Guys (and girlonbike), thank you so much for your help and suggestions. I had a follow up appointment today with my doc, who happens to be a cyclist too, and he said he didn’t think it was epididymitis or an infection at all. I really trust my doctor and value his thoughts for sure, so I believe his diagnosis. Basically he said that he thinks it is actually a pulled muscle of some kind, a muscle that connects to the pelvis and other areas down there. He asked if I had any trauma to that are before the pain began. Going back to August of 2012, I did have a pretty good wreck that left me with a very painful bruised kidney that put me in the ER. Shortly after the wreck happened and before I went to the ER, I had also thought I had pulled a groin muscle from that wreck, but shortly forgot about it as the kidney pain pretty much took over. So, while it is good to hear that it isn’t an infection, the drawback is that the healing of a pulled internal muscle will take a while. But, he said to get out and ride, it won’t hurt anything further.
Now, based on your recommendations, I have been researching saddles. The ISM Adamo is an nice looking seat for sure, as are the Selle Italias too. I really appreciate the input of demo saddles from online retailers as the demo and trial process on a saddle could be key. I had also heard that Specialized saddles with their Body Geometry design are pretty great too, and we have a local Specialized dealer. I went down to the shop and they measured my sit bones, which I have never done before. To be honest, I already forgot my measurement, so I will go back and do it again. But, the measurement was a bit on the wider side, even though I am 6’1” and 170lbs geared to ride. Wider than average, the Specialized tech told me. With the Fi’zi:k Tundra2, I found the width to be 125mm, which is a pretty narrow seat from what I can tell. I am truly thinking that while the Tundra2 is a quality seat, it is way too narrow for me, and I have been sitting on and supporting my weight not by my sit bones, but by soft tissue. Not the way to do it.
Again, I don’t think the seat factored in necessarily to my issue, but it may have opened my eyes to looking for a different saddle to increase that comfort factor, especially post injury. I’ll keep you all posted on my progress and what I end up with. Again, thank you all for your help and support. It means more to me than you know. That is why MTBR is such a great resource. Thank you!
