*Tender* cycling question

You knew it was coming.  :)

So, I've ridden about 40 miles on my bike so far in 12 days.  I've taken 5 full rest days.  The longest any single trip has been was 3.8 miles, the longest on an entire day has been 7.6 miles.

So, I'm wondering when my seat stops hurting so much.  At what point do I determine it's past the 'breaking in' period, and time to consider a different saddle?  I expected to be sore, but maybe not quite this much.  Bumpy roads have become my biggest foe; if I can I will coast standing so I don't bump on the saddle so much.  :)

So, what's the expectation to break myself in?  Thanks in advance for any info!!

Panda, Sometimes ithas more to do with bike fit than the saddle. Sitting too upright puts a lot of pressure on your butt. lowering your handlebars too low and your seat up may put you leaning too far forward putting too much pressure on your wrists. You have to find a balance that feels good to you.

Also you may want to try a woman specific seat. Womens pelvic bones are wider than a mans as you most likely know and the seat should support these bones. so a womans bike seat is wider.

Give those a try. -jiggles

What are you wearing  while you ride? If possible get yourself a pair of bike shorts.  They realy help a lot. If you are not comfortable wearing spandex you can wear some regular loose fitting shorts over them.

th ebike shorts do help.  Don't sit down over speed bumps, stand a little on your pedals.  and, er.. it takes 2-3 weeks, I found, for the sore to go away if you're riding every day.  it goes away faster if you take a day or 2 off (we are talking about that bruised butt feeling, right? and by butt i mean the two little buttbones.)  the bike shorts do help- or you can get a little slipcover gel pad for your seat to ease you in during this..ah... painful time.  it's cheaper than a whole new seat or padded shorts.  just ditch it as soon as you can cause the bike messengers will make fun of you :)

Bike shorts with a good chamois help but there is an adjustment period.  Your seat should support your pelvic bones so there is not pressure on the soft tissue.  Actually less days off may speed up the adjustment.  I've been riding for over 25 years and if I take time off the bike then I need to reaccustom my sit bones to the bike but it usually only takes me 3 or 4 days to get used to it.

Finding the right seat can takes some time and most of us that have a seat we like wouldn't change it for the world.  Picture closets filled with brand new seats stockpiled just in case the manufacturer ever decides to change or discontinue the model.

Also a padded seat will provide short term comfort but over the long haul a harder seat is usually more confortable.  The padding can cause chaffing and extra moisture in the area.

Avoiding bump helps and, as you mention, raising from the seat before a bump is key. 

I have one of those "little slipcover gel pad" and that's been a great boost to helping me get used to riding.   It's been a while since I've seriously put miles on my bike... however soon I'll be hitting the local paved bike trail... so thank goodness I never took the thing off.

I think it only cost around $10 at walmart.

Two thoughts from a fellow girl-biker:
1.  Get bike shorts.  A good pair, not some cheezy pair from Performance.
2.  Get a Terry Butterfly saddle.  It has a hole in the middle and changed my world.
There you go, Jenn!

If your sit bones aren't supported correctly you will be sore no matter what.  See if you can determine if your seat is wide enough.  Also, too soft a seat will be a bad thing, you will sink down into it and cause problems with circulation.

have you talked with your bike shop people, they should be willing to swa out seats until you find one that works best.

DAN

Yes to everything above and I know the bike shop I use here has a foam pad with measurements. You sit on the pad the sit bones leave indents and they can measure that. Bingo, you get the right width seat.

-j

ditto what matchatica said :

get good bike shorts (descente makes some incredible ones that have no waistband - called Bliss, i think, and they're amazing!!!) $60 may seem like a lot, but considering others cost $100-120, and these are incredible, i consider them a bargain.

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/16306-586_DE SBL7-1-Clothing-17-Shorts/Lycra/Descente-Wome n's-Bliss-Shorts.htm

get a terry saddle (i use the liberator pro).

Does it make a difference that it's not the ischial tuberosity area that is bothering me?  I think that's what is traditionally considered the sit bone.  This is a bit more forward of that, I think the ischiopubic ramus, best I can tell. 

Here's a somewhat decent site with diagrams, for anyone who hasn't recently undertaken anatomy lessons.  :)

panda, the seat my be too wide!  This will cause your inner thigh to rub and cause the pain, the other possibliy is that the nose of the seat is pitched slightly upward and you need to level the seat more.

Have you asked at the bike shop??

DAN

yes jen, thanks for the diagram. i refer to that as "getting on my very last nerve". do take some rest days for the area to recover. there are balms that help soothe those tender places. of all things, i like one called Udder Balm. yep, it's for cows, sold at my local feed store. some folks like Bag Balm, but i can't stand the smell of that.

the saddle being pitched up in the front may be part of your problem. there's a very narrow window where the angle is perfect - doesn't slide you backwards and doesn't slide you forward. experiment with it, and try to get your shop to work with you to try several different saddles to see what works best. even if you can't check them out on the road on your bike, they should be able to set you up on a trainer right there in the store where you can swap out saddles to your heart's content. you may have to shop at several stores since all shops don't carry all brands, makes &  models. there is some trial and error involved (hence my loyalty to the liberator pro, which i bought 5 of when i found out that was the one that did the trick for  me). it's also highly dependent on personal preference, so what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. wish it were more of an exact science!

edit for other thoughts: make sure your seat height is correct. especially if it's too high, you'll be chafing across the nose of the saddle for the whole ride. that'll always cause irritation. 

also, expect to stand a little over big disruptions in the pavement, especially if your bike is aluminum. (excluding bikes with shocks) bikes don't absorb much of the roughness of the road; they transfer nearly all of the impact to your points of contact (pedals, hands & seat). seat is the most tender place to take an impact, so lift up off of the seat when you're about to hit a bump or a pothole and let the other contact points absorb the force.

and to minimize irritation, wearing proper bike shorts is important, change shorts for every ride - never wear them twice due to bacteria/infection risks, the udder balm & other such products are good to soothe the skin, impeccable, ahem, "personal grooming" can help the situation, as can taking a day off of the saddle every few days. if i ride 3 days in a row, i'll get swelling and skin irritation. if you get a serious saddle sore, you'll need all these tricks up your sleeve to heal it, but they're also good advice for avoiding sores & irritation in the first place.

If I'm really good at cycling, but really skint and cant afford a new
bike (because mines ready to brake) how would i go about getting a new
one. i'm gifted at cycling, but how would i enter competition, who
would i speak to.  How can i find companies to sponsor me to go
cycling? anyone got any ideas... any help much appreciated.  my
ambitions are to become a famous cyclist... but i'm stuck on an island
doing the same route every day. and the equipment side is letting me
down, because i feel like i'm very good at cycling but getting held back by hings. my body's/mind is up to it. but nothing else around me seems that way.