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Upper back and shoulders to be precise.
Did my first 50mi ride tonight this year (On a school night and all!!) and my upper back around my shoulder blades and my shoulders were feeling, well, uncomfortable. Got to the 40 mi mark and i had to stretch the shoulders and upper back to make them feel better.
Any idea on any way to reduce this? (I've done plenty of 30/35mi rides this year, just starting to push the mileage now it's getting nice)
Any ideas?
It's just down to a new position on the road bike, you'll be far more stretched than on your MTB.
You'll get used to it eventually, it's basically the effort of holding your head in that position for that length of time.
If it's really bad you could try raising your handlebars a bit by flipping teh stem upright or puting more spacers under it.
Also you could try bars that are shorter from the flats to the curve to bring the hoods closer, therefore raising your upper body and taking strain off your neck
if you're used to doing 30 i imagine your position/fit is reasonably good, though you might benefit from raising the bars slightly. personally though i find that it just does hurt a bit when you're caning it for hours in the same position! (maybe my setup is a bit off too mind) recently i've started changing position more often, especially on climbs etc, using the flats and drops rather than always on the hoods.
ride more, ride for longer.
Are you hanging on your back muscles with straight arms?
no. i always have bent arms when on the bike. It feels like my shoulders are a bit forwards when on the bike tbh.
Shoulders are in the same position as when i'm on the mtb too.
Stem shagging occasionally works wonders. When you're rolling along, keeping both feet on the pedals, jam your groin into the stem. Stretches out the back nicely.