Is your problem resolved? Did you find the cause? I've found that when I bike long distances that no matter what the weather is I have to wear thick padded gloves so that I don't end up with numb fingers for days afterwards.
Long version in case this helps someone: I have hypermobile-type Ehlers-Danloss syndrome, which is a disorder affecting the body's connective tissue. Among other things it means I'm more bendy than I should be. As a consequence I have to be careful not to make too extreme movements because I can injure my joints. In this case, the problem was because I wasn't utilizing my full range of movement, my nerves were essentially getting stuck in various places where they travel through small gaps or over tendons or whatnot. The solution is to do (gentle) stretching-type exercises which are designed to make the tendons do their full range of movement (I have to do this carefully so as not to hyperextend and injure myself), which causes the nerve to be pulled through these gaps and unstick itself. Because this process is like floss being drawn through a gap between teeth, the exercises are actually called "flossing" by physios
Here's an example specifically in the domain of sciatica, although that's not what I do[1]
[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/nerve-flossing#exe...
Probably wouldn't hurt to second-check these days.
My $.02 : Cam Nichols for bike fit tips (and a wonderful aussie accent :-) and Dylan Johnson for science checks and backwards cap comments ;-)
I try to not clamp and neither lean much on the handlebars. So I have to move my hips and body a bit, but I do see improvement in handling. If I hit a pothole or debris, the bike will autocorrect much better if there's less pressure on the handlebars/front wheel.
Unfortunately vibration-induced Raynaud's syndrome has no cure, so it may be continuing to affect you.
I also have Raynaud's which affects me when cycling or when using an outboard throttle for extended periods. Apart from hand exercises which delays onset of symptoms, there's apparently nothing to be done.
I'm looking at a pair of leather-over-foam paddings integrated with the grips themselves like I have on a tandem where I noticed I don't have that problem. But that particular model has proven hard to find.
1. check the bike fit (probably the main problem)
2. add some mobility / core training (at some point if You bike long distance out of the blue without much training, some bits in Your body will simply break / strain no matter how good Your bike fit is)
3. in case of problems, look up the terms "cyclist palsy" and "ulnar / median nerve flossing exercises". It should help recover a bit quicker.
All that being said, I'm typing this with a pretty severely tingling median nerves in both hands. 1200km in 86h without much training during the season and with an improperly adjusted saddle (didn't mark the position before packing the bike for transport). Yeah, do as I say, not as I do.
(2) I do thousands of km / year on my bikes (140 just this weekend), but I do recognize that it may be too limited by itself and it's true that I don't do many other things besides biking, walking stairs and sitting all day. So some more variation might help. Thank you for the tip!
(3) Interesting, I know about the ulnar nerve and have had issues there on one hand but that was long ago and not nearly as bad as this. It also seems as though it was originally triggered by the use of a jackhammer (someone else pointed this out downthread, that vibration may be the trigger, I was focusing on pressure rather than vibration, and I never made that link before). 1200 km in 86 hours???? that is insane. Best I've ever done was 300 in 24 and that was in my prime on a really light bike (cycle around the IJsselmeer inside a day). I wouldn't even think about doing 1000+ in less than 5 days today.
Lots of good stuff in this thread, thank you all!
(2) the distance alone is just part of the job. I do about 5.000km a year just on the 2x10km a day commute. That's got little to do with mobility / intensity though. And does little to posture. For me,I kinda regret now doing only a couple of 200km+/day low intensity rides this season. This would have revealed the problems much earlier...
(3) 1200km is Paris-Brest-Paris. The time limit for that one is 90h, so 86 is "barely just made it". But I went full bikepacking on this one. Took way too much gear, which slowed me down a lot in the climbs. Also, couldn't use my aerobars in the groups, which put way more stress on my wrists than I thought it would. In the end, it's the combination of vibration / limited options for hand position change / too much weight (fault of weak core muscles / posture) and the long continuous repetitive stress that does the damage.
That's very apt, and likewise. I see a new bike as the beginning of a long journey to where it is all set up and tweaked to just how I want it. Also: most bikes straight from the factory are rough ideas of what you could do with it and as a rule need all kinds of tightening, especially spokes and various friction grips. Also not rare to find cables that are too long / untrimmed, electrical bits that are so loose they can get trapped, loose bolts (and even sometimes missing ones). Think of it as an almost but not quite assembled kit and you wouldn't be too far off. I also probably have about a bike's worth of spare parts in every category and more than one in some (pedals, kickstands, saddle pins, pinions, handle bars etc).
> the distance alone is just part of the job. I do about 5.000km a year just on the 2x10km a day commute.
That's still quite a bit of good training. A family member does 2x30 km 6 days per week, 48 weeks / year. He should probably do bike reviews :)
> For me,I kinda regret now doing only a couple of 200km+/day low intensity rides this season. This would have revealed the problems much earlier...
I do a 2x70 once, sometimes twice weekly and on that distance most issues will show. I also can't do much longer anyway without breaking it up (knee issue, lots of steel in one leg). It's one reason my e-bike sees more work these days than the regular one.
> 1200km is Paris-Brest-Paris. The time limit for that one is 90h, so 86 is "barely just made it".
To me that is far out of reach, consider me seriously impressed with this.
> But I went full bikepacking on this one.
Even more impressed!
> Took way too much gear, which slowed me down a lot in the climbs.
Yes, weight is killing. We have a tandem here and I take my sons on rides with it and uphill you might as well be walking (which we sometimes do).
I don't like riding in groups at all, these are all solo rides or with one child.