This is one of those "personal" questions that occasionally gets asked of us bike tourists. Most people find the idea of spending many hours a day, day after day perched on one of those skinny bike saddles a kind of torture.

Well, for me, the truth is, yes, sometimes my rear-end hurts. But, it doesn't hurt very often. What's more, most people would think the soreness would come from sitting on the seat. But, in my experience, the soreness comes from abrasions, sores or bruises, not from seat pressure.

Before I get into the problems, let me start with a solution. The only way to truly be comfortable on a bike tour is to get a bike saddle that can conform to your rear-end. Most bike tourists, myself included, use a Brooks leather saddle. At first, this saddle will be uncomfortable. But after a while, it will conform to your rear-end and simply become a part of you. Once it is "broken-in" your problems with soreness due to an ill-fitting saddle simply go away.

When I first started touring, I figured the combination of padded biking shorts and butt cream would keep any problems to a minimum. I bought quality bike shorts and used Butt Butt'r cream liberally. Eventually, I found out that this strategy didn't always work. Once I got and broke-in my leather saddle, I stopped using the butt cream since it was no longer needed!

When I've had problems, they've come from three sources.

First, not all bike shorts work equally well. I have found that those shorts that have seams near the edge of the chamois pad tend to cause chaffing at those seams. What's more, wearing the same kind of short day after day often leads to hot spots. I am always buying and trying out shorts. My goal is to take three pairs of different shorts with me on a tour. That way, I don't have to use the same type of short two days in a row. I always buy my shorts from REI (even though they don't usually have much of a selection) where I can return a pair of shorts if I don't like them after using them a few times.

Second, keeping clean on a bike tour can be a challenge. While body odor isn't one of my personal problems, in-grown hairs are. The combination of hand-washed bike shorts, cold water sink baths, and long days in the saddle can lead to in-grown hairs, which can quickly progress to truly painful sores if not treated properly. Sometimes, the best treatment is a day or two off the bike. I am very aware on tour of anything that starts feeling like a problem and try to deal with it as soon as possible. In addition, I always carry diaper rash cream (zinc oxide) and handy wipes in my bike touring kit and use them whenever I feel the need. Here is a good discussion on staying clean on tour.

Third, no matter how comfortable your saddle, you can bruise the area around your sit bones. When you spend all-day on a bike, the part of your body in contact with your bike's saddle (your "sit bones") is constantly getting impacts from the bike reacting to the road surface. It only takes one strong or awkward bump to injure the area being subjected to overuse. Sitting on a bruised sit bone for many hours a day can be the worst part of bike touring. The best answer to this problem is to be very careful when riding or mounting your bike on tour.

Riding a bike hundreds or thousands of miles is a physical and mental challenge. Having a sore bottom can be one of the things that makes bike touring hard. However, with a little preparation and attention, this is one problem you can avoid.

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