Feet Fall Asleep

I'll assume you shoes are not too tight or something obvious.

Asumming that, I get this problem once in a while on my long rides but i'm talking way longer than 20 minutes, more like hours. For me, and maybe this applies to you, but make sure you pedal through your pedal stroke. Don't just push down but also "lift" through the bottom part of the stroke. It's almost like either lifting up on the back stroke or applying a "chicken" stratch to the ground but on the most botton of the stroke. I hope I'm making sense.

You can probably also alleviate some numbness if you get a bike shoe insert, the ones with the pads up front.

OR maybe even move the cleat back a little from the front area of your shoe so that the cleat is more center.

Assuming your shoes aren't too tight, this may be a nerve compression problem. The same thing happens to me in my right foot after about 25 minutes of running. My foot goes completely dead from my toes to my ankle. I've seen a sports medicine physician who discovered that my right calve muscle and achilles tendon were overworked, too tight and swollen as compared to my other leg, which caused several problems, including shin splints and a compressed nerve in my foot. We found out that my right leg is 1/2 inch shorter than my left. In other words, I was out of balance and the right side of my body was tightening to compensate. She referred me to a pedorthic specialist, who made an orthotic lift for right running shoe. This has helped. So has extensive stretching of my calves and hip flexors prior to running. It's not totally gone, but it's MUCH better. Sometimes it never shows up.

If your problem worsens, go to a doctor. I'm glad I did.

Thanks for the advice. I actually don't have bike shoes yet. My husband just fitted my bike with his old clipless pedals, but I need to get some tri shoes. I've been riding in my running shoes. Maybe that is part of the problem. I don't know. If that doesn't help...I'll consider seeing a doctor about it.

sounds like your shoes are compressing a nerve - if it only happens on the bike while you are wearing those shoes, it's probably the shoes...if it happens at other times during the day, then you may have a more significant nerve problem.