Fifty Plus (50+) - Deflated

Camp Smile A Mile has a fund raising ride each year. Each rider has to have atleast $250 to enter the race. Some or maybe all of the riders are sponsored but I guess if you wanted to you could just put up the money and ride.

But to my hurt feeling. I go down to watch the riders come in from their 152 mile ride. I am expecting to see a beaten group of riders which look like they are on deaths door. But the riders look like they just got off the couch and had ridden about a block to the coffee shop. They were walking around and talking and having a good ole time. They averaged 15 mph for the entire trip. I have a hard time averaging 15 mph for my daily 20 mile ride. So my hat is off to these great riders and I just have to go and think this over.

The good news is that there were about 60 riders in the group and each riders entry fee paid for one kid with cancer to go to camp for a week.

Oh and I did not see a single brooks saddle on any bikes. Some seemed to have rock hard seats like a time trial bike or something of that sort. I would have to be paid a lot of money to get me to just sit on my bike for 10 hours. I am afraid that my saddle would become a buttocks implant in that length of time.

I guess that I am overly impressed but I am having a hard time understanding how someone could ride this far and still appear to be fresh.

Well, these guys are tough. I have done quite a few 150 milers but do find that distance a challenge. Nutrition is a big problem for me. The food needs to get in the blood fast enough to do some good. Many trail available foods don't do that and you run out of energy.
These guys must have solved that problem.
BTW, I ditched my two Brooks because they could not handle lots of rain. This area has lots of rain and the Brooks are a pain in the a*s if it rains all day and the next, and the next.
The Brooks rivets dug in my rear end after the leather deformed. (Brooks Pro and Champion Flyer)

I have to agree that these guys are tough. Also the girls in the group were tough. One of the fellows rode a foldable bike with about 20" wheels he may have had the toughest ride of all. I heard one of the police escorts talking to someone and he said " I know it is hard to ride a bike this far at 15 mph but it is also hard to drive a car at 15 mph." I can even see his point.

Well is guess that everything including Brooks Saddles have their weak points. I have heard a lot of good comments about brooks and little bad but I can understand that a wet soggy and stretched piece of leather might be a problem. There might be some water proofing products that could be used on leather but that might cause other problems. I don't ride in wet conditions except for sweat so I would be ok unless I got caught in a rain storm.

I have to agree that these guys are tough. Also the girls in the group were tough. One of the fellows rode a foldable bike with about 20" wheels he may have had the toughest ride of all. I heard one of the police escorts talking to someone and he said " I know it is hard to ride a bike this far at 15 mph but it is also hard to drive a car at 15 mph." I can even see his point.

Well is guess that everything including Brooks Saddles have their weak points. I have heard a lot of good comments about brooks and little bad but I can understand that a wet soggy and stretched piece of leather might be a problem. There might be some water proofing products that could be used on leather but that might cause other problems. I don't ride in wet conditions except for sweat so I would be ok unless I got caught in a rain storm.

They are tough. 150 miles at any speed would be a tough ride.

Brooks saddles are more affected by rain than other saddles, but less than some people think. I don't worry at all about getting caught in a rain storm with mine. But I do go for a different saddle when I know I'll be in an all day downpour. Basically, they can get wet, but they shouldn't get soaked. If they do get soaked, they should be allowed to dry completely before being ridden or they will stretch out of shape. But again, we aren't talking about getting a little wet. That's nothing to worry about.