If you ride a bicycle, advice please!

[Snigletted]

Because I've skinned my bits 😭
Is it because my pants are slightly too small?
Because my cycling trousers are too small?
Because the saddle isn't the right one?

Went on a ride today, usually takes around 4 hours with the DC and we break for lunch. Tried to finish without a break, took 2.5 hours. But owwwwwwwwwwww I can't even go for a wee!

I sellotaoe tenna padd to mine and put a cover over it. Only thing that worked. If you've not been cycling for a while it can be very sore though it might be worth changing your saddle type.

Chamois cream for your bits. Tis the only way.

You need a nice comfortable gel saddle

Vaseline jelly if you don't have chamois cream. (now and subsequently before cycling)

I've been using the home trainer (with DH's mountain bike saddle) at least three times a week for the past 6 months. Been out on a bike once a week, weather permitting for 3 months. So it's not like it's the first time in ages I've been on a bike.

Could be the saddle, could be lack of padded shorts, could be not going commando under said padded shorts. If I'm on my road bike then I use padded shorts and chamois cream - I learnt this the hard way. Shorter rides on my shopping bike I'm fine in normal clothes.

Saddles are very personal and softer does not mean more comfort - you need to be sitting on your sitbones

I have padded shorts, they clip onto the trousers. I don't use my bike for short rides, I live half way up a huge hill 😂 Usually we go Distances of 20-40(today) km, but today is the first time I've been alone. When the Dc are with us, it's slower which means longer in the saddle, but never managed this before.

Saddles really are trial and error. I have two favourites - a sella italia with a cutout for my roadbike and an old fashioned Brooks leather saddle for my workhorse but neither are soft and both took some time to get used to. Try chamois cream as I find that makes a huge difference

@grannycake I have the sella italia too - its fab isn't it?!

@Snigletted you may have your saddle slightly too high. I know when my daughter was 4 we hired one of those tag a longs as well as an independent bike and a carriage thing - daughter insisted on taking her turn on the tag-a-long which was too big for her but she just got on with it and we were so impressed. Then I got her ready for bed and her poor little bits were so red and sore I felt guilty for days!

I recommend lots of sudocream for treatment now! I got sore in the early days of cycling when I put my normal knickers underneath my padded leggings - nowadays I go commando underneath but still get sore occasionally if cycling 50-60 miles - haven't found my perfect pads yet. I like Evans Kalf range and have some DHB Bib shorts which are quite comfy but suspect I need to pay well over £100 to be perfectly comfy on a long ride and I don't have the money to do that .

Do you wear pants under your clip in shorts? If so don't - they are designed to be worn commando

I bought padded knickers. My poor fanwar took a week to recover!

@Blobby10 I recommend rapha shorts for long rides. I don't like bibs cause of peeing and getting undressed. They were expensive (I have two pairs) but I bought them over 5 years ago and they are still going strong. My best jersey was only 50p in a Halfords sale but I won't change the shorts!

@grannycake Evans fwe do a halter neck bib which stretches enough that you can pull it down without taking the neck off! I know it sounds weird but I’ve got the full length ones and they are amazing 😁 will check out the rapha shorts thoigh - thanks for the tip x

My problem was that I had really a really bad rash (thinking weeping sore) and I changed the shorts/saddle and chamois cream all at the same time - I don't know now what actually did the trick and it was so miserable I can't risk getting it again

No, saddle is not too high, if anything it's too low according to DH! Yes, I do wear pants under my clip in shorts, ones which are compatible with a shewee. My saddle is a sella italia.

@Snigletted Dont wear the pants. All bike shorts are designed to be worn next the skin. Change as soon as you get home as well - don't sit around in your kit

I don’t know if the perspective of a male cyclist helps, but I usually cover 12-18 miles a day, between 2 and 5 times per week. I’ve heard about chamois cream, but never tried it, and E45 works for me. However, I want to extend my daily range and today and yesterday I’ve covered 25 miles on each ride and now I’m very sore! So maybe for more serious distances chamois cream is the answer; I’m certainly going to have to try something else.

I’ve seen YouTube videos by cycling professionals that recommend wearing nothing under padded shorts. I’ve not yet tried that as I don’t fancy the idea of more direct contact with the saddle, but as it has been suggested in this thread too, I might well give it a go. My son is also a keen cyclist and he recommends regular daily rides, with longer distances interspersed with shorter ones, rather than just going all out with challenging rides. I should mention, by the way, that I’m retired so daily rides are perfectly possible for me.

Hmmm. So how do you go for a wee without flashing all the passing hikers and bikers or getting bitten on the arse by bugs in the undergrowth? Can't go too far from the path as you can't leave your bike. and what if you're ever so slightly incontinent? I can't last two hours on a bumpy bike ride without needing the loo, could that be due to a prolapse?

@Snigletted this is another area where males have it SO easy!! The number of times I've been bursting for a wee and my OH has just nipped behind a tree whilst I've had to wait until I found a suitably thick hedge with a gate nearby. Climbing gates whilst wearing cleats is not for the fainthearted . But in all seriousness, people won't be looking as they go past especially in a car as they are in a cocoon unless you put up a big arrow saying "I'm peeing here". I usually find a gateway on a quiet road, put my bike where I can see it and keep it in sight whilst I squat behind the hedge (and moan about how my knees won't bend enough and how my leg muscles ache whilst trying to avoid pee splatter everywhere!!)

Definitely don't wear pants under your padded shorts, I had no idea that people did this, that seems really weird to me, because the padded shorts are your pants in this scenario.

Also really important that your saddle fits your arse properly and it's correctly adjusted on the tilt, otherwise you're asking for pain and discomfort.

As for a wee, you just have to find a suitably private spot or let the people in cars that in all likelihood you don't know and will never see again get a millisecond glance of your arse as they fly by.

Getting a saddle that worked for me solved a lot of my pain. I use the ISM PM 2.0 saddle - it's a cut-away style and it completely takes the pressure - and subsequent chafing - away from your bits. There's nothing soft about it, it's a very hard saddle but it does only really contact your seat bones and bum. For me, that has solved the problem, although I don't go as far as you...my max is around 16miles just now.