Minimal pain.

1) Ensure that your bicycle is set up correctly. There are measuring sites that will help you with this, and riding lots will also help you determine what 'correctly' is.

2) Ensure that you have a good saddle of the correct width. Too wide and there's friction and incorrect leg motion. Too narrow and your sitbones won't be planted on the saddle comfortably. A harder saddle is better because you can sit on your sitbones. A softer saddle creates too much friction ... although if you're only ever doing short rides it might be OK.

3) Ensure you've got good shorts. If you go with padded shorts, make sure the padding covers your sitbones. Also make sure that the elastic around your thighs is snug, but not too tight.

4) Do core and upper body work ... yes, weights. A strong core and upper body dramatically improves comfort over long distances. It also helps you sit on the bicycle with good posture.

5) Sit on the bicycle with good posture. The saddle is not meant for your full body weight ... only part of it. I couldn't tell you the percentages but quite a bit of my weight, when I'm cycling, is on my feet. This means I sort of perch on my sitbones on the saddle, and a strong core helps me do that. I really notice if I've let my core go a bit.

6) Get fit and ride lots. If you're only doing one century a year, it is going to hurt. Do many of them. Do a century a month. And if you want a century to feel good ... do a double century. Then do a century a few weeks later. All of a sudden that century is just another training ride.

7) Lose weight. The lighter I am, the more comfortable I am on the bicycle. Within reason, of course ... don't drop to "underweight".

8) And of course you can do things like stretching, moving around on the bicycle, and so on to loosen things off. For example, I found that I was getting a stiff neck on centuries and other longer rides. Then I realised that I was focusing on the road in front of me for hours on end. Looking around at the scenery once in a while made a big difference. And I'll usually try to go through a stretching routine about once an hour or so.

9) I have also found that a good mental attitude helps a lot. If I'm feeling "dark" about the ride, all sorts of weird aches and pains will start up. But if I'm enjoying myself, I'm usually OK. And one of the ways to ensure that my mood is good is to eat and drink properly while riding. Any time I start feeling achy or irritable or "dark" ... it's time to eat.


Now I will add that there is one exception to all of the above ... there is one situation I can't do much about. For whatever reason my body seems to know when I am about to do a long ride, signals are sent to my hormones, and a period starts. Cycling long distances seems to trigger my periods ... big, nasty, painful, crampy ones. So bad, on occasion, I've been doubled over by the side of the road in pain. The only thing that helps that situation is painkillers. Fortunately this doesn't happen every time ... just a lot of the time.