Just done a fairly big bike ride for me.

130miles off road over two days, had a bit of discomfort downstairs the first day and just put it down to not cycling for a week or two.

After finishing today I noticed my perineum on one side is rather swollen and a tad sore.

Bit confused as what could cause it, any ideas? I wore decent bib shorts and used chammy cream.

There’s a school of thought that says anything asymmetrical is most likely your saddle being a little too high.

Dunno, stick some of that nappy cream on, can’t remember the name, grey pot.
SUDOCREAM

I sometimes get a little lumpy thing in the crease of my right arse cheek, always in the same place. Usually following a long ride, gets quite uncomfortable and can take a couple of weeks to clear. It feels a bit like a spot under the skin, I’ve always assumed it’s and ingrowing hair or just some dirt or sweat that got ground in.

Ingrown hair? Or even an infection in a hair follicle?

You can even get sores and swelling from the mixture of pressure, heat and friction from hours in the saddle. It should ease after week or two. If it doesn’t then go see a doc.

Keep it clean and add some sudacream or other antiseptic cream.

I’ve had a lot of trouble with a recurring small lump under the skin. every few weeks it would become inflamed/infected and very sore. tried all sorts of chammy creams, without success. tried antiseptic wipes before and after, tried cleaning the area with alcohol hand gel. nothing worked. This went on for a couple of years.

Until Sudacrem.

Is your saddle straight (side to side)?

Sudocrem should be your first port of call. I stick some on after a long ride even if it’s not too bad down there.

Sudocrem is pretty good stuff. I always apply after my commute into work to prevent any soreness.

The mere mention of Sudocrem only leads my mind to one place. Sudocrem, Toddler, Cat :o)

Veet’s a good alternative to sudacrem*

*it isn’t. Don’t.

“Is your saddle straight (side to side)?”

We don’t all sit straight. On advice, I have my saddle very slightly off, because of imbalances in muscles of legs. I tend to have more trouble when mine is absolutely straight.

It’s not a lump more of a large swelling on one side, not really the perineum, more where the thigh meets the arse, going to see the Doc and get it looked at.

I’ve noticed my hardtail which is Ti, is quite ‘bouncy’ when riding it sat down, hopefully it’s just constant hammering at my arse, still getting a Broken road to replace it, hopefully that rides a bit better.

I have that literally all the time. Not sore or anything, I think I’ve just developed more padding on one side than the other.

Not pathological, more a variant of normal, or perhaps healthy adaptation.

Bepantham* cream has always been way more effective than sudocrem for clearing up rashes etc. on the kiddie’s bums.

*aka Bum Panther according to someone on here – thanks for that, whoever you are! 😀

it’s definitely not healthy, walking like John Wayne at the mo 🤣

14 posts and still no request for pictures – standards are slipping 🤣

“*aka Bum Panther”

60% of the time, it works every time.
Smells like a turd covered in burnt hair.

I got similar doing the Transmaurienne in 2018, in the arse:thigh crease. Absolute agony and in tears on top of the last climb (there was a lot of climbing).

It’s not a lump more of a large swelling on one side, not really the perineum, more where the thigh meets the arse

Sounds very much like what I get – it starts sore and swollen and eventually solidifies a bit so becomes more lump like. If by where thigh meets arse you mean the crease between the corner of your arse cheek and top of the thigh then that’s just where I get it. Interested to hear what the doc says 😀

I’m a bit lopsided too, and am pretty sure I have a cyst or something down there, feels like a sort of flat, painless lump in roughly the area you mention (I think ‘weaver’s cyst’ or ‘cyclist’s nodule’ might be the medical term 😆

Painless but annoying as it increases pressure on one side, having the saddle a bit squint helps.

aka Bum Panther according to someone on here – thanks for that, whoever you are

He doesn’t post as much as he used to

He doesn’t post as much as he used to

This is driving me mad, is it a quote or something?

Op

Sounds to me like a simple skin infection.

Friction and pressure has allowed the normal bugs that live on the skin to get into the deeper layers and breed. Creams containing bacteriacides like suedocrem will speed up healing.

Ive had this flaring up all tour

Had this too, I went to Docs and he said it was a saddle sore,not ingrowing hair which was what I assumed it was. He recommended I try angling the saddle slightly downwards at it looked more like I was being pinched. Seems to have worked for me.

Saw Doc, said it was soft tissue swelling, looks like no damage done and no bursitis, will give it a couple of weeks before getting back on the bike though.

That’s the conclusion I’ve come too! Mines been like that for years! Assumed it was just an adaptation to cycling

Chamois cream can help. I find I can ride longer before the sores start (if at all) but saddle height can make a massive difference. I recently dropped mine by just 10mm. It felt a bit weird for the first few miles but I was in much less discomfort on the last few.

Drop the saddle nose slightly – just a tiny bit lower then flat – that sorted me out ✅