Saddle sore Puns

Gods did she hate riding.

She didn’t like animals. They were hard to understand, prone to spooking and worst of all, you couldn’t make them talk no matter what you did. She had ridden hard, too, and although she made up for some lost time she was in agony by the time she arrived. She wasn’t as young as she used to be. She left her horse at the gate, to be led off to the stables as she arrived. She would walk the rest of the way, and it felt better to be on her feet as opposed to the saddle.

Leona knew where to go, which doors to slip through to get through the Keep quietly enough that she wouldn’t have to announce herself. She knew this place better than the back of her hand, and the familiarity felt good. She weaved her way through Storm’s End to her chambers, where she bathed and redressed. A rain had started by then, so heavy you could hear it on the walls outside. It was nice, until she reminded herself that she mustn’t get comfortable. She was visiting, that was all. She couldn’t let herself get too comfortable.

The personal quarters of House Baratheon were comfortable, and it wouldn’t be long until she ran into someone. Until then, she made her way to the Solar, and made herself comfortable until she found a servant.

“You, notify Lady Baratheon that I’ve arrived, and I’m waiting for her. Quickly, now, and there might be some silver for you if you do.”

Yesterday was my first day of the internship. The people in the West are very serious in their riding. I’m an English rider, so I have little experience with professional Western riding. Yesterday, I was in the saddle for 8 hours to round up cattle. I almost got heat exhaustion in the afternoon, almost sprained my wrist when falling after trying to take my foot out of the stirrup, and my knees and feet were killing me throughout the whole day along with my muscles. But I let myself suffer because I’m hard on myself and even though it was my first day I wanted to prove to everyone that I can make it the three months.

I woke up at 5:30, rode at 8:30 and quit around 5:30. It was a very long day. People have been telling me it will get better and I know it will, but I have to ride for 6-8 hours every single day. Every horse has their ow saddle, so I have to deal with whatever I’m given.

Been riding for around a month now, usually around twice a week for approximately 2 hours a time in the saddle on average. Sitting on a Nukeproof Neutron Saddle, but once I'm off and recovering for a few days after, I am getting some pain in my coccyx.
Sitting down on an office chair or getting back on the saddle is a tad bit rough, to the point where I'm almost easing myself down.
I'm 29, never really had any skeletal or muscle issues (or much else, thank god) but would appreciate any insight as to why this pain is occurring?

Am I sitting down idiotically? Is the saddle to soft (I've read this elsewhere)? Am I a weird shape? Do I need to man-up and expect this discomfort until I get used to it?

Warning: might be sensitive topic or gross/ graphic

how do you deal with saddle sores? i rarely get them, but usually starts to happen if i've been off riding for a while. had this sore that never really went away. it would swell up and feel like its poking and pinching when i bike. but after a while later it'll go away.

recently started up my morning ride routine again and the sore swelled up. left it alone and last night sitting on the couch all of sudden i felt this sharp pain on the sore spot but afterward felt abit relieved. did a quick check and it popped like a pimple.

so i decided to squeeze and get all the blood crap out. this AM the sore spot had reduce quite a bit. do you guys use any time of ointment like neosporin or something?

I am an "enthusiast" rider, meaning I'm not racing but I bike quite a bit and enjoy challenging some Strava segments here and there.

I feel like I'm on a performance plateau with the likely reasons being:

• I don't regularly do structured workouts
• I can't reliably be comfortable on my bike if I bike too many hours in a week

Now the first point I want to change it, with the idea that maybe one day I'll do a race, who knows. But my main issues are with the second point.

I have been fit twice on two separate occasions, one several years ago and one a couple of weeks ago. The first fit was done on a geo machine with power measurement but not 100% efforts, the second fit was based on knee/foot/shoulder angles. The two fits independently got to very similar measurements in terms of saddle height and position even 7 years apart, even though the bikes are different (an old giant TCR vs a more recent synapse), and the saddles are too (a bontrager entry level saddle vs a SMP dynamic).

now what happens when I ride is I'm decently comfortable if I don't push too much like say zones 1, 2 and maybe 3. however as soon as I start pushing hard for longer periods, especially when using the drops, a series of things start to happen:

• lower back pain
• hand numbness
• "funny" feeling on my left leg
• I tend to angle my feet more upwards (like, less flat on the pedals)

specifically yesterday I almost got cramps on my left calf in addition to the funny feeling (I'd describe it as muscular discomfort when trying to push, resulting in less power output)

it feels like I would have more to give with my legs but the discomfort just means I cant push too much, which in turn means that I'm not actually improving and in fact in the past month I have seen no change in my power curve even after taking a more relaxed week.

I think part of the issue is that I haven't developed my core enough, and I've started addressing this.

However the last concern I have is that historically, I always tend to develop saddle sores (actually, small hard lumps which seem to form as if skin folded on itself? idk if that makes sense) on the left side. These issues happened with 3 different saddles, 3 different bikes, independently of the bib brand, and following standard hygiene (clean bibs and using a bidet to clean up the area before biking). I also have a history of knee injury/surgery on my right knee but according to my power meter I am spot on 50%/50% in terms of power output.

so

I’ve been transitioning to long distance biking. I recently got a new bike (Cannondale Topstone 4) and a new bike seat. But I am noticing I am getting a lot of saddle sores.

I have been wearing biking shorts, have gotten them looked at by doctors (no infections), and try to keep the areas clean before and after biking (rubbing alcohol on sores, polysporen, and bandaids if necessary).

Any suggestions on to how to treat/prevent them? They’re awful and I don’t want to have to stop biking as it’s my only form of transportation.

I understand a proper saddle fit, but man, the ass must hurt after 4-5 hours. I can maybe get 3 before its borderline painful.

Do they use chamois cream or some kind of numbing cream to help?

Or are they naturally so used to a saddle they dont feel it anymore, or is it really PERFECT fit in the saddle if it even exists

MVDP for instance every day does 4-6 hours (4 being climbing and on the short side)

So I’m three days from embarking on a 5 day, 350 mile bikepacking trip, the longest I’ve done before by a pretty significant amount. My fitness is quite strong right now so I’m confident about the actual cycling component, but was hoping to get the sub’s advice on a few things:

One, I have almost never had an issue with saddle sores, but I also shower immediately after every bike ride. A few of my training rides were a few hours from home (on the route), so I would drive home, eat dinner, etc. before showering and developed a few of them as a result. Does anyone have tips for avoiding them on long bikepacking trips when a shower is not available? I’m thinking chamois cream in the morning and immediately wiping down with a shower wipe before changing out of my bibs, but is there anything else I should consider doing? The last thing I want is to be derailed by an infected saddle sore...

Second, it looks like it may get down into the low-30’s at one or two of the campgrounds. I’ve actually never camped below 40 (Southern California). I have a 20 degree quilt and a solid sleeping pad so am set on that front, but am mainly curious about what people wear on their legs? I’ve always just worn either boxer briefs or my wool base layer on its own if it’s been “cold”, should I consider layering another pair of pants above them if I want to be conservative?

Thank you all for the help!

I have a saddle sore on my area and I've tried everything to get rid of it but it keeps getting worse. I have races every weekend so I can't afford to be off the bike for too long. I've iced it and tried using aquaphor but it doesn't seem to work. Its been there for a little longer than a week now. Any suggestions on what to do?

Was wondering if anyone could give me some ideas with troubleshooting my problem. I just recently started getting them. I usually never ride over 10-15 miles. I do gravel and road riding. Would my chamois be breaking down? I've adjusted my seat worked on my pedal stroke etc. It kind of puzzles me. Nothing has really changed. I start feeling a hot spot around the 6-7 mile mark. Haven't tried chamois Butter yet. Kind of don't want to but I really want to ride longer. Any advice would help!

Good Afternoon All,

I just joined this group in hopes of searching for some answers related to my particular issue but I came up short. I would truly appreciate any assistance or guidance. Please, no derogatory messages or negative comments. Everyone else that I know who mountain bikes are male and I don’t think they understand my situation.

I (31F) am getting back in the game of mountain biking after a hiatus and my saddle sores are awful (especially in the bikini area where my saddle starts to flair out). I talked to my OB who couldn’t really help me and said I may need to talk to a dermatologist (because insurance companies deny it coming from their office - I am in the US obviously). The nurse Recommended Neosporin or something similar as well as epsom salt baths to alleviate the pain. I wear padded shorts but due to a recent IUD insertion have been forced to wear underwear with a pad while riding. I understand this is probably the cause.

I am asking for help. Is there anything you use to prevent saddle sores? Do I need to look for another seat? I currently use a WTB seat that has worked well other than this current issue.

Any help is appreciated.

Sincerely,

OUCH!

Just wanted to share my recent triumph: no more saddle sores! When I started cycling, 11years ago, I had scraped up enough money to buy my first road bike and a single, cheap pair of biking shorts. As I started to increase my distance, I started getting irritated downstairs. I immediately started using anti chafing creams, thinking they would help my sores. I followed advice from others, and stopped shaving and tried using vaseline, deodorant, and diaper rash cream, and all the combinations of these. I went through 5 saddles and a saddle fitting, trying to find one. I tried lots of different cycling shorts without luck. In recent years, I've been cycling on a trainer in the winter, and I have had to take off a week or two every so often, just to let my sores heal. Everytime I tried something new to help with the sores, I still got saddle sores and got more and more frustrated.

Finally, I did more research on my saddle sores, and realized I never considered that my sores may not be a result of chafing but a result of bacteria. I switched gears, and stopped using the anti chafing creams, and simply washed up my netherlands with soap and water, and rubbed a small amount of antibacterial gel where the sores typically develop. Instantaneously, no sores! I've been trying this method for 2 months now (trainer rides 3x a week) with great success, and also found that I didn't need an antibacterial cream either. A simple wash before a ride works wonders. Ladies, there is a solution to your saddle sores! Don't give up, and don't forget to go back to basics.

i am wondering if someone may have some insight into a fairly new issue for me.

i have never had to deal with saddle sores until last sept/oct. i don’t ride very long distances (typically under 50), but i would get them every time i rode. i would take a rest from biking (about a week) for them to go away, tried using blister bandages to cover them, going commando to stop rubbing in the areas, nothing worked.

i didn’t ride over the winter months and of course, they went away. hopped back on over the last few weeks with weather warming up. my latest ride was my longest so far, just 30, and i have already developed a saddle sore!

over the last 5+ years on the same bike, same seat, same clothing, i have never had saddle sores this consistently! nothing has changed, not even the routes i ride.

is there something else that may be cause for concern? any information is much appreciated!

I've never really had issues with saddle sores, until the last year where it's pushing me to the edge of quitting. In fact if cycling wasn't such a big part of my life, i would have already done so.

It all started during lockdown, spending a lot of time on the trainer (15-18hrs per week). I went to a dermatologist, who first gave me some antibiotics for the inflamed hair follicles, which has gone now, but I'm just continually getting the feeling of the skin being rubbed raw, which leads to small red dots down there.

I've tried:

-many different saddles/bibs

-chamois cream

-bike fit

-all the usual hygiene stuff

-regular moisturizing

-a full week off

Some of these helped temporarily, but it just seems to be a never ending cycle of getting slightly better and then a lot worse. it's also worse on longer rides.

Anyone have any suggestions I haven't tried already? Seems crazy that i have so many issues which most people never seem to struggle with. In all honesty, its leading to some pretty big mental health issues, as cycling was really what keeps my depression and anxiety at bay.

Hey all, safe to say with winter in the northeast I don’t enjoy riding below 40 degrees outside so I bought a Saris H3 and Zwift. Lately though I’m chasing some saddle sores that are starting and even with chamois cream it’s still a bit uncomfortable ride.

My guess is maybe it’s due to not getting off the saddle enough or sweating or something else I don’t know. What does everyone think or do they have recommendations?

Hello all,

I have been suffering from chronic saddles sores for four years, ever since riding a bike for more than an hour. I have tried a couple different saddles I could find second hand, different brand chamois at various price points, different chamois creams, good hygiene before and after, ect. to no avail. The sores seem to be on one side almost exclusively.

I went for a bike fit recently to address the problem and it seemed more comfort focused than problem focused. I was also surprised that the bike fitter didn't seem to think different saddles or chamois/underwear would make a difference for the fit. Furthermore, no leg length measuring was done to check before a leg length discrepancy, which I thought would be important given the one-sided nature of the problem.

The fit has not seemed to make much of a difference on the saddle sores, as once my mileage creeps up, so do the sores. The fitter is a friendly and experienced cyclist and PT. Could the skin be permanently damaged and susceptible due to the chronic nature of the problem? Does anyone have any advice? I'm desperate at this point.

Winter training has not been as productive as I wanted it to be. Training for my first 70.3 in july. Currently down and out for all 3 sports. Working on strength in the meantime. Reading "The Big Book of Endurance training and racing" by Dr. Philip Maffetone.

Very cold weather has forced me indoors onto the Wahoo Kickr trainer. But it has also created saddle sores, which I don’t get on outdoor rides. Presumably it’s all due to the natural motion of the bike outdoors being taken away. And yes, I use chamois cream.

What have you done to combat the issue?

Hello I am super noob so it is known. My question is about how to deal with saddle sore. I love riding bicycle but lately I have found it painful and have stopped riding completely and I cannot get back on the bike because it starts feel not so good anymore after just a mile. I have usually rode 20-40 miles a day. Would a suspension seat post help to ease the issue at hand? Advice is totally welcome.

Despite the use of chamois cream, my skin still gets a touch raw after long indoor rides. I’ve found that CeraVe lotion works real nicely to speed up the healing process.

I like to hear your guys thoughts on prevention (E.g. do you, and when, reapply chamois cream?) and treatment of saddle sores.

I’m an extreme beginner- (~10km every other day on a $90 huffy mountain bike please don’t judge). I’ve really been enjoying riding and I can tell I’m getting better and better. My problem is that my butt hurts lol. My saddle is at the correct height. Do I need to get cycling shorts? I’ve been wearing gym shorts to ride. Or is this just a part of biking? Thanks for any help. You can safely assume I know nothing

Edit: when I said saddle sore I just meant my bottom is sore... I thankfully do not have any sores :)

So I am cycling from 3 years now, and never had saddle sores before. Came the coronavirus, and I spent 3 months on trainer and rarely went outside for a ride. It was still going well. Now the day I did my first 2 hour ride outside, I started getting saddle sores. I have tried everything from getting new bike fit, tried new saddle, bought new bibs, tried chamois cream (never used before), took days off, the sores go but they come back the day I go out for 2/3 hours. The sores mostly happen on one side.

This is screwing up my training a lot and have to keep taking a day or two off. Can someone please help!!

I have been riding about 80 miles a week since the beginning of summer. The only issue i ever have on long rides are these bumps in one specific spot, never anywhere else, sort of on my right butt cheek and into the space between my leg and my groin. They come and go, but its always in this exact spot. I think my saddle may be slightly narrow, it is a 145mm that came with my new bike. Before I got this bike i bought a new saddle for my old one and they fitted me at 155mm. The spot im having issues with is usually just off of the saddle now, if i get a 155 or 165 it would be on the saddle. will that make it better or worse? I almost always wear padded shorts (from the black bibs) and they are always clean. I have been putting bourdeauxs butt paste on frequently and using the body glide cycle before rides.

I did a fairly mellow 45 miles yesterday and have padded shorts, but man oh man my taint was raw at the end.

Any input is appreciated on how you stay comfortable for an all day ride.

I just did my first long distance event and have saddle sores! What can I do? Help!

Hello all,

I have been suffering from chronic saddles sores for four years, ever since riding a bike for more than an hour. I have tried a couple different saddles I could find second hand, different brand chamois at various price points, different chamois creams, good hygiene before and after, ect. to no avail. The sores seem to be on one side almost exclusively.

I went for a bike fit recently to address the problem and it seemed more comfort focused than problem focused. I was also surprised that the bike fitter didn't seem to think different saddles or chamois/underwear would make a difference for the fit. Furthermore, no leg length measuring was done to check before a leg length discrepancy, which I thought would be important given the one-sided nature of the problem.

The fit has not seemed to make much of a difference on the saddle sores, as once my mileage creeps up, so do the sores. The fitter is a friendly and experienced cyclist and PT. Could the skin be permanently damaged and susceptible due to the chronic nature of the problem? Does anyone have any advice? I'm desperate at this point.