At a party this weekend, a woman just getting into cycling asked me about a little chaffing problem she has when she rides.
Actually, she was the second rookie cyclist in three days I gave this advice: Don’t wear undies under your bike shorts.
I mentioned a recent blog entry that pointed out wearing undies as one of the most common mistakes made by novices.
She thought that advice was for men only. “You know,” she said. “Women’s anatomy is different than men’s.”
I do vaguely recall hearing something about that in a college anatomy class, but I told her I was quite confident the rule applied to everybody. Just to be sure, I said, I’d check with a bike shop.
So, today I talked to Alex Warren of Rainier Cycle Sports in Tacoma. Sure enough, he concurred.
“Whether you’re a man or woman,” Warren said, “your chamois should be touching skin.”