Oh college guy ....... are the "everyone" you're referring to the female cyclists here? Female cyclists who actually deal with this issue month after month after month after month after month after month after month after month after month after month after month ... let's see, what's 13 multiplied by some number over 30 (as in years)???

Menstruation is not straightforward ... many of us have all sorts of issues and difficulties with it. Have you gone through several years where every time you went for a ride of 100 miles or more, your period started ... even if your previous one was only a week or two before? Deal with that! Do you get agonizing cramps for 2 days when your periods start? Just try riding with that. How about cycling with the torrential waterfall that comes from having to take blood thinners? Nevermind the headaches and backaches and exhaustion and cravings and frustration with making decisions.

I've done long rides where I've soaked through all my tampons, and I've just given up and let the padding in the shorts take the rest (yes, it washes out, and soap is soap ... use whatever you've got). I've done long rides where I've had to stop and crouch in the ditch hugging my abdomen and moaning and praying for a hot water bottle to miraculously appear because the pain has been that bad. But I just keep riding (eventually) ... and I keep riding through all the other period related issues.



I find your comments pretty rude and condescending to those of us who have dealt with this issue and continue to deal with this issue on a regular basis.

Those of us women who replied to CCgirl83 were not even remotely rude or unfriendly toward her questions. Most of us ride periods or no periods ... most of us deal with tampons, agonizing cramps, soaked padding in shorts etc. etc. on our rides. So when we asked her what she does when she's got her period and she's doing a training ride, it wasn't a rude question at all.

It's actually not a bad idea to ride in all sorts of situations before a tour, so that you've got some idea how to handle those situations when you start your tour. So ride up hills with a loaded touring bicycle. Ride in wind, rain, sleet, and snow. And ride when you've got your period.



BTW, to CCgirl83, in answer to the question of what you do with your tampon when you're done with it and there are no bathrooms around ... you carry it with you. In many parts of the world, you do not flush your tampons down a toilet ... here in Australia and in many parts of Europe, that is frowned on. Instead, you put it in a little plastic bag and carry it with you until you find a sanitary disposal unit (located in pretty much all the toilets in Australia), or in Canada, you'd wait to find a garbage bin. I haven't flushed a tampon in years ... but I've carried several with me until I've found a suitable disposal spot.

And as for dealing with some of the other issues ... get a good painkiller that works for you. I had to try several of the period/PMS painkillers before I found one that reduced the pain but also left me awake (there were some that put me right to sleep as if I'd taken a sleeping pill ... not exactly the effect I was looking for if I still had a couple hundred km to go that day). And if heavy periods with lots of PMS symptoms (headache, backache, etc. etc.) area problem, you might do some research on how calcium can reduce some of those symptoms.

It's also a good idea to have a talk with your Dr. if you've got a particular medical issue.

Oh, and incidentally ... don't use shorts with gel padding. Get shorts with real padding ... after a few rides, you'll begin to regret the gel.