DBrown9383

Hi, we just moved to northern MI. and bought bikes.. They are hybrids and we don't have a clue what we are doing. We are 60ish and have gone for 3 rides so far.. The first one was 10mi. Second was 20mi. Third was 20mi. but on soft dirt roads and we about died. We are active but not really in good biking shape.. Our biggest obstacle right now is saddle soreness. We ditched the saddles that came with the bikes and bought "good" saddles from a bike shop.. We are limited on how far we can ride by how sore we get. I hope our sit bones get used to this or our rides will all be 20mi. or less.

marimorimo

Welcome! There are many helpful people in the forums I just started riding a hybrid myself January of this year so I know what you mean by not having a clue. Do you and your wife wear any padded shorts? They're a must for bum comfort, more than the saddle I think. At the start ALL saddles will feel uncomfortable, even one used for years with no problem...until you have a hiatus and get back on the bike. You will develop your "bike bum" after a few more rides, so don't worry and enjoy the ride!

DBrown9383

Thanks!.. We do NOT have padded shorts yet.. We do have bike specific shorts though and chaffing isn't an issue, it's our sit bones that are really sore. We started out very enthusiastic and rode too far too soon on three rides in less than a week. The local bike shop owner is my new best friend now. I'm calling him all the time with questions and he's a great guy so I'm buying stuff from HIM instead of off the internet even though he is more expensive.

Blue Belly

Getting some padded shorts & getting the saddle set right will help a lot. It will just take a little time after that. Your body will need to adjust. Enjoy!

cb400bill

Welcome from S/W Michigan!

obed7

welcome to the forum... get padded shorts and just expect to be "sore" for a couple weeks of riding.
Also make sure the bikes are "fit" to you. A good fitting will make a world of difference in the comfort of the bike and how far you can ride with out undue soreness and discomfort.

whatever84

Padded shorts are a must. A friend recommend them. I will not wear spandex visible so I put my cargo shorts on over the top of them. But I'm just a casual rider, not real serious.

Mark.

warrior4130

Right seat, right shorts, and right "fit" all contribute to rear-end comfort.

mrodgers

I'm in the camp of, you get use to it along with a not-too-soft saddle helps.

I started out 2 years ago riding an old Walmart mountain bike with a cheap Bell replacement saddle. I would get over an hour and would be sore. Eventually after about a month I was able to stand about an hour and a half in the saddle. I rode almost daily 12 miles for exercise.

Bought my hybrid last spring. The stock seat is nearly hard as a rock. Not much padding in it at all. Getting back on after waiting for winter to quit, I was sore. Just a few rides though and I was fine. I was doing 30+ mile rides through the summer. I didn't ride as often as I first did the previous fall, but the rides were consistently longer. I would be in the saddle 2.5-3 hours. Sure I was sore, but it was not unbearable like over an hour was on the soft saddle.

I've been off the bike since October of last year. Got my first ride in 2 Mondays ago for 10 miles. Wow, I was sore, really sore. I know though that it will just take a handful of rides to be acclimated to the saddle again and I could be going 2-3 hours just fine.

For the record, I ride in regular clothes. Sometimes in blue jeans as I ride directly after work most often. I have a pair of bike shorts, but I only wore them I think twice. They're not needed in my opinion. I'm not one of these folks out there riding 100 miles as hard as possible on a road bike worth more than my car. I'm just wanting daily exercise and to explore the various rail trails.