Originally Posted by
FBinNY
I suspect that salt from trapped sweat, and/or heat from being under the chest belt are contributing faactors.
I'd make a few changes and see if it helps.
1- don't manscape too close. Buy a beard trimmer and cut chest hair maybe 1/4" off the skin, so it can still offer chafe protection, and mainly so you don't have newly cut hair which can become ingrown (I use a beard trimmer at the closest setting, rather than shaving in the summer, and find it greatly reduces skin irritation on face and neck when I sweat. No issue in the winter, because the air is either cooler or drier or both.
2- apply the antibiotic topical before riding. Try to do it in advance so it can soak in and dry.
3- use talc on the chest to help blot sweat, but you can't do that at the chest belt contacts.
If that doesn't solve the issue, scrap the HRM for a while, and if that solves, see if you can find an alternative to using a chest belt.
Thanks for the ideas, but Sadly, I've done all these things but the talc (which is a good idea) and scrapping the HRM. (Which is what I'll try next.)
What I'm thinking is I'm having a problem with road filth for some reason. Didn't have it last year, though. But I'm riding many more miles now. Maybe I need to keep my jersey zipped all the way for the whole ride to minimize dirt deposit. It's only on my chest and a little down towards my navel, areas that are most exposed when I unzip during a big climb, say. It's really strange.