Riding with saddle sores - What's the solution?

Over the just past Labor Day weekend, Sam and I had an extra long set of days together because he had a couple of days off at the end of the week leading up to the holiday. This allowed for a lovely five-day weekend -- a luxury we rarely experience. But what to do with this time? There are always projects around the house that need to be done, but instead we decided to try for a ride-every-day-together extended weekend.

On Wednesday, the day just prior to the start of our intended riding festivities, I ventured out alone on my newer road bike to give it another test (looking forward to writing about this soon after having a few decent tests now completed). All went well on that ride and I ran into a friend near the end, which made for a fun cycling finish. I'm breaking in a new saddle on this bike, however, and that's always a bit of a concern as I tend to end up with saddle sores during the initial couple hundred miles on new leather.

Thursday, we decided to ride the tandem -- the new one, that isn't really so new any longer (again, there's a post in the works to discuss this bike that we've had in our possession for several months now), so we didn't take it too far. Still, it was great to be out together at the start of our long weekend of riding together.

Unfortunately for me, there is also a new leather saddle on this bike that needs to be broke in, so once again, the saddle sores were becoming quite apparent, despite keeping the mileage on the low side.

Undeterred, I was personally determined to keep riding through our long weekend. When Friday morning rolled around, Sam suggested that we take our mountain bikes out and give them a shake out ride. Sam had bought me a frame and we'd recently finished building it up so I was anxious to do more than a couple of miles around the neighborhood. I assumed that a mountain bike ride would be shorter (silly me!), so I wasn't particularly concerned about the fact that this new-to-me bike has yet another new leather saddle on it that needs break-in miles.

What I had guessed would be a 10 to-no-more-than-15 mile ride turned into about 30 (which is a long mtb ride for me personally!), and the saddle sores that had started to develop were now in full-force. I winced every time I was on the saddle for the last 10 or so miles of that ride. Although I enjoyed the ride, being together, and the bike, my soft parts were not at all pleased with me.

On Saturday, I was not looking forward to getting on any bike and having to sit on a saddle, but I really wanted to keep riding. We ended up on a tandem that day and I did my best to enjoy the ride, despite being in pain throughout our time riding.

Sunday morning, we both got dressed and intended to do a longer-mileage ride on the tandem. After getting out to the bike though, I knew that I was in trouble. Not only were the saddle sores completely inflamed, but my hip and pelvis issues had started up (I presume due to constantly shifting my body while riding to keep from rubbing the saddle) and I knew deep down that there was no way I was going to make it through a long ride.

We debated completing a short ride, but I feared that if I didn't give my body the rest it was asking for, I wouldn't be able to do a longer ride the day following, so Sam ended up going for a ride on his own and we planned to do a longer mileage day on Monday.

My regular routine when riding anything other than short distances or around town is to use some kind of cream or glide on my chamois to prevent the saddle sores from ever starting. However, in this particular scenario, there was no escaping the reality that I need to break in a few new saddles and I know that is quite often a trigger for me to develop saddle sores (thankfully, it's a rarity for me to have need to break in a new saddle - I just happen to be in the midst of breaking in three at once right now). Usually, I'd just stick to short distances until the saddle has conformed a bit, but because of our goal to keep riding, it just didn't work well in this instance. Since the glide did nothing to prevent the problem, it then became a situation of dealing with and healing what had developed.

On Monday when we headed out, I went through my usual application to the chamois, but also added A+D directly to the affected areas (I've read that Bag Balm works well and had ordered some, but it wouldn't arrive in time to work for this situation). I think having the day off in between was definitely beneficial, but obviously the sores were still present and easily-agitated.

I was shocked that after completing a 50+ mile ride with a fair amount of climbing, I had actually been able to survive and was in very little pain. Granted, it wasn't the longest ride by any means, but it was significant enough that I was surprised that the sore spots were relatively okay.

In reality, I know the best means of dealing with saddle sores is prevention. If I never have to find a solution in the first place, that would be ideal, but saddle sores are going to happen from time to time and it got me thinking about what the best methods are for dealing with the issue once those little buggers are present.

It seems as though (for me) the best method to get them to heal up is to obsessively bathe and to stay off the bike, but since that isn't always possible, I started wondering what others do, particularly those who have to be on a bike for long distance rides -- whether brevet, touring, or endurance racing?

I've read a variety of solutions such as using Vaseline on the affected area, Bag Balm, wearing double sets of padded cycling shorts (layer closest to the skin worn inside out to prevent additional chaffing issues), bandaging the area (again to keep the sores from rubbing/creating friction - though I'm still not sure this is entirely practical, particularly for females), and obviously, keeping the area clean (including the shorts being worn) is important.

The A+D combined with chamois glide seemed to do pretty well for me, but I'm curious if there are other methods that work well. What solutions have you used to help speed up the process of healing saddle sores and/or have you found a solution that allows you to keep riding with these spots when staying off the bike isn't an option?

Ultimately, Sam and I enjoyed a fun, long weekend of riding together, but in the event we're ever blessed with this amount of time to ride together again, or if I'm riding alone and develop problems, I'd love to be prepared if saddle sores make their way into riding plans.  So, please do share if you've had success with a product or method for keeping the pain out of saddle sores.

Chamois Tales: Cream, Glide or Neither

A couple of summers ago, I was convinced that in no way did I need padded cycling shorts. As my distances were increasing, however, my sensitive parts were not loving the additional time in the saddle and it was suggested that I give in and get a pair of padded shorts. Yes, I am stubborn and I was convinced that they were unnecessary and it was merely an attempt to get me to spend money on something I didn't need. Oh, how I was wrong. I was so happy to have that extra padding when I completed longer rides. I have no idea now how I ever got away without wearing them on long distances!

Much like my thoughts on padded cycling shorts, I couldn't understand why anyone would use chamois creams or glides. It seemed unnecessary, but again, as distances became even longer and more time was spent sweating in the saddle, I wondered if this product would provide any kind of relief. In addition, I'd started experiencing saddle sores on nearly every ride. I'd taken the normal steps to remedy such issues, but no matter how many showers I took before, after, or multiple times a day, I couldn't prevent those painful spots from appearing.

One day early this past spring, as we meandered through a bike shop, I decided to take a peek at the chamois creams/glides. After asking the shop guys if they had any preferences among the various choices, no one seemed to have any real advice or opinions (I found out later this is because none of them use the stuff). So, I figured I'd be the guinea pig and try some out for myself.

*Image found here

My first round started with a chamois glide. It comes in a stick form and the container looks a lot like deodorant. To use, it is simply applied to the location(s) where friction or rubbing occurs (whether on the skin directly or on the chamois is apparently a matter of preference). I returned from a 30-mile ride without any indication of hot spots or saddle sores. Hmm, I thought, perhaps this is merely a fluke, or on longer rides it may not have the same usefulness. So, I tried it on a longer ride, and for multiple days in a row too. Wonder of all wonders, I never once had any issues with sores or hot spots. It was like a miracle product discovery. Why had I avoided this for so long?

*Image found here

During another shop visit, I picked up a couple small packets of chamois cream and figured I'd give those a try as well. It didn't have quite the same effectiveness with the cream for me (I think the ride was too long and I didn't bother to reapply the stuff as time ticked away), but it seemed to work better than nothing at all. The cream version was messier to handle and deal with, whereas the glide didn't have that lotion-like feeling. I can see how either, depending on preferences, could be useful though.

At this point, I have a difficult time imagining doing a long ride without a cream or glide. The fact that I can ride all day and not have to deal with saddle sores seems like some sort of miracle - though I realize this was all due to my unwillingness to simply try it and see what happened. Such an inexpensive fix for something that was at times quite painful. However, I know of many others who don't use any products and they complete centuries (or longer) on their bikes. Whether using a cream or glide would be beneficial to these individuals, I do not know, but I suppose if they haven't needed it thus far, it makes perfect sense not to seek out a product.

How about you? Do you use a cream/butter/glide when you ride? Any particular products that have worked well for you? If you've avoided it like I did for so long, was it in any way due to articles such as this one? Because... honestly, had I remembered reading the article prior to trying a product, I may have thought about it even longer.