Episode 3- 33.4 miles- (ride time= 2:32). Everyone please keep in mind that this is a long ride for me. I have done dozens of 20+ milers, but few rides over thirty. Conditions: near ideal... 65 degrees, sunny, little wind until a modest headwind shows up on the ten-mile return home. My legs and lungs feel just great. I take a short break for water on the MUP by the Missouri River at 1:10 ride time- I am not uncomfortable at all. At about 1:30 ride time (about 20 miles) I arrive at the Marina and have a Cliff bar on the pier... still no real discomfort from the saddle.
At about the 2:00 riding time mark I am in a mild, but annoying, headwind and really starting to search around on the saddle for a comfy place for the tender parts. I work on pushing back to get the tush on the wide part of the saddle. I promise myself I will take a brief break at 2:10 due to the moderate discomfort I'm feeling. This discomfort somehow passes, and no I do not need to stop... at 2:32 I am back at the vehicle. I don't feel too bad. With a short rest I know I could go longer. For the third ride in a row I have had nary a hint of a hamstring cramp!
Thoughts on the B-17: I've spent almost six hours in the saddle now and ecstasy/nirvana is not yet in sight. But I am not even close to saying this saddle will not work for me. The pressure I have felt on the tenders (where my saddle cutout was on the Terry Fly Gel) seems to be taking longer to show up. The saddle leather may be starting to soften up a little bit. I am going to try to get another nudge forward on the saddle position before tomorrow's ride, when I will try to get some pics of episode four of this science project.
Postscript: three hours after ride my tenders are not at all sore. FWIW: despite my age regular checkups have shown no prostate issues at all.
Last edited by billydonn; 03-22-09 at 12:59 PM.