Preventing 'Monkey Butt' Indeed, moisture in the nether regions is your enemy and will cause what we call, "monkey butt" - a red, inflamed and broken-out ass. A highly undesirable and painful condition let me assure you. The remedy is not just to wear some sort of boxers or specialized underwear, although that is highly recommended. There is a combination of things to do to combat this if you plan on doing Iron Butt type rides of 1000 or more miles in a day. Here is what some of us ldriders do: 1. Wear a type of underwear that wicks away moisture from your skin and doesn't have seems underneath you (seams wear on your sensitive parts after several hours and can cause monkey butt). I use pairs of bicycle riding pants with gel inserts. Also, there is a brand named, LDComfort, that I use that is especially made for long distance motorcycle riders. See http://www.ldcomfort.com . 2. An extremely comfortable seat is essential. I use a Russell Day-Long saddle. Others I've heard that are good for this are Mayer and Rich's Custom Upholstery seats. Anyone who says that Corbin makes a good long distance seat is fooling themselves but, it may be ok for them. Corbin is just not good for everyone. The thing here to understand is that you need a "Custom" seat - one fitted exactly to you. Corbin is mass produced like so many others. Your friend recommending a Corbin (and there will be some) just happens to fit the Corbin well. You may not. 3. Changing seating positions often (every half hour or so) for 15 minutes at a time is important. Do this from the start of your ride - BEFORE the pain starts. 4. Using Gold Bond Medicated lotion and/or powder on your posterior helps in many ways. I use both at the same time. The lotion helps to keep the powder in place. Both help to heal any wounds or sores, they kill infections, they cool inflamed areas, and the powder helps to keep your ass dry. Some bicycle riders use something called, "Butt Butter" but I haven't been able to find any yet. Not sure how well it works but I've heard favorable reports. 5. Finally, allowing a breeze to flow under your posterior is a good idea. This can happen when you change seating positions naturally (hanging your left or right cheek off the seat) or you can just stand up on the pegs for a while. This allows your ass to breath (I know it sounds funny but it's true. Your skin needs to breathe). I hope this helps END any future ASS-fault misery. ;-) Joseph Zulaski ==== also ==== 1) Regarding "Butt Butter", try this: CHAMOIS BUTT'R @ http://www.pacelineproducts.com 2) WhiteHorse Press sells beaded seat covers for $17.50. These help air circulation immensely, and aid drainage when you ride in the rain. 3) Though it's not necessarily just for rear-end pain... it works for all joints... take a couple of anti-inflamitories (aspirin, ibuprofin, etc.), BEFORE you ride. I get severe knee burn after a few hundred miles. If I forget to take the drugs before I hit the road, no dosage will make the pain go away once it starts. However, a few aspirin before heading out will keep the burn at bay, and allow for several hundred additional miles of pain free riding. Mike Etlicher #1567