Men, look away now.  You don’t want to know this.  Once you’ve read the words you can’t unread them.  My advice is to scroll on by or even click away from this post.

Now that we have completed three days of cycling, and we’re all practically friends for life, the talk during the last few days has evolved from poo, pee and mosquito bites to soreness of lady bits and the effects of 7 hours of saddle pressure on this most delicate of regions.  One of our group (love her) is suffering particularly badly following spending 50km in the saddle on bumpy roads during the first day wearing gym kit rather than padded cycling shorts.

Jackie has come to the rescue by donating a pair of padded shorts which is a relief.

As old hands at this cycling malarky, Jackie, Judy, George and I have no hesitation in confirming that the swelling will, in fact, go down and no permanent damage will be done.

Now, another amongst us (who shall remain nameless – not even an initial will be provided to protect the innocent) is suffering even more than the rest of us.  Can you imagine still being in recovery from an op on your labia at the very same time you plan to cycle 455km across India. Nope, me neither. I offered to switch saddles (mine has a helpful airflow hole in the middle) if it all got too much to bear but she is soldiering on valiantly.  She deserves a double measure of gin at the end of every day in recognition of this achievement.

I actually don’t have sore lady bits.  I’m not sure what this says about my bits, or whether my sofa saddle with airflow is playing a significant part in this.  For the time being, I am just thankful for small mercies and the foresight to bring my own saddle.

Does my bum look big in this? Padded shorts and Sofa Saddle