Vehicular Ponderings

[jhameia]

Because my brain will not concentrate today it veered into possible getting wheels of my own that is not a bicycle. I've been using the Zagster bikeshare here, but my knees apparently hate me and ache when I've been cycling anything over gear 5 and uphill or even just level ground. I don't know if it's possible for knees to build strength? Do they? Maybe I just need to keep at it and they will stop complaining like little mofos eventually?

But of course bicycles can only take you so far, and I have anxieties surrounding driving, so I looked into motorcycling classes, and turns out that there is a course serving Riverside where people learn how to ride and it's accredited so getting a California motorcycling license is possible, too. Even when I was a teenager I wanted to ride a motorbike over driving a car (even as I dutifully went for driving lessons, which were mostly fine, until a panic attack during my driving exam, and then a little after almost running over my own dog, and then a growing fear of accidentally dying in a box).

I however can barely fathom spending hundreds of dollars the way any vehicle would demand of a person, especially on a irregular basis for maintenance and gas.

I asked my sewing teacher about her bike riding experience (she rode a motorbike for like 30 years, and was part of an older-lady biker gang) but she hasn't ridden in some ten years. She still had some recommendations for me. I looked up used motorbikes on Craigslist and most Honda Rebels seem to be from ten years ago, ranging in the $1500 - $3000 range. I think I might be able to handle that? But then, one doesn't appear to take up motorbiking here in the States to save money.

Still, the thought of having motorized wheels that could get me from city to city, something I could do road trips with, is very tempting. If I snag a job for the fall, I'll definitely look into getting lessons, and see from there. There's an accredited training course, which looks cool (and there's a mix of men and women among the instructors) and affordable. It all seems very convoluted to my public-transit-loving brain, but maybe I can do it?

Comments

[rosefox]

I don't know if it's possible for knees to build strength? Do they?

The muscles that support the knees can absolutely build strength. When I'm sedentary, my knees hurt, and when I walk a lot or work out my legs, they hurt much less because my muscles are taking more of the workload. Tight or inflamed tendons can also heal over time.

However, the knees themselves are made up of bone and cartilage that can't get stronger. So if the ache comes from a bone or cartilage problem, using the knee will probably make it worse rather than better.

At your age, the odds of a joint condition like arthritis are very low, and if your pain is about equal in both knees (which suggests a whole-body problem, like tight muscles/tendons due to poor posture), the issue is unlikely to be an acute injury or condition like a bone spur or a poorly healed fracture from a long-ago fall. But the only way to get a definitive answer is to see an orthopedist.

[jhameia]

I generally have absolutely no knee problems, sitting or walking, and my knees hurt only when I'm pushing down on the bike pedals, so I wonder if it has to do with the set of muscles being used for cycling? Now I wonder what would happen if I run, if my knees would hurt then too.

[rosefox]

Yeah, sounds like a thing that your muscles or tendons just aren't used to doing. Also you're using rideshare bikes, which may not be the right size or configuration for you. I'm sure that if I tried using any random Citibike it would be too tall for me.

[jhameia]

The seats are adjustable, which is pretty fun. I generally feel pretty comfy on those bikes, until the pedaling begins. And even then, pedaling is fine too, no awkwardness as such. So maybe it's my knees just not used to being pushed this way and I can work on that? If the weather cools and stops being unreasonable I'll give it a shot for sure.