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Where to Place Your Hands

08.19.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

Recently, I was on a longer-than-usual ride, and after awhile, things started aching. Since the group I was with had already gone 35 miles without stopping, I thought a break was in order, and picked a shady spot under a bridge to rest a bit.

“All my contact points are sore,” I told one of my co-riders.  “My feet, my butt, and my hands.”

The feet weren’t a problem. A few minutes rest would take care of the hot spot, and I would make sure to pull up rather than push down the rest of the way in.  My butt wasn’t a problem, either, because the rest would help that, too.  But the hands — I’ve had sore hands before, and they don’t go away so easily.

The wrong way. My weight is centered between thumb and forefinger.

I stumbled across the answer several days later. My hands hurt because I’ve been putting them on the bar in the wrong place.  I spend 90 percent of my time on the hoods, and the web between thumb and forefinger naturally wraps around the hood.

That’s not what you want to do.

A post on Bike Forums suggested that your hands should bear all the weight on their heels.  That takes pressure off the tender webbing, and allows you to ride in comfort for hours on end.  The forum poster even asserted that you could ride without gloves and still be comfortable, if you kept the weight on the heels of the hands.

The right way. Weight to the outside.

I decided to try it.  The next weekend, I took a club ride about the same distance as when I had the soreness.  Several miles into the ride, I remembered that I was going to try the new hand position (I learn slowly, sometimes). I shifted the hands slightly to the sides, to where I could feel the heels absorb the weight.

It was pretty good.

This really works.  Problem is, I shift my hands a bit when I have to brake, and then forget to put them back in their new positions.  “Move your hands!” I kept reminding myself.

The weight-on-the-heel position doesn’t work only when your hands are on the hoods.  It’ll work anytime, anywhere. Want to rest your hands on top of the bar, near the stem?  Pay attention to where you put the heel.  Want to move the hands around just for some variety? Try putting them on the tall part of the shifter enclosure.  The heel naturally falls on the hood that way.  Again, you might have to shift the hands quickly if you have to brake, but that’s not an issue.

And I can vouch for the claim that the heel will support your weight regardless of the amount of padding.  On another day, I wore my backup gloves, with only a piece of synthetic leather over the heel of the hand — no cushioning inside.  I rode for over an hour with no discomfort.

These pictures show local crit racers who position their hands correctly. The guy on the left points his forearms in.  So does the guy on the right, who also shows that you don’t need gloves to ride comfortably.

With heels supporting your weight, you aren’t going to put a death grip on the bars.  In fact, you ought to be able to wiggle your fingers and wrap them lightly around the bars.  That will eliminate tension from your hands, and you’ll ride comfortably for hours.

Criterium pictures via Facebook.

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Categories // Technique Tags // hands

Passing on the Right

08.17.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Lots of cyclists were on the road Saturday morning. Pat and I had hop-scotched with several beginners who were being led along the Mopac route by an experienced cyclist.

I had just passed them again, and was settling into an easy pace, when suddenly, a young woman zipped by me on the right!

I had no idea she was there.  I never heard her.  She never announced herself.

I was just on the verge of moving to the right side of the shoulder when she passed.  If I had made my move a second or two earlier, we would have crashed.

Uh oh. He's passing on the right!

One of the most basic rules of cycling you learn early on: Never pass on the right. Most organized rides specifically address that in their instructions to riders, e.g. the MS 150. Ride to the right and pass on the left.  It’s kinda like vehicular cycling. A car wouldn’t pass on the right (okay, it shouldn’t), so you shouldn’t, either.

You should never hear the call, “On your Right.”  However, there are many cyclists with varying experience.  Be on the lookout for those that will pass on your right.  If someone does this, kindly remind him or her that they should pass on the left.  Also, it is common courtesy to say “Thank You” to the person yelling “on your left.” This indicates to them that you’ve heard them.

Now, there are some sites that indicate that passing on the right is OK, but only in emergencies.  But that would be a rare situation. So rare, that if you must pass on the right be sure to give plenty of notice to the “passee.”

I’ve been kicking myself since that Saturday morning ride, because when she passed me on the right, I was so surprised, I said nothing.  In the past, I have complained to cyclists who pass me on the left without letting me know they’re there — I’m not sure why I let it go this time. It won’t happen again.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

The Return

08.15.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

You might recall that regular guest poster Don Blount has been out of action for awhile, after a bad fall.  Well, Don’s back. How he handled his recovery could be instructive if any of us find ourselves in a similar predicament.

It has been three weeks since I was cleared by my doctor to begin riding without restrictions.

It’s good to be back.

I was cleared for activity on July 22. On July 23 I was back on the bike. The first full week back I rode a total of 101 miles, the second week it was 103 miles. I expect to be back in that range again this week. I even started doing intervals and plan on heading up to the hills soon.

I think the reason I transitioned back to the outdoor bike world so well was because of what I did during my recovery.

In quick review: On May 15 I took a nasty tumble from my bike, fracturing my left wrist and breaking my left arm. About a week later I had surgery and then spent another nine weeks on restricted duty.

Restriction meant to not do anything that put any pressure on my arm. Of course riding my bike was out. I was allowed to ride a stationary bike but only provided that I didn’t violate that restriction.

I became good friends with a bike at my gym. I think I had about six hours on it during the first week.

Later, a member of my bike club loaned me his Cateye CS-1000 cycle simulator. This trainer had adjustable settings that allowed the resistance to be increased to get a harder bike workout.

I found this time incredibly boring, even if I was watching videos or the Tour de France or listening to music. Particularly when the weather is good, bike riding is most enjoyed when done outdoors. I gained additional appreciation for living in California where I can pretty much ride outdoors year round.

But the time on the trainer helped. I focused on making sure I got saddle time and trying to keep my cardio level up so I wouldn’t suffer from saddle soreness or too much fatigue when I returned to riding outdoors.

And it worked for the most part. My wrist was a little tender initially but the discomfort was tolerable. I have stretches and exercises to help strengthen my wrist and arm. More importantly I gained a greater appreciation for an act as simple as riding a bike and its value to my quality of life.

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Categories // crash, guest post, Injury Tags // Injury, recovery

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