Props to all you bike riders

wofford16
wofford16 Posts: 63
in Fitness and Exercise
Today I went on my first official bike ride on the W &OD Trail and man........my tushy HURTS!!!! 3 miles in I thought I was going to have to call EMS for a butt transplant. I don't have much cushion back there but you guys have to have a magic cure for getting through those rides. I am definitely going to the bike shop and buying some of those fancy shorts you all wear and hopefully I can find a gel cushion for my seat so I can enjoy my rides better.

Replies

  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Padded bike shorts and a gel seat make a huge difference! Also... your butt will get used to it and 'toughen up' over time. :-)

    I LOVE the W&OD trail!
  • Exquizyt
    Exquizyt Posts: 33
    Congrats on your first official ride :happy: ! Beware, riding is addicting!

    I own these:

    http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-iZUMi-Womens-Cycling-Medium/dp/B002KT3ZKG/ref=sr_1_2?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1340839109&sr=1-2&keywords=pearlizumi

    They are my absolute favorite :smile:
  • BlisterLamb
    BlisterLamb Posts: 396 Member
    Padded shorts for sure, but the most important thing you can do is have them measure your sit bones and recommend the proper seat for you. I"ve been biking for 5 years or so now. I've been sore off and on. But I bought my beloved Trek about 18 months ago. They measured to be sure the bike fit me and having a bike that fits your body size makes a huge difference between the bike feeling like an extension of your body and something you are fighting to bend to your will. But it was a big sporting goods store and they didn't fit the seat. For 18 months I've been enduring chafing, welts and lumps in my leg pits. They hurt like HE hockey sticks! But I love to ride and kept riding. I generally don't ride less than 20 miles at a time. I was biking from Truckee Ca to South Lake Tahoe a couple weeks ago and my leg pits were killing me. My butt never hurt, just my leg pits, so I figured the seat was the right size. But I was in agony and stopped at a little bike shop there and the guy told me that my seat could actually be too narrow. He measured my sit bones and then looked at my bike seat. Women's hips are wider in general than men's. My bike had a seat built for a small man or an older boy. My sit bones were not even hitting the seat. Essentially, all my weight was resting on my lady parts on the nose of the saddle. Similar to riding, straddling a pipe. He recommended a seat with a slightly wider back part, and the difference of having the weight evenly distributed over the saddle was unbelievable. I did a 30 mile ride a couple days later and had NO pain. That man is my hero!
    Too late to make a long story short, but proper seat fit is HUGE!

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