margoC

Back when I rode a road bike I regularly rode 60+ miles, at least a few times a week, sometimes every day.

But I'm old and decrepit now and ride a more upright bike. After a hiatus I've been increasing my ride frequency and miles. The biggest problem is weight on the saddle but the alternative is weight on my arms/shoulder and stuff and that's not an option.

It was difficult getting used to applying power to the pedals but I've tweaked my handlebars and saddle to where I feel I'm using the proper muscles.

My poor butt though. It's a lot better than when I started but it's my limiting factor right now. I've ridden 14 miles around the neighborhood but I have a goal of riding downtown, round trip would be about 20 miles, maybe a little less.

I just spent two hours plotting a good route and saving the track to my GPS It would be slow going with a few spots where I would probably walk my bike across the road to keep on paths and out of traffic (I've ridden in traffic before when I lived car free, I have no desire to do it again). There are long stretches of sidewalk that rarely have people walking, I plan to utilize those.

My target is a park downtown where I would people watch, and take a long break before heading back.

I haven't ridden that far on an upright bike, and this would also be a lot slower, so it would be a long 10 miles, a break, then another long 10 miles.

I might put my bike in my truck and drive to a closer spot just to get experience riding the last section before I try the entire route.

I was just wondering what distances others ride. My bike has a 3 sprocket with 7 cog cassette. It's flat here, I probably use the same 4 gears around the neighborhood but I appreciate having a granny gear for taking shortcuts through the grass. It's not really a beach cruiser but it does have a little more forward positioning than a road bike. It's gotten me back in the saddle and I like being able to see. I have a rack and trunk bag so I can carry stuff to make a day of it. One of my trunk bags has small zip out panniers and I run the occasional errand.

I have 2 bikes, this is the one that is more comfortable to ride on an extended ride.

3speedslow

Sounds like you have done your homework and ready to begin. Everyone’s answer to your saddle question might be different but the simple rule is to keep trying diff ones till you like it. Wide squishy ones will not be comfortable for very long over the miles you plan fore.

zandoval 

And the search goes on... Bravo on your plan. Nice BIKE!

margoC

Yeah, I have a brooks flyer that is winning the war. I've never had any trouble breaking in a brooks saddle before and those weren't even the big springy models. The one in the pic came with the bike, at the moment it's the most comfortable one. I have a couple big squishy ones that I got for someone else that insisted on big squishy and they aren't very comfortable. The one on the bike was also made by specialized and has that dip on the back so your tailbone doesn't get pressure. I think that's the key for me. I've been thinking about an extra seatpost so I can swap seats and keep working on breaking in that brooks. I have 2 bikes with different diameter seatposts. I actually ordered one for the ATB frame but was off in my measurements and sent it back. It might behoove me to order from performance or nashbar (are they still a thing?) Instead of Amazon to ensure I get what I ordered. I just got another light and a thing for my handlebars that would enable me to raise my light so I've reached my monthly budget.

The handlebar thing is pretty cool. The cables kind of went in front of my light, now my light and GPS are raised up some. I'll take a pic later.

I use a handheld GPSr, not a cycle specific one, I take it on walks and hikes and already have it. I have several GPSr's plus Gaia on my phone. I have an Astro model I used to track my beagles when they were younger. I also like bushwhacking in the woods but the ticks and other biting insects wore me down, another reason I've returned to cycling.

3speedslow

Brooks Flyer for the win! I have one and it’s a keeper even after many miles. The B17 standard gets along with my butt just fine too. Everyone is different…

margoC

That's what I don't understand, I've never had a problem with brooks before, this one seems to have really thick leather but I don't have my old ones, I'm sure they had thick leather too. I'm not giving up though.

Anyway, here's a shot of the extension thing on my handlebars, it works great! My light is raised above the cables and centered. The bar is just the right length, some of the reviewers were disappointed with the size but I only needed to put those two things there, anything longer would be unnecessary and maybe get in the way.

Notice the extension isn't centered, there is just enough bar to put my GPS mount, leaving the light right over my stem.

margoC

Here is a different point of view

3speedslow

Nice workable set up. I don’t use GPS equipment but usually have a light and cup holder on my bars.
Good configurations with the bar. Looks ergo friendly.

55murray

That is good for 20 miles easy, just not at 20mph!

margoC

That's fine, my body isn't good for 20 mph wrecks.