Thanks Sheila, these are helpful. And thanks for getting Wahine involved in the conversation!

The thread that led me to this forum was http://forums.teamestrogen.com/archi...hp/t-5300.html The thoughtful and conscientious nature of the replies made me comfortable to post my own sensitive question.

To answer your questions, I live in Arizona and have a Cobb V-Flow saddle, which I used to love, though when I was riding a lot I remember thinking I wished it was just a tad wider. I am more the size of a man than a woman, but with womanly (meaning wide) hips.

Wahine, thanks for getting involved in this response. I think you may be on to something with regarding hip flexion. I've been off the bike awhile with back issues, which have resolved in part after correcting my posture. I've incorporated a little bit of a lumbar curvature into my everyday movement and posture, as opposed to the flat back which has been typical of my posture for decades. As a result I have just a little more hip flexion when sitting. I did think that my road bike, which was fitted for me almost 4 years ago, felt different, but I attributed that to having been out of the saddle for so long and just not being used to it.

So perhaps the increased hip flexion in my riding posture is contributing to venous distention during my ride. Plus it may be the case that simply having varicose veins would increase sensitivity in that area, whether or not they are distended while riding. Plus I'm certain that I'm sitting a little more forward on my pelvis bones than I used to, which puts my weight on top of a more sensitive zone. Plus my geometry and saddle were all put together for my old posture. Which makes me think my first priority is getting re-fit, and possibly a different saddle. I've been on my mountain bike very briefly a few times and it didn't cause such an issue, I don't know if it's the different saddle or the more upright posture (less hip flexion) that is the difference.

I'm riding tomorrow and I may switch saddles if possible and I'll report back.

I'd still like to hear if anyone else has varicose veins in that area and how you deal with it, or if a procedure has helped or not.