Saddle soreness

Ride more
Seriously your arse will get used to it over time.Good shorts with a decent Chamois/Chamois creme are a start but there's no substitute for time in the saddle.

Also, go commando if you aren't already-bibs are designed to go next to skin and any layers underneath can rub

When I asked the guys at the LBS about feeling a bit sore after 100 miles or so, they said, "What do you expect!? You've just cycled 100 miles."

Navrig wrote:

Totally agree but the OP wont be doing that in an hour and 45 mins.

Decent bibs - check
Chamois cream - try if you don't use already,
Saddle positioned correctly - is it?
Lots of rides to toughen up - that's the MTFU bit
Intimate massage after each ride - married? - tough tittly, girlfriend? - find out how keen she is, single - don't do it in public

Fair point about the distance and agree with most of the above. But "intimate massage"? I count myself lucky if I get a cup of tea. Then again, I am married.

Peddle Up! wrote:

Navrig wrote:

Totally agree but the OP wont be doing that in an hour and 45 mins.

Decent bibs - check
Chamois cream - try if you don't use already,
Saddle positioned correctly - is it?
Lots of rides to toughen up - that's the MTFU bit
Intimate massage after each ride - married? - tough tittly, girlfriend? - find out how keen she is, single - don't do it in public

Fair point about the distance and agree with most of the above. But "intimate massage"? I count myself lucky if I get a cup of tea. Then again, I am married.

I don't even get a cup of tea

You need a number of things;

1. A saddle that suits your bum.
2. A good bike fit which includes saddle height, fore and aft positioning and tilt.
3. Patience and a lot of luck with regards point 1!

You can only MTFU so much and the toughening up bit doesn't take long. Any soreness after this is usually a problem related to saddle type and position and consequent pressure/ rubbing.

PP

I did the same and bought a proper fitting wider saddle. Now I go out for three hours or more with no pain, before after about an hour it was very uncomfortable.

After a number of saddles, and lots of fiddling with seat heights etc I still had saddle sores down my right side for about 18 months.
I ended buying a Brooks and now they've gone.
I also had a bike fit for my newly ordered custom frame that showed I'm lopsided in a number of ways. The problem is most hard shelled seats are built for symmetrical people. The Brooks molds to my shape...
Downside is it's heavier, but I haven't noticed and bloody glad I don't have sores all the time

Definitely need to check whether your saddle is wide enough for you.

You need to measure the width between your sitting bones. There are ways and means... :P

There is talk on the grapevine of taking a sheet of tin foil, putting it on top of some cardboard, placing the whole shebang on a step on the stairs and then sitting on it - buck naked. The result should be that you would leave two indentations on the tin foil, left by your ischial tuberosities (i.e. sitting bones).

The important bit is that you have to approximate your riding position when you sit on the tinfoil, because your ischial tuberosities are at an angle, and subsequently the angle of the pelvis as you sit on the surface will affect the width of the contacting points.

After your have your indentations, measure the width of the ischial tuberosities, from centre to centre. You'll get a value, of around 150mm, 160mm, or obviously any other value. You then need to get yourself a saddle that supports the ischial tuberosites properly. For example, people that have 150, 160mm ischial tuberosities tend to do well on the Brooks B17 saddles, which are 175mm wide, if memory serves. That way there's about 7mm between the sitting bone and the very edge of the seat, obviously a saddle that is exactly the same width as your contacting points will not do - you need to add a little bit of supporting room (but not too much).

Hope that makes sense

btw, yes - B17 and other brooks saddles which are the same width, such as the brooks flyer suit me very well. Obviously there are other options out there.

I recently reviewed a really cool saddle, the Rido R2, which from what I can tell - can accommodate varying widths between sitting bones due to their Y shaped back. You can check out the review here: http://www.stylishlondonliving.co.uk/review-rido-bicycle-saddle/

p.s. obviously you can jack all this kerfuffle in and go to your LBS, who would hopefully have some kind of gel doo-dah to sit on, which does almost the same job, and they will then, rather conveniently, give you the correct saddle to buy.