Hi Snohobiker,

I would recommend you ditch the gel shorts, and if your saddle does not have a cut-out, try one with a cut-out (it does not have to be a gel saddle). I used to get terrible rawness and burning as you mention in the vaginal area and actually gave up riding for years because of it. This was back in the days before saddles had cut-outs.

I finally got back into riding 2 years ago on a recumbent bike, but that caused it's own set of problems, like a sore tailbone and terrible difficulties climbing hills (it was very heavy). So, reluctantly, I tried a road bike again, this time with a Terry Butterfly saddle and regular (non-gel) bike shorts. It did take a few rides to "toughen up" down there, but I got to the point quickly where I could do long rides without any of the previous problems! For me, a cut-out saddle is an absolute bottom-line MUST. I also bought some gel shorts to try at some point and got the same vaginal burning back again. I got rid of those fast and stick with non-gel shorts now. So, you might want to try these two things. You will probably have some soreness for awhile as your body toughens up for the saddle, but it should not last for long, and it should be in the "sitbone" area, not the vaginal area. And it shouldn't be burning!

Good luck and keep us posted. You can lick this thing! I rode 4000 miles last year and am on target for the same this year, so I know it can be done!

Emily