We are up to 1500+ cycling miles this season, and everything hurts. Both of my knees ache after rides, and Vicky's back has moved from being an ache to being pain.
My surgically corrected foot has been bothering me too. A lot. So I have been doing something very weird---I have been riding with a surgical boot. It's like heaven in comparison. The boot does not allow my foot to bend at all. So last week we took a pair of my sneakers to a cobbler to have a steel plate inserted into the sole. It won't bend either, and I'll look more normal.
I had an appointment with the orthopedist to get another shot in my knee, but then it started doing better so I cancelled it. I can live with the ache. It's not pain.
But Vicky is a different story. Back pain is its own animal, a vicious one that thinks nothing of eating you. And once you start having pain on a ride you not only ride more slowly but you are less inclined to get out and ride. And then your health is affected in other ways.
The solution is a bike made specifically for comfort. Specialized makes one that fits best for men, the Roubaix (which is what I have), and one that fits best for women, the Ruby. Someone had fun naming it.
The Ruby is a carbon fiber bike that has shock absorbers built into the seat post and the handle bar.
We also changed from 25mm tires to 28mm tires. The wider footprint allows one to run lower tire pressure, which also dampens road noise. (and for a special treat, we got tubeless tires, which are virtually immune to flats).
She got the red color, which makes it fun because now it is her ruby Ruby. It's also fun because as a young girl she did not have a bicycle, so she went door to door selling magazine subscriptions until she had sold enough of them that the company gave her a bicycle. It was red. She's come full circle.
We have enough time to test it out before the STP and tweak any fittings.
Doesn't she look good on it!