Your cutout has a bottom? Mine is open.

At my gym they have a crunch machine, but they also have one that puts the bar behind my back and it’s sorta the opposite of a crunch. Will that help? If so I will make a point to use it.

I go to a gym only in nightmares. I've got a significant lower back issue, so I just look for exercises that don't put a lot of stress there. You probably don't want too much stress on your shoulder. Does Planet fitness have instructors?

I ride with a Carradice bag. That catches the mud, etc. that would otherwise get to my clothes through the cutout.

saddle & position
saddle is often used for weight distribution - could work, but also 'not'...
pressure points from weight are: each hand, each pedal/foot, each siztbone (you have 2 on the saddle). That's always where the 'hurt' starts, and then transfers to other associated parts....
'weight' pressure change isn;t going to be changed quickly/dramtically - it can only be distributed in a way which reduces /distributes the pressure...
associated with that is muscle performance... move an element and you change both... aside from 'handling' skills, everything riding the bike centers on these - you rpower, you rweight and how you distribute/use them.
'Level saddle' - a good start point. depends on saddle... DON'T assume saddle rails are 'level' to saddle top surface - many are not

'Level' Cobb Saddle - rails not level... never assume
There are many shapes, sizes, dimensions of saddles from companies - some very different ... yours may be different from another model ...
don't be fooled by 'shape'... some saddles are flat, some have a high back - measure level from 'nose' to where your sitzbones rest...
fore/aft can help with putting more weight on butt and little less on hands - but often not THE Solution...
seat height - variable... for each rider and riding needs. Also a lot of variability...
Most/Best position for balance of power vs comfort is based on 'Posture/Position'

Good cycling Form / Position
Here's a rider enjoying his ride, having found his optimum position - comfortable forward lean FROM bending his elbows and rolling his elbows inward towards torso. The elbows and associated arm muscles are your shock absorbers for the shoulders, head, torso. Straight arms transfer road shocks to shoulders neck, and back down thru spine. Very upright torso transfers shock from saddle/butt up thru the spine to neck... Bend each (eblows/arms & Hips/waist) and the shock is 'absorbed'...
This guy is older/'seasoned' and carries a sizeable torso; but he's found his best' posture for riding his bike.
saddle height/extension : I've found that formulas can get you started... and also a simple method. Rolling easy on bike, center your heels on the pedal spindles & make comfortable pedal revolutions...
with your heels on pedal spindles, pedal backwards.
If you can do BOTH with smooth pedaling and NO rocking of the hips - you're close to your best setting height - small variations (mm's either up or down) after that to fine tune...
ANY SETTING - SMALL adjustments, in steps, and some riding between changing settings... (often multiple rides before next change)|
ONE CHANGE AT A TIME ! focus on one 'change', at a time...
acknowledge your 'weaknesses' and allow them to build ... a little bit of stress to the body, helps build those weaknesses - don;t baby, don;t bury yourself - cycling, like so many things, is a lesson about yourself.
Ride On
Yuri

mrs t2p terry butterfly saddle has an open cutout

most of my saddles have an ‘indent’ or depression - not open … including the WTB Koda pictured above … I prefer the closed indent - just a personal preference

This allows access to the front mount bolt.




BTW I have the same wheeled bike rack as you.

I got out earlier for 6 miles. So far it feels close. I did rotate my handlebars back a little. I will be able to tell tomorrow when I go further.
Today I had no discomfort.

in reference to a post above by CYCLEZEN (I haven't yet hit the 10 post minimum to do a proper "quote"):

This is excellent advice. I've struggled a bit with neck pain, but this can mostly be fixed by paying attention to my posture...Once I sit back a bit and engage my core to help stabilize my upper body (as opposed to my hands by way of extending my arms for stability), I find riding much more comfortable. But as someone who has bad posture, I have to make a concerted effort to maintain this position. Thanks for the good advice about focusing on small changes in one area at a time.

I had about given up then sat back and looked at everything again.
I had my seat pretty far forward. I moved it back to a little past the middle and it made a big difference. I don’t have as much weight on my arms and it just feels better.
I will ride for a while before I adjust anything.
Is dialing in the saddle position very tricky? I see suggestions of moving it mm’s.

Everybody's body is different. You just have to keep experimenting. It's OK to go too far in every direction. Then you know where that is and have some idea of what a good compromise might be. I have my saddle clamp about 1/3 of the way from the front, using a 30mm setback seatpost. So I sit well back. That encourages the use of my glutes and hams, which I prefer. Not everyone does, not by a long shot. So yes, one's current best saddle fore-and-aft position is tricky to get right, partly because it affects how one pedals. When one changes how one pedals, it takes maybe a couple months of steady riding for one's neuromuscular system to adapt and get strong and efficient in the new position. A lot of people don't get that. It's not how it feels at first so much as how it feels after a week or so. That means that it's possible to adapt to many different positions. The question then becomes what's your personal most efficient or durable position? That's not a simple question. With appropriate exercise and training, it should be possible to stay in the saddle (with breaks every few hours of course) all day and all night, too, without any great suffering.

Whether the saddle slot goes through or not doesn't matter as far as comfort is concerned, though the width of the slot certainly does.

This saddle is a Cobb Randee. It has a generous slot.
The only thing I see that might be a problem is the nose is a little wide. I will deal with that later if it is a problem.

On my usual route this morning I actually averaged a little faster, although it may just be me getting in a little better condition.
The saddle position did feel better though.

Most likely yes on both counts. With the saddle too high, the feet can no longer stabilize your body. They're too busy trying to reach the pedals, and you're probably rocking your hips, too. So you're perched on your perineum with your arms and shoulders working as outriggers. As for saddle setback, we had a big thread on that 10-14 years ago. You should look it up. The idea was that if your center of gravity is forward of your feet, you can't help but support the torso with your arms. If you sit bolt upright, that isn't much of a problem, but more you lower the torso towards horizontal, the farther forward your weight will shift. Moving the hips back shifts the center of gravity. That isn't as much as a problem for skinny pro climbers or sprinters putting out hundreds of watts on their downstrokes, but for the rest of us it's a consideration.

I completely agree with both you and CarbonFiberBoy, but the part about perched on your perineum with your arms and shoulders working as outriggers made me laugh. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone describe it like that before. Thank you,

I once rode like that, for a few months, before my knees quit, over five decades ago, so I know whereof I speak. Beginners might feel strong and powerful stretched out like that, but it's hard on the joints, leads to inflexibility, and screws up your ability to steer and balance the bike.