Cycling shorts issue - any thoughts?

[aicabsolut]

Okay....I gathered some courage after all (plus I had to figure out how to attach a picture again) since others here appear to have the same issue....

Is THIS what it looked like?? (please say yes please say yes) :P

Its only on the tops and outsides of my thighs... no where else.

(The other rounding welt by my right knee there is just a mosquito bite...doggone things are plentiful around here after all the rain we've gotten in Oklahoma... BLEH.)

I get those too!! Except mine are only BELOW the shorts line (maybe a few stray ones at the level of the leg grippers). I've gotten them with cannondale shorts, because that's mainly what I had till recently. They have silicone grippers. But, most of them occur on the exposed skin.

The hives stay even after I cool down and shower like normal heat rash. Then they turn dark. Benadryl cream works wonders. The weird thing is that I've ridden in some major heat and had no problems. They ONLY showed up on rides loner than 60 miles. It doesn't itch.

My dad (a doctor but not dermatologist) said it looked like a photosensitive reaction to him. I don't get a sunburn. It's the weirdest thing.