A Real Pain in the Neck

When I cycle, I'm not one of those who easily or comfortably leans forward. I don't tend to get as low as I can in order to be as aerodynamic as possible. Partly because I'm not a particularly bendy person (at least I don't bend particularly easily into that position) and I feel rather off balance as soon as I lean forward too much (although I am trying to get better at that part). 

So I sit up. Not upright like I'm sitting on a chair but probably more upright than a lot of cyclists do. 

That is not a problem most of the time (other than I'm sure it slows me down a bit) but it becomes a problem as soon as I'm on the bike for more than about 40k. That's about the time when the pain starts at the back of my neck and begins radiating out into my shoulders. Once it starts, it doesn't stop until I get off the bike and stretch. And don't get back on again for a day or two. 

I'm guessing this is going to become an issue as I try to cycle longer distances. 

So I took the bull by the horns (or perhaps the Trek by the handle bars?) and I headed over to our local bike shop. I needed a few things anyway and, while I was there, I asked the nice guy at the counter about my shoulder/neck pain. 

Kyle, as it turns out, is the guy who sizes (fits?) bikes and people. He asked what kind of bike I had and immediately suggested that my handle bars were too low.  Apparently this is a fairly common problem with Trek road bikes (who knew?). 

Next Friday, the 13th, my bike and I have a date with Kyle. We're going to be sized, measured and adjusted so that we work well together. We already get along fairly well but I'm looking forward to seeing whether a little couples therapy helps us work out the kinks. Because my bike can be a real pain in the neck sometimes...