or there abouts.
Nasher, I’ve had similar ish pains for years. Slowly getting worse to the point of wanting to give up bikes and even cars for long journeys. Seriously look at yoga or Pilates. It helps. I do a weekly Reformer Pilates session and it has really helped. and have a look at Piriformis Syndrome. There are specific exercises that help, really worked for me on top of the Pilates. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/piriformis-syndrome-stretches-exercises We managed to ride 1000 miles across France and Spain last week with no pain.
Sorry for the tardy response to this. It is the major reason I’ve decided my M1000 has to go instead of one of my other bikes, and will be putting it up for sale in the next few days. I did try Yoga, I went to 3 sessions at my gym, in truth mainly because of this thread. I understand this is completely down to me, my fault, my issue etc, but I found it mind-numbingly dull and frustrating slow. .
^^This^^ All too true. It takes months to undo the years of neglect and sitting at a desk. I find even three weeks away from Pilates and my hips are starting to stiffen up. My solution is to have a 15 minute yoga/stretch session a couple of times a week.
Personally, I found a local instructor that did some 1:1 sessions before I went any further. It reduced my frustration and potential embarrassment from turning up to a class to which I wasn’t suited. I’ve damaged myself enough times to know I need supervision when exercising- I push too hard and break stuff The instructor helped me understand the type of yoga I’d like - hatha flow in my case. Did yoga for a while but I moved to Reformer Pilates which helps me with my flexibility - it’s also 1:1 and very focussed. Even after two years I still walk like John Wayne the next day.
