GF's first 50K ride on a bike...

[vik]

You guys are so awesome! So I noticed that you did your century in Saanich, that looks like there was a lot of stop & go in traffic. How does your GF deal with that? I as as I'm hoping that as the weather gets better down here in Oregon, to get my wife out on longer rides away from Portland. I've found that she prefers to go - with limited stops, vs. the stop&go of city / inter-urban riding. In fact, we're driving up to the San Juan's for my birthday in June.

Thanks...

Our ride was mostly [say 80%] of the non-stop road variety. We stopped a few times for food/drinks and washroom breaks. Our first tandem ride was 3hrs in downtown traffic getting stuff done. Most of our riding is transportational in nature so traffic and stop lights are something we are used to. I'm pretty good at riding the tandem slowly so I tend to do rolling stops a lot.

and I think that's the key, I always see people looking for new riding shorts as they get 'sore' and I cannot understand why they don't get that it's a function of their saddle / fit over any fancy "assed" nickers that they may buy.

There is definitely something to the posts, above. I'm finding on my SA saddle that my inexpensive Aerotechdesigns shorts (very good BTW) have a thinner pad and seem to be more comfortable than my Giordana bibs with a thicker pad. Worst are some specialized bibs with a thick pad. I also think the thicker pad deprives the saddle of the opportunity to develop a good "fit".

Whenever I see someone at a bike shop buying 3 pairs of $100+ bike shorts I think to myself that they should really be looking for a new saddle. I don't try and "inform" strangers at a LBS, but I have weened a lot of friends off bike shorts by getting them onto saddles they are comfortable on. That means different things to different people. Someone with a 20min commute twice a day doesn't need the same solution as a randonneur, frequent century sport cyclist or a bike tourist.

I don't try and tell people what's comfortable. I try and show them that being comfortable without special bike gear is possible and give them a plan they can follow to find what works for them.

When my GF got a new commuter bike I suggested she might want to consider a leather saddle rather than another plastic one. She gave a Brooks a try and didn't like it. I told her it might take a while to break in, but I also offered to replace it with a plastic saddle right away. She decided to try commuting on the Brooks for another week or two. I got called away for work for a month unexpectedly and frankly forgot about the Brooks on her commuter bike. When I got home I asked if she wanted the Brooks taken off? She replied that she loved it and that she wasn't wearing bike shorts any longer because her bike was so comfortable.

When we ordered our tandem I got 2 Brooks B17s installed on it. She hated the B17 on the back so I didn't argue and replaced it with a plastic saddle. Recently she came to me to ask that we move the broken in Brooks from her commuter bike to the tandem and put the hard B17 that was originally on the back of the tandem on to her commuter bike. I'm glad she is starting to put the pieces together that will allow her to be comfy on all her bikes.

We are following a similar process with handlebars. She's trying some different options and seeing what works. We are making changes and homing in on a great setup for her. It takes time and it's a bit of a hassle, but it's well worth it. Being able to ride your bike all day without special clothes and without any discomfort is priceless!...

[jimmuller]

Well done on the first long one. And if you're comfortable then don't listen to those who tell you you aren't!

My sweetie (of almost 35 years) and I started tandeming last October. We did our longest this past weekend, 54.4 miles, about 70km, and total of a bit under 100 miles for the weekend. I've always ridden in whatever felt comfortable, generally something with a high SPF because it's more comfortable than sunscreen!

[vik]

My sweetie (of almost 35 years) and I started tandeming last October. We did our longest this past weekend, 54.4 miles, about 70km, and total of a bit under 100 miles for the weekend.

Awesome bike Jim and congrats on getting a tandem rolling with your lady...

[Rowan]

You guys are looking even better than when we saw you last year! Congrats on the long ride.

I have to agree with you about not needing to ride with padded bike shorts if your bike is set up properly and has the right saddle. Just about all my Brooks saddles are now broken in, and it's no biggie if I decide to hop on one and go for an evening ride without padded bike shorts.

I still do like to use lycra shorts with flat seams because there is less chance of chafe in certain spots. I bought four pairs of them as running shorts from Decathlon (I think) in France in 2007, and really liked them, and still wear them.

[vik]

You guys are looking even better than when we saw you last year! Congrats on the long ride.

Thanks Rowan.

I used to specifically wear Exoffico boxers because they had minimal seams, but after having tried other boxers + pants/capris over them I've found it really doesn't matter what I wear. I'm comfy all day long.