I have a very large what I thought was saddle sore. I do use chamois cream, bike in clean shorts, wash right after, and I’ve previously never had issues with this saddle (Adamo pn1.1). It started off approx 2 months ago as a hard lump under the skin, just outside of sit bones. It kept growing, never came to a head, doctors tried to drain it but nothing came out, ultra sound showed nothing in to drain anyway. I’m getting it surgically removed and biopsied.
My issue is, I’m doing IM Texas. I elected to have the surgery after the race because a 4cm incision may keep me off the bike and out of the pool for a little while. Until then, I’m really suffering on the bike (it’s about walnut sized hard mass). Does anyone know any tricks to take pressure off it until then?
Ouch. Only thing that comes to mind is Boil Ease for the pain
ultra sound showed nothing in to drain anyway. I’m getting it surgically removed and biopsied.
Yowza - walnut sized? Seems like getting that resolved should be at the top of the priority list!
It is. They said because theres no other symptoms they aren’t rushing. The soonest I could get in was the Thursday before, so I’m doing the Tuesday after instead.
What unfortunate timing to say the least, but more importantly I hope surgery goes well and tests are all clear.
…Does anyone know any tricks to take pressure off it until then?
Regards to your dilemma, how about a second pair of bike shorts for a second chamois, or even modifying a second pair of shorts by customizing something like a household sponge to provide some additional padding between you and the saddle? You can trim the sponge down to fit and isn’t bulky. You can throw the shorts in your T1 bag so that you can pull on after the swim over your racing suit to complete the ride, then pull them off in T2 so you can run.
FYI, I’ve never had to do anything like that for a race as I’ve never been in your situation, just throwing out an idea 
Good luck with IM Texas!
ouch!!! Can you get some of those corn cushions for your feet and use them. I had to use them in the past for some saddle sores. I also had to put a bandaid over it to hold it down though. Maybe you can construct something similar. If the hole is too small, maybe cut some into pieces and make it bigger? I use diaper rash cream after I ride a ton and/or hydro cortisone cream on mine and get in the hot tub to dry it out. Perhaps a shot of cortisone would help? I went through about 7 saddles before I could find one that worked. I had tons of sores that were no fun! sorry and good luck!
I had something similar (though not as large). I dealt with it - disappeared in the off season, got bigger and harder to ignore through the tri season. This year I decided I had nothing to lose and tried something different: I would massage it as hard as I could stand between my thumb and forefinger after every ride. Eventually the thing worked itself to the surface and started to drain - not all at once but over days and weeks I’d be able to squeeze puss out just like any zit (albeit bigger). It is now completely gone. All told probably six weeks or so. Yours may be a completely different thing, of course (and I never had a doctor look at mine), but if it was anything like mine, patience and persistence paid off. Good luck.
cut out a relief area in an old saddle???
I had something like this. Never did figure out what it was but it went away after a while.
My input is get a bike seat for the race that totally takes the pressure off! Might be worth every penny
Any recommendations? LBS that I got the Adamo from suggested Cobb V flow as the only more narrow choice they carry. It’s right where leg meets groin area.
Maybe you should get a standard saddle that puts the pressure on your taint instead of your sit bones? Would that work, even temporarily?
You can ride out of the saddle for every workout and during the race. In all seriousness, I would just switch saddles until you find one that doesn’t irritate it. You might be uncomfortable since its not what your used to but you are going to be a heck of a lot more uncomfortable riding long with the saddle sore.
I had some glycolic acid peel that I’d dot on my sweat induced facial bumps to keep them at bay. In desperation, I tired it on a hard saddle sore, and it softened it up pretty quickly. I dabbed some on with a Qtip. None that I had were ever as large as yours is though : (
Maybe you should get a standard saddle that puts the pressure on your taint instead of your sit bones? Would that work, even temporarily?
I did this for a month in the middle of the season to take a break from my Dash. It worked alright, but the saddle sucked and f***ed up my position. But I’d rather have an uncomfy tri position than a giant walnut in my grundel.
Any recommendations? LBS that I got the Adamo from suggested Cobb V flow as the only more narrow choice they carry. It’s right where leg meets groin area.
I sure would not start with something because you bike shop carried.
MIght want to look at the Infinity. You can try for 30 days and get all your money back if you do not like.
Maybe you should get a standard saddle that puts the pressure on your taint instead of your sit bones? Would that work, even temporarily?
I did this for a month in the middle of the season to take a break from my Dash. It worked alright, but the saddle sucked and f***ed up my position. But I’d rather have an uncomfy tri position than a giant walnut in my grundel.
So your Dash gave you issues? Boy are they expensive so would expect not to see issues?
cut out a relief area in an old saddle???I’ve done that to get through races. It works.
http://www.jt10000.com/team/tgal/sut99jt1.htm
Worth mentioning that if you’re doing everything right in terms of cleanliness, good shorts, lubricant, position, etc, and you still get a problem, it’s often a sign of overtraining. Or at least it was for me.
I used to ride a Fizik Arione. The nose on the was really narrow. Maybe you can ride with it off the side of the saddle by shifting your weight a little. It sounds like it will be a super uncomfortable race. Good luck with it and the surgery.
Any saddle can give you issues, Dave. But it is good to know that you have concern for my taint’s well being on my expensive saddle.
Also, for the record: your logic in this thread is very suspect.
A saddle being cheap or expensive has absolutely no say in its comfort. Also, Cobb saddles have a 180 day guarantee, so maybe his LBS actually knows wtf they’re talking about. That infinity saddle looks like one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen but hey, maybe it works for you! Just like super long cranks seem to work for you.
Ok, I’m out. Dave pushes my buttons. I admit it. The darn guy is un-trollable.
Thanks for all the recommendations. I may try the corn pad things to see if that helps. More shorts or padding just puts more pressure on it. And I’d rather not cut up my saddle if I can get away with it.
Agree with money doesn’t always equal comfort. And before I shell out $200+ on a saddle, I may just try the almost free saddle from the LBS. And her LBS