Varieties of Cycling Butt Pain
Cycling butt pain comes in several varieties. Unfortunately, none of it is enjoyable.
Hay, come on! Seating on one of those tiny cycling seats for thirty minutes or up to a couple of hours can cause pain? Who’d of thunk it, right?
If you are experiencing cycling butt pain, you are far from being alone. Almost every cyclist experiences it at some time.
You can experience cycling butt pain in many forms. It can be a burning glut rash, a cut in the groin, or a blister on your buttock. Unfortunately, none of them makes ridding comfortable.
A certain amount of pain is all part of cycling. Pain in your thighs or calves after a ride is usually a sign that you pushed yourself. That can be a good thing. That pain from a good workout is tolerable. You know such cycling pain can lead to faster and longer rides in the future.
What is it they say, “No pain, no gain.”
Adjust Your Seat
So, what do you do to prevent cycling butt pain?
The dull pain in the gluts is something all beginning cyclists experience. So, do not let it derail or end your budding cycling experience.
Most likely, you have never sat on such a small seat for even a minute. But now you are sitting on it for a long time. Peddling your bike forces your butt to move from side to side or rotate pressure from the inside of one glut to the other.
A proper seat adjustment can help. You do not want to be bouncing on the seat as you peddle. If you are starting, I suggest you take your bike to your local bike shop and let them measure and observe to see if your seat is high enough and tilted at the proper angle.
That being said, I can assure you that the beginner’s cycling butt pain will go away over time. This is because your butt gets accustomed to long times in the saddle.
You may sometimes get cycling butt pain from landing on the saddle hard when rolling over bumps or potholes in the road or banging across railroad tracks.
If you are riding with a club of experienced riders, you will hear them shout “tracks” or “holes.” Or, you may see them pointing to holes and cracks in the pavement. The main reason they do that is to prevent you from hitting them hard enough to cause you to fall. Sure, avoid these hazards if you can. However, some are unavoidable and, if struck hard, it can cause a bruise and soreness for a while.
Learn to lift your butt a bit before transversing tracks or going over a particularly rough patch in the road.
Cycling Shorts Lessens Cycling Butt Pain
One of the most fantastic aids to cyclists and their cycling butt pain is cycling shorts. So, if you are a beginning cyclist and still wearing your everyday shorts and underwear, you are not helping yourself.
There are shorts explicitly made for cyclists. In addition to being tight-fitting and aerodynamic, they have a pad sewn into them. That pad, the chamois, is your friend. Don’t leave home on your bike without it.
The padding dampens the jolt to your butt when going over uneven surfaces. Most importantly, it makes the ride more comfortable. The chamois is soft and padded.
Butt Lubrication Helps Prevent Cycling Butt Pain
Further prevention of cycling butt pain comes from lubrication.
Your butt rubbing consistently over any surface can irritate the skin and even cause chafing. Rubbing even on the cushioned chamois can irritate your butt.
The best remedy is to spread some cream or lubricant on the chamois. Also, smear some on your butt and groin areas.
You can use regular hand lotion. There are specialized products Chamois Butter.
Rub a bit of the lubricant directly on the chamois. You may want to put a little extra over the stitching, especially if the shorts are old and worn.
Cycling butt pain need not end your cycling experience before you get started. Take these steps:
- Make the proper seat adjustments.
- Get some good cycling shorts.
- And, by all means, lubricate yourself and your shorts.
Taking the above advice will help cycling become less of a pain in the butt.