With The Bowral Classic coming up this weekend in the Southern Highlands, we are reminded of how enthusiastic we are about bike riding in this region. With the COVID pandemic, we have seen a massive increase in the amount of bike riders, and the general price of bikes has gone up due to popular demand but also supply.

Personally my experience with bike riding is more in the realms of off-road mountain bike riding. I always enjoyed the unpredictability of the surfaces, bashing along fire trails in the Blue Mountains which is where I come from originally. Yes, I had many falls, often in slow motion I can see myself now, thundering down a steep decent through the Australian bush. It was exciting to explore the outdoors in this way. I am reminded of one particular incident that involved a black snake slithering underneath my bike while I was sitting on it. But that’s another story.

In terms of injuries I have seen in the clinic, more often than not, it comes down to technique and the bike you are riding. Prevention is so much easier than a cure. If you have a bike that doesn’t fit you, this sets you up for troubles to come. This can present as all manner of aches and pains, such as low back pain, a frame that is too short will mean that you will tilt your pelvis to accommodate, in what we call a posterior pelvic tilt, creating increased tension in the lower back. Another condition we often see is anterior hip impingement, so pain in the front of the hip, again can mostly come down to the height of the seat and the frame length.

When in doubt, visit a reputable bike shop that will fit you accordingly, it is well worth the effort.

Happy riding

Sam and Andy