Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

10 Reasons (re: excuses) Not To Commute Today

1. Took my laptop home over the weekend, and it weighs a ton in the backpack.
2. Need to restock on undies, shirts, socks and pants at work.
3. Need to restock on food, fruit at work.
4. Too tired from yesterday race where I killed it, and got a top ten finish.
5. Too cold in the mornings. Icy fingers I don't like.
6. Too hot in the arvo. 40 deg on the M5 isn't fun.
7. Too wet. The rain I don't mind, but the 60 minutes required to clean the bike really gets annoying.
8. Too many punctures, and I'm over changing tubes. That, plus I've got approx. 25 tubes awaiting repair.
9. Social committments after work. This includes drinkies with colleagues or friends, or just picking up the daughter on the way home.

And the #1 reason/excuse for not commuting to work: -

10. Saddle sores. Don't know what I've done differently lately, but after an hour in the saddle I get severe chaffing in the crease between the left leg and buttock. Haven't changed the seat position. Using the same brand of knicks (also tried a variety of others). No change to my riding position that I'm aware of. I used to be able to ride for 4 hours with no chaffing whatsoever, but now I just don't want to ride more than 60 minutes because of the pain. Added to this is it takes 2-3 days for it to heal before I can ride again.

Any suggestions?

What are you're excuses for not commuting?

Oh, Don, no hogging this thread.

Kev.

Kev.

Saddles can and will change shape over time. It may be an issue here.

Yeah, thought about that.

Funny thing is how it didn't evolve over time, but just came on suddenly.
Kind of reluctant to fork out big cabbage on a new seat when it mightn't make a difference.

Got me stumped though.

Kev.

* busted my knee crashing so it is too painful to ride
* I can carry an ironed shirt to work but not if it's raining
* if there a no lights on the bike I can't commute if I am going to be riding home after dark
* if the forecast is for storms then I don't ride

I don't usually make excuses because I hate catching the bus/train
* if I am running late, riding is the fastest way to get to work
* if I have to go to the library after work it is quicker to ride than drive
* I use riding as an excuse for not drinking at Friday after work drinks (I can't drink too much, I have to ride home )

Well, it has to start some time. And once there's a nidus, the problem can be easily amplified.

I have two of the same saddle on different bikes and the older one clearly shows a bit of a dip in the middle when looked from the side. And if one take note of it, the difference in feel is definitely there. The other thing I've noted on the older one is that it's not as slippery as the newer one. So it's easier for the bum to get stuck in one location, possibly inducing more friction. I've thought about buffing the saddle with some Mr Shine or PTFE containing solution.

Could he saddle soreness be related to a change in your riding as you have become stronger over time. I had a refit done about 3 months ago due to some soreness I was getting in my lower back that had sprung up rather than got worse over time. It made a big change.

Perhaps this is something to try?

Kev365428 wrote: 10. Saddle sores. Don't know what I've done differently lately, but after an hour in the saddle I get severe chaffing in the crease between the left leg and buttock. Haven't changed the seat position. Using the same brand of knicks (also tried a variety of others). No change to my riding position that I'm aware of. I used to be able to ride for 4 hours with no chaffing whatsoever, but now I just don't want to ride more than 60 minutes because of the pain. Added to this is it takes 2-3 days for it to heal before I can ride again.

Any suggestions?

Any chance that you might have unconsciously shifted your weight slightly - maybe as a result of some stiffness after busting your ribs back in March ? Has the period off injured + protecting the injury a bit when resuming riding been the thing that's changed and possibly explain the chaffing ?

I like all of your excuses. The only one I could add is

11. Thunderstorms in weather forecast. Rain I don't mind, but lightning I do mind.

Cheers

12. Too cold to subject my son (aka '17kg of ballast') to riding on the kiddie carrier seat. I don't mind the cold, I warm up after a few minutes cycling, but he has to sit there with the wind in his face, not expending any energy or generating enough heat to keep warm as we speed along toward his daycare.

He does complain about it. Travelling by car instead of going on the bike, I mean!