AIDS Life Cycle -- first time!

[ACG]

Congratulations and welcome! I registered to do my third Aids Ride on Christmas Day. It is my present to myself. All the advice you need is here on this site! Again Congratulations! You will love every mile of it!

[Trek420]

All the advice you need is here on this site!

This is sooooo true. The support on the ride is incredible, training rides are great and while cyclists in general are a helpful friendly bunch (with few exceptions) ALC riders are the best. This, the cause, their emphasis on safety, and the moto crew has kept be going back but ..... the ALC forum can be:

slow to respond to direct questions
hard to navigate
full of "is there anybody from outer Mongolia doing the ride?" (why not find a local Outer Mongolia ride club and ride with them?)
and sometimes downright catty and or drama filled.

Listen to your ride buddy, go on lots of training rides but for general bike questions before and long after the ride TE should be your board.

Long live TE

[Resumer]

OK...so I'm wearing the bike shorts -- grateful for the padding. Like everything else about getting started riding, I'm paying attention to where there is any friction or irritation. So far, I notice some on the right side, inner groin area.

Here's my question -- since what I understand is that it's seams that can create that (am I wrong?) it makes me curious about a few things -- like -- do you wear underwear or not with the bike shorts? That's an extra layer, and extra potential sources of irritation, particularly around the leg holes, right? Hard to imagine not wearing anything, but I'm checkin'

I've also been reading a bit about chamois butter...can someone help me understand what it does and what would suggest I should explore that at some point? I'm pretty tough, in general, so I'm not reaching out to eliminate any little ache or discomfort here, really just trying to learn about what I should be noticing, what is excessive, etc and what ways to play with the combination of what I wear and what could be adjusted (either the bike, or me!) to continually get to an optimal ride.

And on a totally absurd note...for all the ways that saddles affect our bodies, my thoughts have wandered to what the heck guys do with their package and how they must be totally affected by the ride?!!! Forgive my venture into these musings but a gal's got to wonder...

[Trek420]

Q# 1

do you wear underwear or not with the bike shorts? That's an extra layer, and extra potential sources of irritation, particularly around the leg holes, right? Hard to imagine not wearing anything, but I'm checkin'

Ride free! Go commando style

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=8518

Q#2) Now is the time to experiment with different brands of chamois butter and find what works for you. This is no time to tough it out.

What creates minor irritation on a training ride is ....
painful on a metric or longer ride which is ....
excruciating on a century and will ....
cause permanent or nearly permanent damage on back to back to back centuries.

Ask yourself after every ride "what hurts? what can I do about it?" Take care of the minor stuff before it becomes major and you'll have a great ride.

Q#3) Don't know and I don't care

[Resumer]

Thanks again Trek420...what a great thread to read...and I'm getting the hang of this site now (e.g. using the search function..duh!).

I LOVE THIS COMMUNITY!!

Call it a clan,
call it a network,
call it a tribe,
call it a family.
Whatever you call it,
whoever you are,
you need one.
~~Jane Howard

[teigyr]

Resumer, you will love the ride!!! I did CAR7. I didn't train quite as I should but they'll get you through it. The volunteers were incredible. As a cyclist, all you do is wake up, eat, ride, eat, ride more, eat more, finish, shower, eat, go to sleep. If you need help with your tent, there are plenty of people to help you.

I never used chamois butter before that ride but the rest stops were stocked with "butt balm". I have very amusing pictures of the various ways they'd present it I have nothing but fantastic memories of it.

I am SO excited for you!