Re: RideCamp: Rider First Aid

[Dbeverly4@aol.com]

HI Amber, well at least you can know that you're not alone.  Look around at a
ride some time (particularly the inside of riders' knees).  If it's hot and
everybody's wearing shorts, it looks like some kind of terrible skin disease
has broken out.  Everybody has scars and various rub marks.  Kind of like a
badge of courage thing.  When I first started distance riding I stubbornly
refused  to wear anything but jeans.  After a 30 mile conditioning ride in 100
degree heat with blood literally running from my knees to my tennies (even
made a squishing sound when I walked), I bought tights and have never gone
back.  I did find that I would still occasionally get rubs (nothing like the
bloody wounds from jeans though).  As I  rode more and more the rubs stopped.
I did find that if I post more than stand the trot there is no rubbing at all
(that took a few years to figure out).  Do you stand or post?  Also, it seems
that just riding for a while either develops calouses (sp?) or your riding
style changes and hardly any more boo-boos (of that type anyway).  A trick
that a friend showed me was to cut off the tops of tube-type athletic socks
and put those on around the knee (use new socks, as the old ones aren't
elastic enough), then pull on a pair of knee-high riding socks -- to keep the
tube in place, then tights.  That worked well until I didn't need the extra
help anymore.  Good luck to you!

Sylvia


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=