Friday, July 10, 2009

My Butt Hurts: Ideas to Help Biking Pain

Sorry to throw that out there like that, but this is such a common issue for female riders. How do you keep your butt from hurting while biking? Here are some common questions I have either encountered or experienced myself.

My butt hurts

Umm, be more specific here. Is it your butt bones, your umm.. feminine area, or are you just not in shape?

You have to be in shape to keep your butt from hurting?

Not exactly. I like to call it bicycle butt shape. Every year for the past thirteen or so years I have been riding, my butt hurts for the first few rides. After I get in bicycle butt shape I am ready to roll.

I have pain right on my butt bone

Find a seat that has several contact points along the seat. By this I mean you don’t want the first place your butt touches on the seat to be directly onto your butt bone.

No, the pain is like searing, kick- me- off my seat pain

Yikes- this has happened to me. I found that undies made all the difference. You really shouldn’t wear them for chafing reasons, but face it sometimes you must. Try a seamless wicking undie. I love these by EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports).

My legs/feet go numb while riding

This happened to me and was the result of too wide of a seat. So check into a slimmer seat or one that doesn’t taper out at an angle. Of course if you have any medical problem you should check with your doctor.

My front pelvic bones hurt (aka child bearing area)

Really-- go for the cut out shape here. This takes pressure off the female region. Terry seats are really the way to go.

I think I have chafing

Chafing is sort of inevitable if you start really putting on miles. Number one thing to think about is bicycle short fit. I have a pair of bike shorts perfect for an easy ride about town, but when I put in more than ten miles I get chafed. Also, it could be the undie factor. See my above mention. Lastly, you could try some anti-chafing balm. Most bike shops have this in stock.

Will I get enough air flow in bike shorts?

I know your thinking-- spandex- UTI or other infection right? Well, if you’re prone to them biking may cause one to flare up. Something to consider is ventilation. Look for female specific, female friendly companies that design their shorts to have mesh, air holes, and maximum ventilation. Still going with Terry cycling on this ladies.

Hope that helps! Remember it's not a sprint it's a marathon finding getting comfortable on your bike. Feel free to leave any common biking complaints here. I may have another question/ answer post about this issue.

1 comment:

Rebecca said...

UMMM, All of the above! It all hurts I've been training for a 150 mile ride for lymphoma and Leukemia road riding is a lot different than the hills cuz you are in the seat way longer and you are leaning way forward so your "girl" really takes a beating.
Screw that "you'll get used to it CRAP"! Seriously a dude tellin me that! How's about I pay you a visit a couple times a day for a month and I treat you a repeated kick in the tenders lets see you get used to it! as you can tell I've about had it with this male bike bullpoop and their supposed gender specific seats. So enough of my rant, what seat would you suggest and pants that go for around $50.00 or less.