2 MAINTENANCE [162–313

CYCLING LIFE [314–443]

SADDLE SORES [314–327]

314. To spare any blushes, this is a good time to remind everyone not to wear pants with their cycling shorts!

315. Even if you don’t normally get a problem with saddle sores, hotter temperatures, rain or long days can leave you sore.

316. How stable you are on the bike has a huge impact on saddle comfort. However good your position is, your stability can make the difference. If you are rocking and moving and your weight is just dumped on the saddle it can lead to soreness.

317. Personal hygiene is critical in preventing saddle sores, but make sure you don’t wash too aggressively or with too harsh a soap, as our natural skin oils also act as an emollient.

318. Sometimes you need to give your bottom a break. If you have sore or broken skin it needs time to heal; if you don’t always take the rest days you need, this will have an impact.

319. Finding the right chamois cream is important – you want one with a good emollient factor that offers lots of long-lasting lubrication.

320. When it comes to the placement of chamois cream, it needs to be smeared across your perineum and areas that contact the saddle.

321. However, we female riders need to exercise a bit more caution about the type of cream we use and where it ends up (avoid anything heavily scented as it can be an irritant).

322. Regardless of genitalia, I strongly caution against mixing up chamois cream and embrocation.

323. And on that note, always do your chamois cream before you apply embrocation or warm-up balm to your legs. Once done, never forgotten. 324. Finally, on a similar subject, if applying a cream such as Savlon to a sore make sure you don’t actually apply toothpaste. Your room-mate will be alarmed by the yelps of pain coming from the bathroom if you do.

325. If you have saddle sores then checking your position is the best place to start; once your position is right you can work through the other things such as shorts, chamois cream and saddle choice to make sure they are right too.

326. On the other hand, if you have tried everything else and still have saddle sores then it is time for a bike fit!

327. As my friend and bike-fit guru Phil Burt says, ‘Bike fits are expensive, but they are not a luxury; think how much money you can throw away on fancy creams, shorts and different types of saddles without finding a solution for saddle sores.’ As the former Head of Physiotherapy for British Cycling, and having spent five years with Team Sky, he knows what he is talking about.