6 Gross Things That Can Happen When Logging Your Miles Indoors
Riding indoors can be a great way to efficiently get in a workout—and you may be relying on your trainer a lot more nowadays if you aren’t able to safely log the majority of your miles outside.
But those Zwift-athons can come with some less-than-desirable side effects. Because indoor trainer setups are rarely cooled and ventilated effectively, and because you’re less likely to shift in the saddle or move around on the bike without outdoor elements, there are a few gross ailments that are all-too-common for those logging big miles in their living room.
Fortunately, Matt Marchal, M.D.—a family medicine physician, former team doctor for pro road cycling teams (Rite-Aid and Team NovoNordisk), and avid cyclist—has some advice that will soothe almost any on-the-trainer issue.
The Problem: Saddle Sores
Why it happens: The classic cyclist problem, saddle sores, come in all shapes and sizes. They generally form in the chamois area, and are caused by friction that creates tiny tears in the skin where bacteria can get in and cause swollen, painful, pimple-like cysts. They can range in size and severity—from annoying tiny bumps to boils bigger than a grape that require surgical intervention.
How to treat it: Start by giving yourself a day off the bike. It’s important to allow your skin some time to heal and breathe on its own, and often, when caught early, you can avoid major issues. To further speed the healing process, you can take a cool bath with Epsom salts. If the skin has been broken, apply a topical ointment or a warm compress. Luckily, saddle sores tend to start small, and as long as they’re treated quickly, you likely can skip the need for surgery.
How to prevent it: If you’re noticing that you always get a saddle sore in the same place, it might be time to switch saddles. If you’re putting in big miles on the trainer regularly, you can even consider swapping saddles every other ride in order to mix up exactly where your weight is distributed on your soft tissue. While riding, stand up and shift around more—this lets you make micro-adjustments to where the pressure is on your nether regions. It’s also important to make sure that the seat is the right height for you. And lastly, get out of your wet clothing as soon as you can afterwards, hit the showers, and get that area clean and dry.
When to seek medical attention: If the saddle sore continues to grow, if the area around it becomes red, swollen or painful, or if you develop a fever.
The Problem: Jock Itch
Why it happens: In a nutshell, moisture is the enemy of everything with indoor cycling, according to Marchal.
“It’s what causes corrosion on your headset and your stem, it’s what makes a mess of your floor if you’re not careful, and it’s also what makes a mess of your body. Without a good breeze, moisture just hangs on you and moisture plus warmth is a great environment for anything to grow—particularly fungus and bacteria.”
How to treat it: There’s little that’s worse than itchy, scaly, irritated skin, especially when it’s in a particularly sensitive place. To treat it, there are plenty of over-the-counter fungal remedies available, but keeping the area clean (with a gentle soap) and dry is just as important as treating with a cream. Try to wear loose-fitting, breathable clothes when possible.
How to prevent it: To prevent it, get chilly. Marchal explains that one of the biggest problems with indoor cycling is lack of evaporative cooling, hence the reason a fan is so important. So make sure that your setup has at least one fan cooling you down so you’re not sitting in a puddle after your warmup. If you can add a cross-breeze by opening windows and doors, do that as well.
When to seek medical attention: If symptoms don’t improve in two weeks.
The Problem: Numb Hands, Feet, or Groin
Why it happens: When you’re riding inside, you’re more likely to stay in one position without making any adjustments, which can lead to your extremities (and your nether regions) falling asleep thanks to lack of blood flow.
“Remember, numbness is not something that makes you tougher—it’s actually a sign that a nerve is being damaged,” Marchal said. “So if you are getting consistent numbness with riding—inside or out—make a change because once nerves are damaged, it can take weeks or months to get better.”
How to treat it: Regularly standing up to shift your weight will help improve blood flow overall. Stopping to massage your extremities can help, too. If the issue is in your hands, a gel-padded glove may help make your ride more comfortable. If the issue is in your feet, try loosening your shoes midride.
How to prevent it: Marchal is a huge proponent of getting professional bike fitting done. Right now, you may not be able to bring your bike to a shop for a true fit, but you can likely book a video consultation or send a video to a fitter to get some basic advice on saddle height and position.
When to seek medical attention: If your numbness lasts long after you’ve gotten off the bike.
The Problem: Chafing
Why it happens: “Cycling indoors, we tend to stay in a seated position for longer, leading to increased stress particularly on the contact points,” Marchal said. The combination of moisture, heat and less movement makes chafing a common issue.
How to treat it: Use small amount of chamois cream (a quarter-sized amount is enough), or if your chafing issues are more thigh-related, use a stick-style friction fighter, like Body Glide. You can also consider swapping your saddle if you notice that there’s a specific spot on it that you keep making contact with as you pedal. Lastly, you can give yourself a day off the bike and opt for a yoga session or walk instead—and wear something loose and breathable. Your skin will heal relatively quickly, but only if it has a break between sessions.
How to prevent it: Stop using old shorts for riding inside.
“I’ve often found that people tend to use their cheap and old shorts or bibs for indoor training, and this actually is probably worse,” Marchal said. “I could make a good argument to use your best clothing for riding indoors.”
When to seek medical attention: If your skin isn’t healing within a few days, or it begins oozing or has pus around the inflamed areas.
The Problem: Swimmer’s Ear
Why it happens: It turns out, you don’t have to swim in a pool in order to end up with swimmer’s ear—that’s just the most common way to end up with a clogged ear. Sweat, especially when it’s pooled and pushed into your ear from an overly tight earbud, can cause you to end up with this mild infection that makes you feel like your ear is “full.”
“Anything that is trapping heat and moisture, such as headphones or clothing, can set the skin up for problems,” Marchal said.
How to treat it: “If your ears are particularly moist, a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol can dry them out,” Marchal said. “I also recommend cleaning the headphones with rubbing alcohol after rides. As people are realizing with the coronavirus, micro-organisms can live on surfaces for quite a while—so if you don’t clean off your headphones and put them back in the next day, you can be putting those micro-organisms right back into your ear.”
How to prevent it: If you’re a heavy sweater, skip earbud-style headphones altogether and opt for either ones that cover your ears or a good speaker system. Your setup may need an extra fan as well. “Get a good fan—or fans, preferably—to aim at different parts of the body,” Marchal said. “Your legs may be dry, but if your head is soaking wet, you get swimmer’s ear because there is no airflow around your head.”
When to seek medical attention: If the symptoms should subside in a couple of days on their own, but if they persist for a week or you start experiencing pain or dizziness, call a doctor.
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The Problem: Rashes
Why it happens: “Anecdotally, I’ve seen with quite a few athletes—including myself—that laundry can be causing the problem,” Marchal said. “Attention to how we wash our clothes is often overlooked. I often see people get skin irritation particularly in friction areas related to their laundry detergent. It’s rarely a direct allergy to the detergent, but more of a contact irritation to soap in general.”
Often we add more soap than needed to laundry and it doesn’t rinse all the way out. The soap then dries in the clothing, but when we start sweating it gets reactivated. You may have spotted bubbles coming out of someone’s kit on a rainy group ride in the past—that’s what’s happening here.
How to treat it: A small amount of soap can lead to major irritation when friction is involved.
How to prevent it: Solve this by double-rinsing your kits—and make sure to wash bib shorts inside out in order to ensure that the chamois actually gets clean.
When to seek medical attention: If the rash intensifies or you develop a fever along with it.
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