For the second time now on a very long ride on a hot day I’ve had a problem where peeing is very painful, with a burning sensation. It goes away not long after the ride. Was scary the first time it happened a couple of years ago, as I was worried it was something serious. But it never happened again until last weekend.
I figure it could be due to having too many bottles of gatorade without any other fluids - had at least 8 bottles before taking any water. Maybe I need to mix it up a bit.
Anyone else have this problem on long rides on hot days? Any suggestions on avoiding it?
UTI? Seriously, you should go see a doc. Doesn’t sound normal to me but I’m not in the medical field. I’ve drank only non-water during a full for the reason it was very hot, and never had the symptoms you are describing.
You also potentially could be getting a nerve compression that is causing the burning sensation when the pressure is released (i.e. you get off your bike) hence the sensation when you pee - like sitting on your foot too long and then standing up…
You may have a point about the nerve compression. I had done many long rides the week before in cool weather on my road bike without any problem. But then last weekend I switched over to my tri bike. So maybe it’s more related to the tri saddle, and the fact that I wasn’t used to it.
I’ve had these symptoms only once and it was at IMTX this year. At mile 90 and 5.5 water bottles in, I realized I hadn’t pee’d, even though I’m normally a fairly free-flower. When I tried, it hurt like hell. I ended up in medical after a very painful stint in a T2 portajohn. What we initially thought was severe dehydration was possibly a small kidney stone because the pain went away immediately after urination. I had a retained stone, so I knew it would happen someday. No heroics here…severe pain radiating down the urethra equalled DNF for me.
Ouch! A DNF from that? Sorry to hear that. I hate to DNF a race (had what I believe was my 4th DNF ever in my life a couple months back–all were medical related). DNF’s just piss me off.
For the second time now on a very long ride on a hot day I’ve had a problem where peeing is very painful, with a burning sensation. It goes away not long after the ride. Was scary the first time it happened a couple of years ago, as I was worried it was something serious. But it never happened again until last weekend.
I figure it could be due to having too many bottles of gatorade without any other fluids - had at least 8 bottles before taking any water. Maybe I need to mix it up a bit.
Anyone else have this problem on long rides on hot days? Any suggestions on avoiding it?
Had this only once, the first time I ever rode a roadbike. Rode for 4-5 hours (always a good idea your first ride) and halfway I had to go for a pee and thought I would die, whenever I wanted to let it flow it was like a thousand needles. For me it was a combination of a bad chamois and not moving around on my saddle, i.e. the pressure was constantly on the same part of my nether regions. So theoretically it could also have been a saddle problem, but I haven’t had any problems since that one time, as I’ve gotten more comfortable in the position.
I should say my pain stayed for more than 24 hours after the ride, so it might not have been the same thing as what you’re experiencing.
Yep, when trying to pee dropped me to my knees in pain…in a nasty porta john , I decided proving I could finish IM #8 didn’t make sense health wise. I DNF’d another race 15 years ago in PCB…one of my first and I couldn’t swim at all. That pissed me off enough that by the time I raced again, I had invested a ton of time in the water and now it’s arguably my strongest event. This one hopefully has the same effect, though I can’t quite nail down yet what to fix. I started with a sports nutritionist to mitigate it being something I’m unknowingly causing. Like you, I hate the thought of a DNF, so I’ll definitely figure it out somehow.
You also potentially could be getting a nerve compression…
^This^
Soft tissue of the taint area most likely being compress (pudendal nerve). Check your fit and saddle options, nose positions. (Does it happen when riding on different saddles?) Also, being in a low aero position exacerbates the issue. (For example, does it happen after being on the hoods for long rides, etc.)
Good luck, but be sure to check it out seriously. It will not go away until properly addressed, (can be a chronic…).
Not sure about the problem but it has happened to me a few types, but always after (hard) races. No pain or issues at all during the race, just that post race pee that seems to burn. Drink more water and the following pee is much better, later in the day it’s all gone. I don’t worry about it, since it is only connected to races (HIM or longer) with all out efforts.
So here’s the thing it can be fit, it can be saddle, it can be shorts, it can be a combination of all these or some of these. This is not an area you want to have nerve compression or blood flow compression. As a PT who treats pelvic floor dysfunction and pain, do not piss off the nerves to this area! You can certainly do some playing around with different combinations of saddles and shorts, etc.
I highly recommend a really good (usually not cheap) bike fit. If you decide to go down this road, I recommend going for a long ride and listening to what ever else ails you, be a whiner in the bike fit - I am amazed at what people ignore because they assume it is ‘normal’. There are some awesome fitters out there. There are also a number of highly qualified fitters that are also physical therapists, which I think is a unique combination when we are looking at changing pain or dysfunction.
I’m real curious how this all turned out for the person that started. I ask b/c I have been on a serious injury since February. I was incorrectly diagnosed initially with sciatica. Long story short…raced 2 ironmans this year in intense pain on the bike and run from “sciatica”. Racked my bike at the end of September and within 4 weeks my pain had disappeared completely. I got back on my bike and within 30 minutes I jumped back in time. This was pudendal nerve issues all along that caused issues through my back, hamstring, glute, pelvic region in general, peeing, sex even hurt and I had to convert to a standing desk b/c I couldn’t sit for more than 20 minutes without pain. I’m on my 4th saddle and I think it’s a winner. I found a specialized dealer that measures your sit bones and put me on a romin evo and has made a huge difference. All those special triathlon saddles were killing me (ISM, Cobb, and Specialized Sitero). I’m currently looking for a PT like the one that chimed in to help me in the future.
Riding with my Adamo seat, I have not had those problems.
I had a same issue, any ride over 2 hours on the tri bike and I pissed razors for a 2-3 days afterwards. I was riding the Cobb V-Flow Plus, which was totally fine for over a year, then out of nowhere, not so fine. Switched to the Adamo TT (a Cobb inspired design as well) and haven’t had a single issue in 3+ years.
Had this after the Marmotte last year. Intense heat on the day (>40 deg) left me dehydrated.
I put it down to being a chemical burn caused by very highly concentrated urine leading to high levels of uric acid.
x2. I live in Tampa and get symptoms like this although it approaches discomfort more than severe pain. It’s not an infection and it’s not the saddle…happens whether I’m riding with a Fizik or an Adamo. It only happens on long rides in very, hot humid weather with the concentrated urine. I work hard at hydration on the rides but sometimes the conditions outstrip my ability to take in fluids. An hour after the ride, I’m rehydrated and it’s gone.
I went for a run with a guy last week and he said that he held his pee on a long bike and ended up messing up his kidneys. It’s taken a couple months to get better but he was running again.
Great question, and sounds like a lot of people have had similar problems, but I think the wisest action is to go see a doc. This isn’t worth going a month trying out seats when it’s something MUCH bigger. At least you could rule it out.