Pain "Down There"

[cityslicker]

Hello ladies, I am a relative newbie, I purchased a Giant OCR 2 in June and am training with a group for my first century in 2 weeks in Florida. After riding about 40-50 miles my crotch kills. I have a decent pair of women's chamois shorts, should I change my saddle or wait until afer the ride? Any advice would be greatly appreciated-

[pennys]

what's the problem? Pressure? Chafing? Depending on the probelm it can be anything from a different pair of shorts, a different saddle or just breaking your butt in to riding....

[cityslicker]

Pennies,

Its soreness right on my area and not my butt. Its not chafing and it just is very painful I don't know if its my saddle. I actually put a different saddle on my bike than the one it came with it its by Serfas but I don't know which model. I was told not to make any major changes to my bike this close to the ride. I don't know if its me or the saddle. Thanks for your reply:(

[DoubleLori]

Cityslicker,

I once changed my saddle one week before a double century after developing severe pain. The new saddle was a ride-saver and I rode the double without any problem. Don't stay with your saddle when you already know it is putting pressure in the wrong places. It most likely won't get better. (Pain over your "SITBONES" is to be expected and will improve greatly with more riding, but that is unlike to happen with pain that is in other locations. It may take a while to find the "right" saddle for you, but in the interim try to make a guess for which one(s) to try next by comparing the shapes of saddles that are available to you with the one you already have. I fortunately managed to guess correctly and the saddle I bought on that short notice is still my favorite saddle of all the ones I have tried.

[liner]

I had the same problem, due to some extra labia tissue in the area and it would get pinched. Also the whole area would be red and raw after a long ride. I got a Terry Butterfly saddle several years ago. It has a cutout that is in just the right place. It made a HUGE difference! I just finished my first century yesterday and I would never attempted it without a Terry saddle. Try a saddle with a cutout, I think it will make all the difference in the world for you. Good luck!

Liner

[cityslicker]

Liner and others-

Thanks for all of your responses. I did 85 miles yesterday! I think I do need a new saddle our bikes are being shipped on Wednesday so I am not going to change it now. When I rode yesterday I sat further back on my saddle and it took a lot of the pressure off and it was more comfortable. I do plan on buying a new saddle as soon as I get back from my ride, one with a cut out in the middle. Congrats on finishing your first century too!

[Vicki]

cityslicker: I replaced my stock seat with a womens specific model that has the cut out. I also move around on the seat from time to time and I also stand up ocasionally and shake my booty. The pain never completly goes away, but the things mentioned above seem to help.

Vicki:)

[pennys]

consider mountain biking... you end up spending about 1/2 your time out of the saddle...
;) ;) ;)

penny

[stella]

I used to have the same problem with stock seats. I use a Terry Liberator Pro on my road bike and my commuter bike. It has the cutout in the middle. My seat bones usually hurt for the first couple of rides until I break it in.
Stay away from seats with a lot of cushioning, it creates more friction which is DEFINATELY noticable when doing a century.
The Terry saddles are made by Sella Italia (a great bike saddle company). If your local lbs doesn't carry Terry, check out the sella italia trans-am or LDY models.
Good luck!

[talouse]

I'm thinking that if you found it to be more comfortable to scoot back in the saddle, then perhaps tilting the saddle nose up slightly may force you to slide back a little and be more comfortable.

Sometimes just a little adjustment will make a big difference. I wish the Terry's worked for me, they are really cool looking saddles, but unfortuantly the cutout just doesn't seem to hit the right place for me. Rather, the sides around the cutout feel like razor blades going in my "personal" area.

[cityslicker]

I did it! I did complete my first century ride this Saturday. My saddle was fine. I did sit further back and had no problems. I also kept reapplying bodyglide to prevent chafing. Its Monday and I have no muscle pain or soreness just a little lightheadedness. I think my system is a little off. Thanks for the feedback.