I love biking...

I rode 2.15 today, my first real ride since spending the week with the flu, it felt like riding 100 miles... The 19 freaking degrees didn't help much either.

There is a big trunk of nerves in the meaty part of the palm. Cyclists who ride with their elbows locked put their body weight on the nerves and cause pain and numbness untill they develop better technique. There is a similar condition called bike riders impotence in men, not to be confused with water skier's enema.

That's why it helps to carry a 5mm allen wrench in your jersey of saddlebag, they fit about 90% of the bolts on your bike. My bars do that all the time too, even with expensive stems, I've gotten where I can loosen the bolts and reposition them while riding, another useless bike skill...

I think mostly it requires core strength and some isometric strength in the arms to stay in the proper position, so on longer riders people get tired and tend to rest on locked arms. You sometimes catch the pros doing in in those long 5 hour races, but for the most part they have developed the discipline to stay in position for hours--it's not easy.