I rode 20 miles for the first time yesterday. I can feel it today, but it really makes me want to get to 30! I only had 2 problems. My fingers kept going numb, and I was getting pains in the back of my neck. Anybody else have these same problems and how did you fix it?

Numb fingers? Are you putting too much weight on your hands on the bars? I would suspect this could be a case or an overall problem to do with fit.

The neck pain could be due to you getting used to riding a road bike. Have you ever rode one before previously? If no, then yes, this could well be the case of adjusting to a new position. It would hurt, but it should not be excessively uncomfortable.

My friend was new to road bikes but rode a 58cm with 110mm stem and it was definitely kinda a huge step up for him from his older hybrid. Although, I suspect his bike is a tad too big as well. He had neck and back pains worse than getting kicked in the groin he told me. And he still never got used to it. That is a fit problem.

Once you get stronger and fitter, your back and neck would have accommodated to the new riding position. What you could do now is add more spacers perhaps or flip your stem up for now.

Good luck.

Uzziefly evaluated it pretty well, but another thing that might help, and that new riders often neglect, is to vary positions more. Ride in the drops, on the hoods, on the bends, or on the tops, and move frequently. Every few minutes, shift to a higher gear and stand up for a little bit. Move your head and neck around and stretch occasionally.

Have fun. You'll get stronger.

I am riding a flat bar bike. I put bar ends on it to give me some more hand positions, but am still not thrilled with it. I try to move as much as I can and that does seem to help on the numbness. I believe y'all are probably correct on the neck pain. It is more of a discomfort than anything. Hopefully, I will "grow" out of it. I do hope to upgrade to a true road bike next year, so maybe it will get better and not worse!