Bike Shorts, Body Image, Thigh Chafe, and Self-Acceptance

[BraveNewWorld]

I'm 6'3", 230lbs with some big thighs. I can tell you I would have been immobilized last year by day 4 or 5 if I didnt have moisturizer for my ass/thighs. We bought big bottles but somehow they got lost, so I had nothing for ~5 days until I was so desperate I asked around the rest of our camp and took my friend's sister in law's moisturizer for the rest of the trip. I applied that stuff on my ass 3x/night. Do not leave home w/o it. I got so desperate at one point before the moisturizer that I applied duct tape to the inside of my cheeks.

Pro Tip: Stuff with menthol or peppermint or whatever that shit was, STINGS when applied to a highly chaffed area . At least I knew it was working!

My burgin friend that is coming this year is a runner and recommends something with a numbing element to it, or vaseline. I plan to have all of the above + moisturizer. I have bike-short-esq underwear, but that doesnt help my ass, just my thighs a bit.

As a avid-distance runner in my past life, I SWEAR by Vasoline for chafing! Good stuff!

[kiss-o-matic]

Does it work on the nips too, or just the nether regions? I'm an awful runner, but for some reason, run about 12k 2 times per week. Tokyo is brutally humid this time of year at between 60-70%, with temperatures in the 90's. Basically the worst running conditions you could think of, bar wild animals.

Doesn't matter what type of top I wear, I feel like The Nard Dog from that episode The Office when despite taping his nips for a long distance run, he profusely bled from them. Yikes.

I'm trying to tell myself that it's the humidity, but I really don't know that.

BTW, do you run on the playa?

[BraveNewWorld]

Does it work on the nips too, or just the nether regions? I'm an awful runner, but for some reason, run about 12k 2 times per week. Tokyo is brutally humid this time of year at between 60-70%, with temperatures in the 90's. Basically the worst running conditions you could think of, bar wild animals.

Doesn't matter what type of top I wear, I feel like The Nard Dog from that episode The Office when despite taping his nips for a long distance run, he profusely bled from them. Yikes.

I'm trying to tell myself that it's the humidity, but I really don't know that.

BTW, do you run on the playa?

Yes, you can put it on nipples to help with chafing. I've known people who put bandaids over their nipples too for the long distance runs to help with the chafing and rubbing. It also helps to wear a tight-fitting top made from a material that can absorb sweat, like one that says 'sweat-wicking.' From my understanding, chafing is caused by excess moisture on the skin, so it is a problem if you are prone to heavy sweating or are in a humid climate. Another thing that helps is if you stay really well-hydrated. If you are dehydrated, then your sweat will have a lot of salt in it which can crystallize on the skin and exacerbate the chafing/uncomfortableness.

This will be my first year at Burning Man (!!!!! ) and I do plan to bring some running gear. Not positive I'll do any running, but I hope to try it!

[FIGJAM]

There was a run of some kind last year and people got on sunrise runs.

[kiss-o-matic]

Yes, you can put it on nipples to help with chafing. I've known people who put bandaids over their nipples too for the long distance runs to help with the chafing and rubbing. It also helps to wear a tight-fitting top made from a material that can absorb sweat, like one that says 'sweat-wicking.' From my understanding, chafing is caused by excess moisture on the skin, so it is a problem if you are prone to heavy sweating or are in a humid climate. Another thing that helps is if you stay really well-hydrated. If you are dehydrated, then your sweat will have a lot of salt in it which can crystallize on the skin and exacerbate the chafing/uncomfortableness.

This will be my first year at Burning Man (!!!!! ) and I do plan to bring some running gear. Not positive I'll do any running, but I hope to try it!

I'm going to bring some running shoes if I can.

No joke, yesterday, you could SEE the salt in my black shirt. So yeah... that's probably not a good sign.

[Freedom37]

It makes me smile to know that all these wonderfully voluptuous beautiful creatures will be roaming the Playa scantilly clad, in bike shorts or in birthday suits!
HOORAY for real women with curves!

[Candybox]

I feel that on playa, there's an above-average amount of very good-looking people. Before I head out, I always get self-conscious about how I'm gonna look....

BUT, on-playa, all bets are off. It's a tribute to the magic of BM that although I feel fat and self-conscious off-playa, once I'm nice and dusty I positively glow with confidence. I am superbly comfortable with my body at Burning Man, no matter my shape. It's tits out for me. It also doesn't hurt that my metabolism kicks into gear whenever I'm in the desert and the combination of sun, dance, bike, and drugs at all hours of the day make me lose weight like crazy. But yeah, I totally wish I had that kind of attitude in the default world.

[ohCarie]

For those who still want to wear shorts, Costco has these cute skorts for $10. They look like a skirt but have shorts underneath for inner thigh protection. I love the pair I got and am going back for other colors.