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The Bottom Line

I first started to notice some saddle soreness after about 85 miles on the first day. I was fairly sure I knew the cause but I didn't do anything about it.

Because I was likely to be arriving at the campsite quite late and there were some uncertainties with the weather, I decided to wear liners under my shorts for ease of washing. These were not cheap liners; they were Holly Hanson's, which probably cost more than my shorts, I had purchased them specifically for this purpose prior to my LEJOG. I had used them a few times on that but without any problem. As I was putting them on before starting this trip I'd noticed the raised seams which hadn't registered in the past and nearly decided against wearing them.

On my LEJOG I had a wider Brooks B 67 sprung saddle, on this trip it was a narrower B17 and I think the seams coincided with the edge of the saddle. I'd only ever suffered saddle soreness once before and that was on my Travelodge tour with the LEJOG bike but with the original Carrera saddle so I wasn't really very concerned about it on the first day. I should have immediately removed the liners rather than wait until I camped.

I wasn't expecting further problems when I set out on the second day, minus the liners so took no further action. I did notice soreness particularly on hills and it got worse during the day. Consequently, I made it a fairly short day.

On the third day I made use of some wide strips of Elastoplast which had been in my small first aid pack for years. Two large pieces, covering the sore areas one on each cheek! I managed to get some sudacreme in Aberystwyth, but didn't apply any until I reached the campsite at Aberaeron. I put more on the next morning but didn't bother with plasters; but they clearly had done more good on the previous day than I had I realised so I rectified that fairly early on (but after more damage had been done). Only when I reached the next campsite did I get the chance to look at the damage with double mirrors and it was worse than I had realised, even though the combination of plasters and sudacreme had made it much more bearable. The seams had rubbed away a layer of skin.

From then on I applied sudacreme each evening after my shower and each morning applied sudacreme covered by a plaster. On a couple of occasions it became uncomfortable (because I'd not put the plasters on in quite the right place) so I changed them on route. I continued to be aware of the soreness until I got home but it was not really a problem.

In future I shall not use liners! Unless, that is, I manage to find some totally seamless and otherwise suitable ones; they must surely exist? I shall also make sure I always carry strips of Elastoplast and sudacreme!