New female cyclist needs advice on female regions!



Sandycm

New Member
Jul 30, 2006
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Yesterday was my first time to ride by bike. I haven't been on a bike in YEARS - MANY, MANY YEARS!!!!!! Thing is, my "yoo-ha" is KILLING ME! Okay, so maybe not exactly my "yoo-ha," but on each side of that area, it feels bruised. I tried to ride again today, and today I put some pads on each side. I'm wearing the shorts with the padded areas in them, but the sides down there are not protected by those pads.

Any suggestions? Do I just need to cowgirl up? Will it get better? I feel like someone beat the **** out of me down there yesterday, and then today when I tried to ride - (didn't last very long), I feel like someone was beating me with a bat in that area.

ANY SUGGESTIONS? HELP!!!!! I want to ride again today, and I definitely am going to tomorrow no matter what, and I know there will be some pain involved, but my legs, my butt, my thighs - pain there, I can take; this other area is killing me!

(Sorry to be so repetitive, but as you can probably tell, I'm hurting!)

Thanks for your time!
Sandy
 
Sounds like you are putting weight on the wrong part of your anatomy. Basically, your weight should be on your sit bones. You can expect a bit of discomfort initially but if you are sitting on the saddle correctly, then the discomfort should be in the sit bone area and nowhere else.

A couple of bits of advice ....
1. get someone to check your bike fit and position on the bike, you may be rolling your pelvis back and putting weight on the wrong parts because your bike fit or riding position make it difficult to maintain a correct position (basically your pelvis should be slightly rolled forward)

2. could be the saddle is too wide and you are compressing certain parts of your anatomy as you are pedalling

3. still on the subject of saddles, those squishy gel saddles they sell as suitable for women can cause problems because you tend to sink into them and therefore put pressure on the wrong parts of your body

4. make sure you work on your core stability, you need those muscles to maintain a good riding position

Above all, don't give up! Good luck.
 
I agree with Matagi, could be the nose of you saddle is too high and/or its not the right saddle for you. The bike fit is also not quite set up correctly for you.

As for the pain, a cold pack applied to the area as often as possible for as long as is practical. Be careful not to freeze youself, just so its cool. Sit on a hot water filled with cold water is best.

As Matagi says, don't give up.
 
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES!!!!!!

It's amazing how much there is to think about when riding. I never realized how just positioning yourself correctly or incorrectly could affect so much. I'm definitely going to take your advice - both of you. Thank you so much!

I'm definitely not going to give up - that's for sure! Thanks again!
 
Sandycm said:
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REPLIES!!!!!!

It's amazing how much there is to think about when riding. I never realized how just positioning yourself correctly or incorrectly could affect so much. I'm definitely going to take your advice - both of you. Thank you so much!

I'm definitely not going to give up - that's for sure! Thanks again!

Most people get saddle soreness when they commence cycling or recommence after a time away from it.

Most bike saddles are like bras- Designed to lift and separate unfortunately.
 
Yup, like what Matagi said. Have someone help you out with your position while cycling and with the positioning of your saddle.

You may have to spend some time trying different saddles and dialing your position in.

A bit of 'butt' soreness is normal, but not what you are describing.

Welcome back to the wonderful world of cycling!
 
I was riding in discomfort of the male region. I would go totally numb after about 15 miles. Finally, some left over brain cells must have sparked to life and told me to check and see if my saddle was level. lss, it was tilted up quite a bit.
 
Freehub said:
I was riding in discomfort of the male region. I would go totally numb after about 15 miles. Finally, some left over brain cells must have sparked to life and told me to check and see if my saddle was level. lss, it was tilted up quite a bit.
do you mean you raised the whole seat up, or tilted it a certain direction, cause I hear many of my cycling friends saying they have dealt with this.
 
What I did was, I checked it and found the nose of it to be tilted up almost 10 degrees. So I tried to make it level, from front to back. Now some people might want it tilted up or down, but I've always heard that you should start with the saddle level. My bike has a traditional geometry so I pretty much just put it level with the floor. It's a lot more comfortable this way, to me. I was having trouble keeping it from pointing downward so I think I over compensated, one time and raised it too much, which started the whole problem.