My legs ache after 2 days of doin a 4-5 mile bike ride a day, is this a good sign?

Question

Well after bout an hour of gettin home from biking my legs started to feel really tired when i walked about and stuff and i had to lean on stuff because my legs were just aching.

Is this a sign of my muscles building or something else?

Answer 1

well how long have you been doing this

if you have been doing this for a long time then i think it is pretty serious

if you have been doing this for a short time then you will get used to it  

Answer 2

Hey I'll jump in too - remember to eat and drink plenty of water.  Ideally when you first get home, cool off and have a tall one.  Eat within 20 minutes if you can - a high protein snack so you give your body something to rebuild with.

In time you won't even notice the aches and pains associated with starting out.  I've been riding 16 miles a day every day for my commute for some time now.  I remember starting out and hating life... particularly at the end of the week - and I was an experienced rider, though retired for some years!

Eat, sleep, drink water and a little aspirin go a long way!

One more tip: Riding style.  You can power pedal and choose high gears but be careful you don't hurt yourself.  It's easier to do than one would think.  As I get older I use a lower impact/more aerobic style:  spinning.  Use your gears liberally to get your legs under you.  Get up to speed then drop down to an easier gear and maintain that speed by taking your spin rate up on the pedals.  This will help give you some cardio, reduce the strain on your muscles, help reduce the risk of injury and make your leg ligaments, joints, etc. more flexible!

Answer 3

You probably havn't used your calf muscles so vigorously in a while, and they are just sore. No need to worry, I was the same way a few years ago, I didn't run or take long walks that much, and my legs would get sore, but since then I have built up more muscle and I took about a 7.5-8 mile hike one day this summer, and they didn't hurt at all. It is all a matter of comditioning, work them more, and eventually they will not consider that activity as much of a challenge, so it won't hurt.

Answer 4

yeas that is muscles building... when you exercise your muscles are stretched... afterward an acid ( a good acid) builds up in them ( this is what causes them to grow bigger)  the soreness comes from the building up of those acids it should go away in a few days

take a warm bath to relax those muscles

try to stretch some other wise those muscles will become tighter than they were before they were exercised  

Answer 5

Muscle ache (dull pain) is ok -- you just worked some muscles that are not used to working. Joint pain is bad. If you hips or knees are hurting, your bike probably isn't adjusted to fit you well. Often beginners put their seat much too low, causing knee pain. Ask someone who knows a lot about bikes to check your position on the bike, or better yet go to your local bike shop and have them look at your fit.

But if it's just muscle pain, start riding more! That's the best way to make those muscles stop hurting.