Commuting - My (new) commute..

Today was the 4th day commuting with my bike and I think I am getting the hang of it now.. The commute is ~9miles, (for those in northern Cal Bay area) it starts in Sunnyvale, to Fremont Blvd, to Foot hill expwy, to Page Mill. to my office. It takes me 25-35 min, depending on the traffic light on the way.

My bike is doing well, my butt could be better, but I understand that it'll get better with time (god, I hope)... :o


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You will soon be stronger than you ever thought possible. I am always glad to hear about another bike commuter joining the forces.

LOL! Yes, sorebutt, it will get better! :-)

Do you wear cycling shorts? They have padding that really helps. Also, the type of saddle you are riding makes a lot of difference, too. When I started riding more, even with the biking shorts, I was uncomfortable and had some trouble with numbness "down there."

When I told the lady at my LBS that I thought it was time for a new saddle, she let me test drive several of them, untill I found one that fit my bottom perfectly! Now, over 1000 miles later, I still love the saddle!

Sounds to me like you are doing just fine on your commute...but be warned, you might get to enjoy it, and pretty soon you'll want to stretch the ride to 10 miles, then 12, then who knows!

Enjoy!

If your @$$ is really getting sore, you should look into buying a Brooks saddle. Those torture devices they sell in bike shops never seem to be any better than merely "bearable". I have Brooks saddles for all 4 of my bikes (although I do put a cheap vinyl saddle on any bike used for rainy riding), and they are the only thing which makes long distance riding bearable. Brooks prefers to deal only with dedicated retailers, so they are rarely available in bike shops in the US. They do take a couple of weeks to break in, but they also mold to fit you.
I have saddles which are in narrow, regular, and wide sizes. They are really no more expensive than a decent road saddle (between $60-$85 each).
http://www.wallbike.com
is the best place to find the right size saddle for you-they usually are among the cheapest, and the selection there is very large.
I can ride more than 100 miles on both my Team Pro and my B72 without any real pain. My B66 and B17n don't get that kind of mileage, but the B66 is probably up to long distance travel, too.

You've got the nice commute route, sorebutt. When I lived in Mountain View and worked in Redwood City, Foothill was the road of choice. I would guess that your soreness will be gone in the next week or so at the rate you are going (if not, then time to think about the suggestions that have been made). When the soreness goes away, I'll predict that you will be tempted to stretch the route, as nebill says.

Some possible detours off Foothill:
Route A: L on Edith, R on Fremont, C on Hillview, back to Foothill (adds a little climbing).
Route B: L on Loyola, C on Fairway (around the golf course), L on Hillview, X Magdalena, R on Hilltop, L on Summerhill, R on El Monte, L on University, L on Burke, R on Fremont, then follow Route A (more miles, even more climbing).
Route C: ah, well, lots of hills, some over 10%, exhillarating descent down upper Page Mill Road. Wheee!

Anyhoo, if you have any questions about route variations, etc., why don't you drop me a line?

--Doug

thanks for the great suggestions. I will give this seat (sella Italia) a couple of weeks, and then revisit the problem. As to increasing the commute, this is going to get fixed, as my office is moving (December) to Woodside which makes it 17 miles each directions, probably an hour each way. I can not spend more then that on commuting..

A friend had given me a Specialized "Pro" seat (Last year's model). this seat has a slit in the middle and I think I would give it a try. just for the heck of it..

Thanks again for your help,

A.

Saddle sores heal, and skin gets tougher. I don't get anywhere near as many as I used to.

Those "slit in the middle" seat usually just cause increased pressure at the edges of the slit. I wouldn't get too hopeful about them-they are mostly advertising hyperbole. If you are doing real riding (you are), then you need a real saddle. Forget those $30 Specialized pieces of junk. The last time I bought a Specialized saddle, it broke in 3 months.

Sorebutt + 4 weeks = callousbutt

Sorebutt,
You will find that your seat will get used to the ride in a week or two and get at least a little more comfortable. If you are still really uncomfortable you may need to tweak your bike setup. You might want to check sheldonbrown.com and peterwhitecycles.com for good descriptions of bike fitting. If your LBS personnel are very knowledgable they might be of help, too. I would not necessarily start swapping saddles until you feel about as comfortable as you can get with your setup.

Having said that, I will ditto what D*Alex said about Brooks saddles. I have them on my two bikes - the basic B17 and a Team Pro. Brooks saddles are just thick leather formed into a saddle. Zero padding. They feel like rocks when brand new but gradually shape themselves to your shape and are very comfortable. You will find a lot of Brooks fans around here. Whatever you do, don't be fooled into a saddle with a lot of padding. They are fine for bikes that get ridden around the block once a year but don't have the support needed for longer frequent rides. Brooks saddle have a really classic look, too. You can see pictures at harriscyclery.com. If you decide to get one, you might want to come back and ask for comments on the different models people here own. For instance, I bought a B17 initially because it is about the widest model. It was great. Then I got the Team Pro for another bike, and I like it better. The B17 is wonderful for pootling along; it feels like you are sitting on the deck of an aircraft carrier dangling your legs over the side. But when I am pedalling at higher cadence, the width kind of gets in the way.

Welcome to the commuting gang.
Regards,
Raymond

One little problem with wallbike, though:
They are located in New Orleans, and the local post office is really bad about getting priority mail out in a timely fashion. Harris cyclery is glacially slow in posting their packages, too.

Well ain't that sumpin'! I live right here in New Orleans and had not even heard of wallbike.com! I'm in the market for a Carradice saddle bag, too!

they have them, as well as tubus racks.

Come on Sorebutt describe your ride in! Cycling in California may not be exciting to you, but to us foreigners it's very interesting.

I want to get a flavour of the ride! i may never get to California (fear of flying) but I'd like to get an idea what it's like.:)

Folks,

I am sorebutt no more (well, "no more" are strong words..). I have tried a $20 Specialized seat (the split thingy, on sale), and I must tell you I totally forgot about my butt, until I got to the office and realized that "hey, it didn't hurt'. I didn't have to get up on the pedals every 5 minutes to relieve the pressure .. It has thick hard padding, the kind that has very little give, but enough to let the "sitting bones" to sink in a bit, and make to contact area a bit larger. It sill supports the whole weight by the two bones only, and there is no numbness in the "shorter extremities"..
I know some of you purists shutter at a cheep barnd seat, but for now (and I may change my mind over time) it works for me...


And chewa, I will write up my commute soon..


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http://www.litman.com/pixs/saddle.jpg

Originally posted by sorebutt
Folks,

I am sorebutt no more (well, "no more" are strong words..). I have tried a $20 Specialized ...http://www.litman.com/pixs/saddle.jpg
HEY, SOREBUTT! That's my seat! I've had mine for over a year and I feel just like you about it!

I may go for something more sophisticated later, but I'm not exactly Bill Gates! :p

What works, works! :D

The bad news: now you will have to get Joe to let you change your handle, "Sorebutt!" ;)

Well, now 150 miles on the new seat, and it feels great.. I had my friend come by to fit my bike for me and now the bike feels great. I leave my car at home, and at 15 mpg, it is a great gas saving. good for the environment, and good for the wallet.... cool!