Tweaking my new Brooks

Ok, so today was my 2nd ride on my new Brooks Team Pro saddle. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't totally pleasant either. We rode about 85 miles, and right around the halfway point I started to feel some pretty intense soft tissue problems. My sit bones, on the other hand, were mostly okay. Everything "up front" just felt generally smooshed together. I was finding myself having the need to swing out a leg, here and there, to readjust.

When I got home, I had to use the bathroom and when I pee'd, I felt a very intense burning sensation...as if my pee were on fire (sorry if that's TMI). This worried me a bit, so I sort of checked things out down there and could see that my labia were extremely swollen and tender. After showering, I applied some Aquaphor to the area and that seemed to calm things down a bit after a while.

I feel as though I'm scooching forward on the saddle to find that elusive "sweet spot"...so I'm thinking that perhaps I need to move the saddle back a bit. Does this sound right? I still haven't been able to distinguish between sitting in the sweet spot and sitting on the metal plating yet...it all feels the same to me...hence the reason I tend to slid forward on the saddle in order to force myself to NOT sit on the metal plating. I don't know...I'm confused at the moment. I know Brooks saddle require a lot of tweaking and adjustment in position...but I'm not really sure in what way. Of course, the other thought I've had is that perhaps I do need a cut-out (which this saddle lacks)...so maybe this saddle is just wrong for me? I also feel like my shorts/chamois could be the culprit, too. I wore a relatively new pair of PI women's PRO bibshorts on today's ride, and the chamois felt like it was just adding to the problem...big, bulky, bunching up in front, and exacerbating the "smooshing" of my lady bits. My DH suggested trying a pair of men's shorts to see if the chamois is better suited for me. He has a brand new pair of PI men's Quest shorts that he hasn't worn yet, and thinks I should try them on tomorrow's ride. Any thoughts, comments, or suggestions?

Linda

Stop scootching forward.

Don't worry about the metal plate. If you are sitting on it, you'll know soon enough. Pre-emptive scootching lands you on your soft tissue.

If you were scootching forward because you needed to get over your pedals, I'd say move the saddle forward. But if you're scootching out of fear of the plate, like you say, then I'd just stop scootching and see what happens. The transition zone (if it fits) will stop you before you land on the plate.