I had heard of this “Rist Canyon” on many occasions, so I was happy to finally have the chance to ride some of it. Jeff had to do an interval and then turn around, so I didn’t get to see the “steep” part, but I got to see close to half of it. Next time!! Whoda thunk, there actually are a few Canyons in Ft. Collins. I really love the road riding in Boulder, but it was good to branch out and see something new… including cyclists who actually wave back at you when you say hi. Imagine that? I also saw there were less people riding with their helmet hanging from their handlebars. They are wise in Ft. Collins.
On the way out. Pretty funny… I see this sign in the Front Range in a lot of places.
There are other riders on the road out here, but they don’t try to race you and not nearly as many people as in Boulder. It’s nice to not have 1000 chodes trying to suck your wheel.
Hup! Yes. I own a road bike, and I like to ride it sometimes.
This was actually on Friday. We just went out for an easy spin around town.
Jeff doing his interval, soon to dust me.
Yes siiirrrr… cow town o rama!
Today we are riding to Estes Park… about 90 miles I think. My hands go numb after awhile on the road bike. I need Ergon grips on there somehow… Hopefully they will be ok. I need to figure that out. I put some gel tape and got some gel gloves, but I’m still uncomfortable. I have had a good bike fit too. I guess I need to get used to the roadie position.
Sonya,
Glad you liked Rist Canyon and riding in the Fort. I too used to get numb hands road riding a few years back when I used to work as a Bike mechanic at a shop. Now that I don’t, its not as bad. Since you type at a computer a lot, that could be some of it? Perhaps look at some of the handle bars that have a different molded shape on the tops like some from FSA, Time , or Ritchey. That might help.
Rist is my favorite “tough” (for me, at least) local ride. Glad you got to check out some of it! You definitely need to do the whole thing — there’s a really fun short bit of 20%+ grade near the top. 🙂
And if you link that with Stove Prairie to Masonville and around near Horsetooth Park and the dams, that’s a beautiful, 50 mile loop.
Just a quick glance at the photos of your road position would lead me to believe that you need to make an adjustment to the stem to allow for more bend at your elbows. With straight or nearly straight arms you force the wrist into an almost 90 degree angle while holding the bar. This will reduce circulation to the hands every time. A different shaped bar will not alleviate this problem, as suggested in another comment. If possible put a 10mm spacer under the stem and see how it feels, or if that is not an option due to steering tube length then try a shorter stem.
Thanks for all the tips! I will definitely try that. 🙂
Good points Todd. She had a pro bike fit, Maybe a shorter stem could help. When my Ulnar nerve was irritated to begin with from wrenching bikes my hands would go numb on a road bike even though they did not before. On my MTB bike the numbness did not happen.
And it a sweet road bike it is…new bar tape in the one shot by chance?
Great input on your fit here. I would agree with all of that. This may sound weird but, I was able to eliminate the pains on my road bike by switching to Fizik tape (no padding) and quit wearing gloves. Doesn’t make sense to me either but, it works for me.
I spend a lot of time on the computer, too — I have bad hands and wrists. I have a flat-top road bar, and being able to distribute pressure over most of my palm, rather than the thinner bar area, has been a big help. And I have the Fizik tape and don’t wear gloves, too. Carl’s my role model.
I hear if you “superman” while descending it helps…not sure how, but it does! 🙂
It’s science!