You just bought a shinny new bike and you have been riding up and down the block. You finally decided to check out a local bike path, possibly ventured into the street or out on some country roads. If this sounds like you then keep reading. Yes, I'm talking to you, yeah the one with the new bike. You are still uncomfortable sitting for long periods of time on this masochistic torture device we call a saddle. Seat is fine, after all we call it a seat post, not a saddle post? Trust me your undercarriage just needs more painful miles and it will finally get stronger. Really. Think of it this way, if you are not used to standing for long periods of time, your feet hurt, your neck, back, etc... Same as your hind end. You will build a tolerance. Get some funny shorts, you can wear cover-ups, but stay away from putting a seam on your parts.
Those funny shorts have a chamois in them that helps, I said helps -not cures, the interface between bum and saddle. This chamois is in your crotch area to reduce the amount of friction that happens down below. If you are a modest person and think you should wear underwear with your cycling shorts, DON'T. You might as well just wear sandpaper. Al Fresco, is your friend when it comes to pain free cycling.
PRO tip: Only wear your shorts as long as you HAVE to. Try and limit the amount of time that your chamois and your naughty parts have contact. When you are finished with your ride, get your nasty stinky shorts off as quickly as possible. This is so important for the health of your posterior. This has more to do with skin care than anything. Most soreness you get from riding a bike is skin chaffing or irritation, and let's be honest that is some pretty sensitive skin/area. Take care of it.
There are some crutches you can buy for your pampered pooper. I'm talking about Chamois Cream. There are tons on the market, they are to reduce the friction even further between rider and chamois. Two schools of thought on cream: 1) it is a crutch and you will get addicted to it [can't ride w/o it] 2) not sure what the other school is [I'm addicted to the stuff]. Heck it's like chapstick, you have chapped lips use chapstick. I'm gonna use products that work for me. You need to find what works for you, and take what people tell you as their opinion. -It's not gospel.
I'll talk about saddles (seats) in the future. Just remember that there is not magic built into saddles, and what works for your friend might kill you. The human body is incredibly adaptable and will eventually adapt to whatever you put it through. Saddles are about minimizing, not about curing. Improvise Adapt Overcome
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