RR3

What is it with getting older, I never used to get saddle sores. Is it because skin dries out and cracks easier? SHorts are clean and do not sit around in the dirty ones. I only use cream on long rides (say over 100 miles). Maybe I need to start using chamois creams evenon short rides.

The boil is starting to get better, it only hurts a little today and it does not look as bad. Would you start a 600K on this coming Saturday....about 60 hours hence? I have to travel to the ride and can't just wait until Friday.

I apologize if such an inquiry grosses anyone out. My schedule does not coincide with too many 600k rides and I want to go to Paris and already have all of my arrangements. This has to be age related. My second one this year. I never had them in the past and I have no experience.....I am guesssing I would take a bad situation and make it really bad. I could probably do the 600k with sufficient doses of Vitamin M but I read somewhere that saddle sores can require surgury when the get bad.

Do I stay home?

unterhausen

I had horrible saddle sores last year, and just kept going. I used a saddle on the first warm 200k that just wasn't working. And then the rides kept coming in quick succession, so it didn't really get better. I think it was ok by the 6000k though. The worst ride was the fleche, I think I stood up the entire last 30 miles. The thing you have to ask yourself is how likely this is to cause a dnf. If it's just going to cause suffering, then that's ok. I have ridden the second day of a 600k when I didn't really want to sit down. My only suggestion is to get some lantiseptic

RR3

Thanks, Unterhausen.....I have laniseptic on right now. I also carry Oragel 20% lidocaine in my bag just in case I ever needed it. You must have channeled my psyche.....I have never DNF's a 600k and it is a big commitment and I fear this could yield a DNF or mess up the rest of the season. Getting thru a 3 hour dinner was hell two nights ago, just sitting on a padded chair was difficult. I already have my 200, 300, and 400k brevets completed. I coach a youth team that takes time mostly on weekends plus we all have that other thing that gets in the way....work.

You gave me an idea.....maybe if I put a different saddle on, the pressure might be off the boil. GTG....off to the parts bin and garage. If it don't hurt too bad, I'm going on a ride. Hope Springs eternal.

ThermionicScott 

Try applying a little Finipil there after showering and drying for the next few days. Really great stuff.

Yankeetowner

I've had saddle sores for the past 2 months. I've done 2 400k's and a fleche in the past 5 weeks. Did the XFL 170 mile ride Sunday, and had a huge boil develop. It hurts more when I start a ride than when I am into it. I have a 600K this weekend, and another 600k the following weekend. I bought the best Assos bibs and started using their chamois cream and it still hurts. I don't do any long rides during the week, and they seem to dry up some by the weekend. Everyone has to make their own decisions on whether to ride or not, but my theory is that at my age (nearly 65)
I need to go as hard as I can, because I won't have too many more years that I can go.

RR3

I swapped saddle to b17 and noticed something interesting. Left thigh hitting Sadldle side. Thought I was hasty installing so I dismount and get out the tools. The saddle was perfectly centered as I had alway ridden. I noticed the sore spot was on the rear rivet. I turned the seatpost cw off center and it is centered inside my thighs and feels better. I have had back problems. Pelvis might be twisted. Sitting at a cafe 20 mi from home. Rear is sore but monkeying around with the replacement saddle might have found the cause of the saddle sores?? Or I am just too old😄

RR3

Good post. Thanks for the en courage ment

unterhausen

I have never heard of one of those rivets causing problems, but brother Google reveals that it does happen. I have a bad habit of riding too far back on the saddle, and I think my Brooks would have given me problems except I have one of the special edition flattened rivet models

Machka 

I've ridden with the nose of my saddle a little bit off to the left for a long time now. It works better that way.

Machka 

As for saddle-sore-like issues, Ozonol or similar is good. It has a pain killer in it + 3 different antibacterial products.

It is the only "chamois cream" I bring with me on rides ... a little dab in a sore spot and I'm good.

StephenH

I'd go for it. Doesn't mean it's the right decision or a good decision.

rhm

Good luck on your ride this weekend! If the problem is with the rivets on the saddle, don't be shy about taking a hammer to them. Ideally you want to do this on some kind of an anvil, so you don't bend the frame. I have a conical hardy that I put on my anvil, but sometimes it's easier to place the underside of the rivet on the corner of a cutoff piece of steel I-beam. I've also used a pickaxe; embed one end of the pickaxe in the ground so the pointed end is sticking straight up, place the underside of the rivet on the point, and hammer on the head. Anyway, with the underside of the rivet supported, you can pound the top of the rivet down so it won't bother you again. I suggest you do this before your 600k!

If you're afraid of mucking it up, I'd be happy to do it for you, but unless you're near central NJ that's probably not an option right now. If you do take a hammer to it and really do mess up the rivet pretty bad (which probably won't happen) I can replace the rivet for you. Heck, I can replace them all, nice big brass ones, or big flat copper ones, whatever you like.

9606

I've had to deal with saddle irritations most of my cycling career - asymmetrical hips from a cx crash early on.
I have ridden when I thought it was iffy, and surprisingly, it turned out well. But I have never really had a "boil". I have ridden with slightly broken skin, but no blood or puss.
I say give it a go. May be tilt the saddle a very small bit to change pressure points.
You don't really think simply ageing may have led to this do you?
PS - the best advice I have received re: saddle problems has been from a rider-doctor, "On-the-Spot" Neutrogena zit cream, after the ride & shower. Does a nice job drying things up. Not inexpensive, but a little dab goes a long way.

RR3

I am reluctant to put either Benzoyl Peroxide or a Sal acid product on my skin so close to an event because they tend to really dry out my skin which would probably make matters worse during the ride.

The swelling was only grape sized and has subsided as has the pustule but there is darkened area and lump that still hurts a bit but much better. Still undecided. Win the battle but lose the war is my thinking although still on the fence.

I am using Rx antibiotic cream under a layer of laniseptic. I might apply a tumeric and lansieptic paste since tumeric is a strong anti-fungal and I have no way of knowing which caused the infection.



Turmeric and Other Remedies for Painful Boils | skinVERSE

unterhausen

seems like the normal effect of aging on skin wouldn't be that great from a cycling perspective.
I'm pretty sure my butt problems come from having gained and lost a lot of weight in the past. And I doubt my weight fluctuations during the year help much either. It doesn't seem like any of the problems I have had were as severe as the OP though.

dwmckee

I have struggled with saddle sores as well. Last year I went to a fitter and among the adjustments he turned my saddle 6 degrees to the right. It has never been more comfortable and I do get less chafing. I do not even think about my saddle or seat position anymore and I used to always be fidgeting with it... I do not notice the off center nature of the seat. The only difference is now the boys always go left when before they took turns going left then right.

downtube42

I'm going against the crowd and suggest you sit this one out. Starting a 600k with an issue, knowing your reluctance to DNF, sounds like a formula for a serious problem.

RR3

Thanks everyone, I decided to sit out the 600k and might do a shorter Brevet closer to home. I have not done a long ride in 2 weeks and have been nursing this thing for 9 days, so, the loss of fitness and lack of riding is getting frustrating.

The afflicted skin surface is good and the deeper infection seems almost gone but still a bump and a little tender. Fearful of erupting the volcano on a really long ride, I think a 300k might make more sense overall.

I am going to use chamois cream (laniseptic or utterly ridiculous cream) on all rides now as I do think dryness and cracked skin might have allowed Staph or whatever bug in causing the infection.

I do think there is something about the saddle angle to look into.....after a visit to my Chiro....I had a spine injury years ago from cycling and this sounds the cause as I have had ongoing issues over the years. One of my earlier posts might not have been clear. With a "properly" centered saddle, my left cheek is deeper into the saddle than the right cheek (right ischial tuberosity), which just hits the right, rear rivet on my B17 Champion series. Rotating the seatpost a few degrees CW (right) better centers both my cheeks into the pocket of the saddle. Weird. Anyways, I would not have thought of this w/o unterhausen and Machka's input. I know the distance from pedal axle to sit bone placement on the saddle and distance behind cranks by heart..saddle always centered.....B17 slightly up....Berthoud level...one thing I never really gave much thought to is our bodies can change. The other possiblity is that I started riding my racing bike a little bit and man, those 23mm tires at 110psi do beat you up but I don't ride that thing very far....maybe 40 miles max. I still prefer the cushy ride of my rando rig even if it is slower.

Thanks to all for the words of encouragement and suggestions.

ThermionicScott 

Good luck, @RR3!

I only realized that I had an imbalance somewhere when I noticed that the left-side dents in my Brooks saddles were further back than the ones on the right side. Ever since, I've adjusted the nose to the left slightly.

Steamer

Sounds like your right leg could be a little longer than your left.

My left leg is longer than my right, and I would get saddle sores on the left side of my taint and where the top of my left leg meets my butt cheek. Rotating the saddle a little bit CCW (the nose of the saddle going towards the longer leg) helped me a lot more than I expected and seems to have balanced out the pressure between right and left sides.

RR3

Another good suggestion.....thanks very much.

One leg was indeed just a bit over 0.25 inch (7mm IIRC) longer year ago until I went thru Chiro adjustments and they have been equal although my back has gone out recently. Misalightment used to really screw up my golf game. Had not been checked in years because I have been good. Longer legs can indicate a mis-aligned spine and can sometimes be seen as a tilt in the pelvis or at least that is what image showed plus I would used to stand funny....one shoulder lower than the other. Since I know that I had a "longer leg" in the past, I guess I really need to fetch myself back to my Chiro....he is also a cyclist so he will "feel my pain"