Saddle Sore Prevention

Saddle Sore (adj): A state of soreness from riding more than one is used to or from riding after taking significant time off of the bike.
Saddle Sore (n): A skin ailment on the buttocks due to, or exacerbated by, riding on a bicycle saddle.
The former is something that happens to anyone who starts riding more than they are used to and usually goes away once your tender behind gets accustomed to riding. My only advice here is that you should NEVER increase your time one the bike too dramatically in too short a time period. Instead, slowly increase the duration and frequency of your rides and make sure to give yourself lots of recovery time.
Unfortunately, I have significantly more experience with the latter type of saddle sore. Saddle sores are a cyclists nightmare. They are somewhat similar to facial acne (they are basically a pimple), but in a more tender (and less seen) area. And they are VERY painful to sit on. There are thousands of suggestions out there about how to prevent and cure saddle sores, but here is what I do that has helped me immensely:

• Clean shorts: Never reuse cycling shorts without washing them. One of the biggest factors in whether or not you get saddle sores is how clean you are. And riding in a sweaty, day-old chamois does not count as clean.


• Lube: Hopefully, you lube your chain to increase your drivetrain life and decrease friction. Some goes for your backside. I apply petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to my chamois before every ride to help cut down on the amount of rub on my bum. There are more expensive products out there, but petroleum jelly does the trick (and is REALLY cheap).


• Get out of your chamois: As soon as possible after your ride, get out of your chamois and clean up. If you are near a shower, take one. If not, I suggest ActionWipes post ride to clean up your backside. I posted about ActionWipes a while ago and highly recommend them.

While this may not be the answer for everyone, it will certainly decrease your chance of getting saddle sores. Good luck!

Wipe your bum after you ride!

The Many Different Applications of Squirt Lube

Since our trip out to Sea Otter I have been hooked on Squirt Lube. For the western dry conditions I live in it is amazing. Handles the dust amazingly well, deals with water from snow melt on the trails well, and man is a quite chain wonderful. I have also absolutely noticed the difference between my chain dry and my chain with a fresh coating of Squirt Lube in shifting performance.

But it has always seemed to me that a chain lube or bicycle lube ought to be multi-functional. In the past I have been a proud supporter of Pro Link due to it's consistent lubrication, great use in deseizing various parts of a bicycle, as well as a good use when trying to get the most mileage out of one's shifting.

My teammate, Macky, has already shown his views on Squirt here: http://uncoiled.blogspot.com/2008/12/squirt-lube-lube-of-legends.html and in so doing presented a second good use for the product.

Just this week I found a 3rd use beyond the typical chain and quick release applications. In your derailleur housing. This is a common trick for many chain lubes when your housing tends to get a little sticky and often makes the shifting performance feel better, but still not as good as say brand new cables and housing. Well after my wet and slightly, but not particularly, muddy ride this past weekend I lost my rear shifting. The derailleur was not seized, it was quite happy to move freely, but the cable was getting stuck in the last section of housing before the derailleur. I proceeded to take the cable out and carefully inject Squirt into the housing, hoping it would at least lubricate the system somewhat. This took a lot of care due to Squirt's thickness, but after some finesse (one drop at a time and then softly blowing air into the housing ends) I was able to get this done. Then I headed out for my ride.

I have often used tricks like this to save the life of my cables and housing and most of the time I would say it feels good but not great afterwards, doesn't have that same feel you really are looking for. Well the wax based formula of Squirt gives it that feel. In fact prior to resetting my cables I felt the resistance difference between the final piece of housing and the first piece of housing and man was the final piece (where I placed Squirt) smoother.

Since then I have put in roughly 15 hours on the bike and my shifting has felt great the whole time. Smooth and seamless.

This weekend is a huge training weekend with 7 hours of saddle time 4+ of which will be on a grand expedition from the Rock Creek Trail head of the Colorado Trail all the way to Breckenridge, so check back for the forthcoming reports.

How to install tube tires on tubeless rims with sealant and a FLOOR PUMP

I love riding tubeless with sealant. Not only does it get rid of the annoying "stupid" flats like goat heads, glass, and small rocks, but it allows you to run lower tire pressures without risking pinch flats. And for those who worry about the weight of the sealant, you can cut down on weight by using TUBE tires!
My one issue with tubeless was always how difficult it is to install the tires. No more floor-pumping, I had to find a gas station or bike shop with a high-pressure air compressor, and sometimes, even that wasn't good enough!
But at the Sea Otter Classic this year, I learned a trick from Joe, the Giant team mechanic, that allows you to install tube tires on tubeless rims with sealant and a FLOOR PUMP! I was psyched and wanted to share the trick with all of you guys.
Things you need:

• Tubeless wheel - I used (and suggest) Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels (this trick works best with tubeless-ready wheels, and may not work with tubeless conversion kits)


• Tire - I used a WTB Nano Raptor (and won on it the next day)


• Tire sealant - I used Stan's tire sealant


• Floor pump - I used a Genuine Innovations Top Dog Legend floor pump (it's awesome, you gotta try it)


• Tire lever - I suggest Genuine Innovations tire levers

Here is a video of how to install the tire. If you are running on slow internet, or prefer step-by-step, scroll down.

1. Clean your wheel. This trick necessitates that your rim is sealant/water/chain lube free.
   
   
2. Put the tire half-way on (on just one side).
   
   
3. Shake the tire sealant upside-down! (It helps if you dance too).
   
   
4. Pour in the sealant.
   
   
5. Finish installing your tire (make sure that you get as little sealant on the rim as possible).
   
   
6. Using a tire lever, begin to seat the tire.
   
   
7. Using your tire lever, seat the tire 2/3 - 3/4 of the way around, or until it becomes VERY difficult to move the lever. The tire should be sitting as close to the rim wall as possible.
   
   
8. Remove the tire lever by pushing on the opposite site of the tire to keep the tire from un-seating.
   
   
9. Seat the other side of the tire 2/3 - 3/4 of the way around.
   
   
10. Remove the tire lever from seating the 2nd side. DO NOT push from the other side or you will unseat you tire, instead, push from the center CAREFULLY.
    
    
11. Check both sides of the tire to make sure that it is seated 2/3 - 3/4 of the way around. The tire should be VERY close to the rim wall on both sides and should NOT have fallen into the rim well.
    
    
12. Connect a (preferably high-quality) floor pump.
    
    
13. Pump up your tire (listen for the pinging sounds that tell you that your tire is seating, you SHOULD hear some). Once you hear some pings and hit 40-60 PSI, you can stop.
    
    
14. Check both sides of your tire to confirm that the bead shows evenly. This tells you that you tire has seated properly. If it has not, continue pumping and wait for more pings.
    
    

10 Things NOT to do before a Race

Today I am going to make a list (in descending order) of the 10 things one ought not do before a race. Here they are:

10. Don't try to do any unnecessary maintenance late the night before or the morning of the race. You never know what could go wrong causing more problems than the one you already had.

9. Don't try anything out of the ordinary or new. For example, if you have never eaten sushi the night before a race, don't be adventurous. Gastro-intestinal stress morning of the race or the whole night before is never fun and will definitely take the fun out of racing.

8. Don't go pre-ride the course late in the afternoon the day before a race after racing short track, your legs will not appreciate this one bit the next day.

7. Don't eat dinner at 9 o'clock at night when you have to wake-up at 5 am to get to the race in time.

6. Don't eat a monster breakfast with an early AM start time, a good breakfast is good, a monster breakfast is not. With large quantities of food sitting in your stomach on the start line things are bound to take a turn for the worst.

5. Don't arrive with only one hour till start time. It leads to a rushed morning and far more stress than needed.

4. Don't not know where the start of the race is. This could be detrimental to making it there on time.

3. Don't forget your shoes. I did this once, luckily a good friend had a spare pair in the right size with the right cleats, but after driving for 1.5 hours it was quite frustrating to notice they were missing (this would go for helmet, gloves, sunglasses, and other necessities as well).

2. Don't drink a gallon of milk. An old collegiate teammate of mine once did this. Violent puking in the middle of a crit was the result.

1. DON'T stress out. Racing is fun, no matter what level you are racing, so don't worry about anything, just go out there and rip it up!

Some of these may seem a little obvious, but one may still not abide be these simple things not to do before a race due to forgetfullness or any other reason. I know I have in the past and hope to not make the same mistake again in the future.

How to use ActionWipes

If you haven't heard of ActionWipes, you're missing out. According to the ActionWipes website, ActionWipes are "Natural, full body wet wipes for rinse free bathing". And they work amazingly. I began using ActionWipes about 2 months ago and now I am not sure how I got along without them. Unless every single ride you take finishes at your house, you'll love ActionWipes. Instead of having to sit and stew in your post-ride filth until you get a shower, you can wipe yourself off and run some errands. They smell nice, they don't leave a sticky residue, they're all natural, and they help prevent saddle sores.
Okay, that's all I'm going to say to try to convince you. Instead, I'm going to show you HOW to use ActionWipes:

1. Go ride your bike and got good and dirty. This is me after the 2009 Sea Otter Classic XC race.
   
   


2. Wipe off your face. Really well. (Don't forget your lips).
   
   


3. Turn your ActionWipe over.


4. Wipe off your bum (this helps prevent saddle sores).
   
   


5. Get another ActionWipe.


6. Wipe off your arms (including your armpits).
   
   


7. Turn your ActionWipe over.


8. Wipe off your legs.
   
   


9. Throw your ActionWipe in the laundry, wash it, and then REUSE it (stay tuned for ideas of how to reuse your ActionWipes).