Anyone who starts cycling enough that they need the ‘special padded pants’, or ‘those funny shoes’, and ‘all that colourful lycra’ will appreciate the need to look after your contact points. We make contact with our bikes using our shoes and pedals, our hands and grips/handlebars, and with our seat and bottom. If you want to be comfortable on your bike (no matter what kind it is), you should pay attention to the contact points.
Most cyclists will be aware of chamois cream. There are various brands available, from some tingly favourites to firmer, highly viscous varieties. While some riders use specific creams, others find that general nappy rash creams, or antiseptic lotions are ideal. It is quite a personal manner, so it’s not the type of thing you can typically purely take advice on and proceed with immediate success.
Of course, as there are women’s shorts, women’s saddles, and in general about half the worlds population that are women – so there should be a women’s chamois cream too. Enter Reflect Sports and their Hoo Ha Ride Glide – a chamois cream developed by women athletes, for women athletes. The cream is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. The ‘for women by women’ manufacturing process behind the Hoo Ha Ride Glide means it protects and heals without the added danger of any painful tingling if it migrates to the wrong spot. Some women wear a combination of two chamois creams to avoid this sensation. In addition to a selection of chemical names that require a special dictionary to understand, the Hoo Ha ingredient list also includes some herbal favourites: Tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint, barley, sandalwood. These make trips to pre-race port-a-loos more pleasant and also assist with the anti-inflammatory, accelerated healing, anti-chaffing, anti-baterial properties of the cream. This makes it a good choice for before, during and after long days in the saddle.
Photo: Kath Bicknell
We gave some samples to the two women on the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team, Naomi Hansen and Kath Bicknell.
Hansen was happy with it, as a frequent chamois cream user, although perhaps not ideal for her use “I thought it a little too lotion like. I am used to something more viscous. I did like the tingling sensation and the fragrance that stayed the duration of the ride but I think it a little thin for endurance MTB use. I would encourage them to increase the viscosity.”
Kath Bicknell also tested the cream, and liked the benefits of a women’s specific cream, “where the Hoo Ha Ride Glide comes into it’s own is not only does it avoid the pain caused by forgetting to apply chamois cream all together, it also avoids the pain that arrives when some creams come into contact with places they shouldn’t. Out on the bike, I found that the cooling sensation of the Ride Glide was still noticeable after one and a half to two hours in the saddle in mild weather conditions. I was less aware of the barrier provided by the cream beyond this point (which is true of most anti-chaffing creams I’ve used), but I could still feel it wash off in the shower afterwards confirming it had not completely absorbed into my skin or my chamois. It is less viscous than some of its competitors, but not having to worry about it migrating anywhere unpleasant once I sat down or moved around on the saddle allows for a more generous application than possible with less comfortable alternatives. During the test period I was lucky to miss out on any rides in horrendous weather or super strenuous race conditions which would have thrown some extra challenges to this well-performing product. Given it’s ease of application and high performance on shorter rides I’d certainly be keen to give it more of a go. Like the name suggests, it’s also a product that makes people giggle and want to talk about a subject that can be a little awkward. I’d continue to get the Glide on just because it makes me laugh.”
Hoo Ha Ride Glide, amongst other products, is available from Motion Junkies