This blog post is for females only. It is about comfort issues while using tampons while cycling. So, if you are a male, I’m going to have to ask you to please just go ahead and press your back button now. It’s really nasty and gross, so I urge you to not read this if you are a man, or if you are squeamish in any way.
You have been warned. I don’t want any guys posting comments on this blog, or I’ll know you read this and I’ll be embarrassed. And so should you!
Okay, here’s the story. Whenever I have my period and am fixing to go for a bike ride, I use a tampon, and I jam the string “way up in there”. Otherwise, the string, particularly the little knot part at the end, will really irritate my girly parts while riding. And that causes me pain and will hamper my enjoyment of the ride. I do have a sensitive girly butt. I am guessing most females do.
Anyhow, whenever I do this, I think, oh man, I hope I don’t forget that I jammed a tampon way up in there. I never have forgotten – until this time. OMG, I rode my bike on Saturday, and didn’t realize until Wednesday that I still had a tampon in. I guess the good news is that I had some pretty good signs of the odoriferous nature that something was terribly wrong with me. As I was taking a bath tonight after my spin class, I remembered the tampon and realized what was wrong with me.
Eww. Gross. Never. Again.
More good news, I am still alive.
To be on the safe side, I think I’ll start doing something like writing myself a note on the bathroom mirror. Is this a senior moment? fml.
If you like this article, you may also like my post about periods and menopause.
Love the Diva cup! Cycling is just one more reason why it’s so much better than tampons.
I have trouble with my girlie parts hurting normally without complicating it with my period. When is it time to try another saddle if the parts still hurt after months and many miles? Does anyone have suggestions?
Definitely it’s time to look at another saddle by now! I find that a saddle with a cutout is crucial so my girlie parts don’t hurt. MAny bike shops let you test ride saddles on your own bike before you commit to buying. I will forward an email to you that I sent to someone else recently.
This is a fear of mine!!! Glad to know you survived it!!!
That’s a great link to the Diva Cup. Will have to try that out.
Ditto on the Diva cup! Once you get used to it, it’s hard to live without it. And it’s non-toxic.
OMG. never done it myself but I have always had a fear of doing just this same thing.
Oh my goodness, I have not ever done that but I have a huge fear of doing that!
And I hear ya about the string. I did a half marathon a few weekends ago and didn’t “tuck” well enough….ouchie
not a senior moment – been there done that, several times…but then it wasn’t from biking but from drinking too much and failing to remember the next day…
OMG – LOL. I’ve done that…to forget one. When I was training for Ironman’s, I did a lot of silly stuff like that. Another was putting my dirty laundry in the dryer first, not the washer. Dah. I started putting together a list of all of the stupid stuff I was doing, titled, “You know you’re training for an IM when….”
As for “The String.” I just tucked mine in between my labia without any irritation. Many times I’d be out on my bike for 5 or more hours and I was fine. I can tell you that there were other body parts that hurt more.
I enjoy your posts. This one was funny as it was human.
You may be interested in trying something like this.
http://www.divacup.com/
Those tampon strings are really annoying. Ouch.