Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Problem Solved

Monday morning while swimming, I had an epiphany!!  My knee pain is caused by my new bike shoes!!  What?  New bike shoes cause knee pain?  How?  Well, let me explain.  When you get new bike shoes, the cleats on the bottom tend to shift out of proper alignment very easily.  (Oh, but first it is important to get the cleats in the same alignment as your old shoes...as close of alignment as you can anyway...Problem #1.)  The cleats tend to shift even more if you tighten your pedals too much to the point that you can't get your shoes in and out of the pedals at all (OOPS...Problem #2.  When I did this, I really twisted the cleats on the bottom of my shoes).  Once the cleats are out of proper alignment, the entire leg is also out of proper alignment, thus causing potential ankle, knee and/or hip pain.  Problem #3...riding for multiple miles with the cleats improperly aligned.

I decided to take my bike, old bike shoes and new bike shoes into Skunk River Cycles after my swim and had Ronn, the owner, help me properly align the cleats on my new bike shoes.  Now I should not have any more problems.  I am so excited that it was something so simple!!  What an easy fix!!

I did learn a very valuable lesson for the future...check the alignment of the cleats after nearly every ride for the first month or so when new bike shoes/cleats are purchased.  I will definitely be doing this over the next month!!  I was also told that about once a month after that it is important to recheck the alignment to make sure nothing has shifted.  I will also be doing this...no more knee pain for me!!

Problems solved!!

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