It’s embarrassing to admit that I don’t always follow my own advice. I occasionally stand around in cycling kit a few minutes longer than I should, I don’t take perfect care of my skin all the time, and—most recently—I fell into the trap a ton of women I know fall into. I got a new bike (it’s amazing) and settled for the saddle.
Now, my new mountain bike is super baller, and the saddle it came with was a pretty nice one. So I didn’t immediately swap it for my old, pretty darn beat up MTB saddle. Instead, I started riding with it, a lot.
Suddenly, I was having tons of chafing issues, skin problems I hadn’t experienced in a couple years, ingrown hairs, angry skin, the whole nine yards.
So…
I didn’t change my saddle. Didn’t even think of it as I was applying layer after layer of Neosporin to my legs and sensitive bits while cursing under my breath.
I ran that saddle for two weeks before it finally occurred to me that I was doing exactly what I tell women not to do.
Moral of the story? Not every saddle is going to work for you, and if you’re having problems, it’s time for a change.