Episodes 49 and 50- long rides reveal issues?
Saturday May 30- 55.7 miles on the B-17
This was the first half of a two-day ride and my longest ride ever by five miles or so. There was about 2600 feet of climbing, but a substantial tail wind. We took a half-hour break for lunch. The ride itself was, of course, fairly tiring and there were significant periods of saddle discomfort during the later stages… mostly sit-bone related. It was satisfying and fun but I was glad to stop riding when we reached our destination.
I now have accumulated about 900 miles and 66 hours of B-17 riding time.
Today’s Comfort rating: 6.5 to 7
Sunday May 31- 55.7 miles on B-17 Imperial
This was the second half of the ride and I changed saddles to the Imperial, as I had planned to do ahead of time. We returned by the same route so there was about the same amount of climbing. The wind turned around and, again, we had a decent tail wind most of the way. We took a break in the same small town for lunch. There were still some periods of saddle discomfort though not as bad as before. Again it was mostly sit-bone related and may have had to do with general riding fatigue. Other than the unusual amount of climbing on the route I did not find the distance of the ride itself too difficult.
Today’s Comfort rating: 7 to 7.5
Summing up- while I did not find either of these saddles to be a huge impediment to these rides, neither of them was as good as I had hoped for. But I am inexperienced at riding for such long distances and times. I wonder if perhaps my expectations for long-ride comfort could have been unrealistic. If I had to start my five-day ride now, I think I would have three or four different saddles stashed in the SAG Wagon.
Last edited by billydonn; 06-03-09 at 09:30 PM.