ow ow ow! new pain in the ...

Today I went mountain biking (my only kind of biking) with a couple of friends. We took on a tough trail and rode for about three hours. I didn't change shorts until I got home, which was a couple of hours later.

Now, I've had sitbone pain, I've had pressure and numbness, all of that stuff. But never, until today, have I had abrasions! Red, slightly puffy, extremely sensitive to touch. A bit on the, er, lips (that seems to have already mostly gone away, several hours later), a lot right where leg meets crotch.

I've showered, applied baby powder, and am staying in the house wearing, at most, a wrap-around skirt.

This has never happened before. I'm wondering what might have been different today. Maybe I didn't pull my shorts up quite high enough? I definitely remember some chafing throughout the ride.

Anyone else have uncharacteristic abrasions where the sun don't shine and figure out what was different that day?

That happened to me the day I rode 10 hours straight through...on the road but on on rough chip seal.

What do I do different now? Chamois butter, better shorts, lift off the saddle a bit more often for the rough spots and change position every couple of minutes - even just to shift weight a little.

I havnt been on the bike for 10 hours straight again yet, but I already have my plan set for when I do!

I feel your pain!

ETA: Oh - ice for the first 48 hours, then alternating ice and heat - whatever feels better. I keep saying I am going to market an ice pack in the shape of a bike saddle!

bouncey, lots of things could make a difference....

humidity, how hydrated you are, what point in your cycle you're in, if you've taken ibuprofen (yes, that could cause the blood to reach the surface a bit easier...), also, could you saddle have changed position somehow? even a slight change could make a difference. how about your shorts? same shorts? same detergent? were they rinsed well enough?

I've never figured out, other than leaving the shorts on after a ride - yup, they come off almost immediately! - what exactly causes that....roughness...

but my cure for it, when it happens is Jason Tea Tree Gel - it's an aloe vera gel with Tea Tree, chamomile and arnica. very soothing and healing!

good luck!

Namaste,
~T~

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Originally Posted by Technotart

That happened to me the day I rode 10 hours straight through...on the road but on on rough chip seal.

What do I do different now? Chamois butter, better shorts, lift off the saddle a bit more often for the rough spots and change position every couple of minutes - even just to shift weight a little.

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Hrm. I've never used chamois butter, but my shorts have never been a problem until now ... and because I'm mountain biking, I'm never in one position very long. I even wore the same model of shorts yesterday on a one hour ride with absolutely no trouble.

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Originally Posted by LBTC

bouncey, lots of things could make a difference....

humidity, how hydrated you are, what point in your cycle you're in, if you've taken ibuprofen (yes, that could cause the blood to reach the surface a bit easier...), also, could you saddle have changed position somehow? even a slight change could make a difference. how about your shorts? same shorts? same detergent? were they rinsed well enough?

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Interesting points. I have three or four of this model of shorts (PI attack, I think), and I wear them all the time, and always wash them in the same way (delicate, cold, baby shampoo, air dry). I don't think the saddle has moved. BUT!

I did take Aleve this morning, specifically because I was starting my period and didn't want to deal with cramps on the trail. So maybe the Aleve had the same effect as Ibuprofin, and maybe things were generally more sensitive ... this year is the first that I've had to worry about periods in a long time, because I was taking Depo for several years.

It did seem, though, that during the ride, my shorts were moving around more than they usually do. I almost wonder if they might be a smidge too big, even though they sure don't feel too big, except that I wore the same size and model Saturday, as well. Maybe they're a smidge too big, and it doesn't matter for most rides, but on very technical rides where I'm moving around a lot, they move, too? Hrmm.

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Originally Posted by bounceswoosh

Today I went mountain biking (my only kind of biking) with a couple of friends. We took on a tough trail and rode for about three hours. I didn't change shorts until I got home, which was a couple of hours later.

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The "couple of hours later" is my favorite culprit, along with heat/humidity if such was the case. One day I rode for about 3 hours in hot weather and couldn't take off my short until about 2 hours later. Then, the next day, the EXACT same thing as you described happened to me when I got home. It was my third hot day in a row on the bike, my chamois (always a clean and pretty good one) just couldn't handle all the sweat and consequently stayed slightly humid I guess. After a 4-hour ride I was pretty irritated. I did take the short off right after the ride that time but I fear the damage had been done already from the two previous days (especially the staying-in-the-humid-short-for-2-hours part) and that day's long ride in warm weather. It was my first time, too.

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Originally Posted by bounceswoosh

I've showered, applied baby powder, and am staying in the house wearing, at most, a wrap-around skirt.

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I did the exact same thing, slept in the buff and the next day it had all gone away. I rode my commuter bike to work the next day (less than 4 miles round-trip), no training. Everything has been fine since, but I am warned: I don't even want to imagine suffering from this for a couple of days/weeks!!! I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my sensitive parts to save a few minutes again. :)

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Originally Posted by Grog

The "couple of hours later" is my favorite culprit, along with heat/humidity if such was the case. One day I rode for about 3 hours in hot weather and couldn't take off my short until about 2 hours later. Then, the next day, the EXACT same thing as you described happened to me when I got home. It was my third hot day in a row on the bike, my chamois (always a clean and pretty good one) just couldn't handle all the sweat and consequently stayed slightly humid I guess. After a 4-hour ride I was pretty irritated. I did take the short off right after the ride that time but I fear the damage had been done already from the two previous days (especially the staying-in-the-humid-short-for-2-hours part) and that day's long ride in warm weather. It was my first time, too.

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Er, was that three days in the same shorts? Eek!

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I did the exact same thing, slept in the buff and the next day it had all gone away. I rode my commuter bike to work the next day (less than 4 miles round-trip), no training. Everything has been fine since, but I am warned: I don't even want to imagine suffering from this for a couple of days/weeks!!! I don't think I'll ever sacrifice my sensitive parts to save a few minutes again. :)

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Indeed. My shorts were already feeling uncomfortable during the ride, though, so I'm not convinced that keeping them on after the ride was the culprit. I'm sure it exacerbated the problem, though.

I iced the area as suggested last night, and this morning I'm still tender, but infinitely better than last night. I can imagine wearing underwear.

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Originally Posted by bounceswoosh

Er, was that three days in the same shorts? Eek!

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Of course not!!! Always clean shorts. They were even different brands/models, but they all have pretty good chamois.

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Originally Posted by Grog

Of course not!!! Always clean shorts. They were even different brands/models, but they all have pretty good chamois.

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Okay! Phew. When you said "the chamois," I wondered if you were wearing the same chamois each time ...