Saddle Up

How would you describe the perfect long week-end?

Great weather. The Tour De France. Lots of time to ride. And absolutely no other commitments. I didn’t even check my work email — well, at least not every hour. I really needed some time to recover from what has been a very stressful few weeks at work.

I logged somewhere north of 250 kilometres on the bike over the past few days. Loops like the one above took me through some spectacular rural areas just north of Kingston.

I can’t think of a better set of riding days. I was out by about 8 in the morning and got back home in time for lunch.

The only issue during the week-end was my saddle. Or, more accurately, that part of my body which connects to the saddle.

I have been riding a Specialized Toupe for about seven years. For whatever reason, I have been struggling with this saddle. I even switched it out last season for another loaner saddle.

I liked that saddle but it was no longer in production and I had to return the loaner. Too bad.

I did a 50k ride this morning and I literally limped the last 10 kilometers or so. I could no longer stay on the saddle. Ouch.

Something has changed as I am also getting some hot spots on my left foot. So, a new saddle and a professional bike fit is in order. I picked up a new saddle from the fitter: the Selle SMP Dynamic. It is on the bike and we’ll see how it goes. Steve Hogg loves the SMP saddles. Mine is like this one below.

The fit takes place next week. The process takes about 3 hours. Hopefully that will help to minimize some of the pain of riding.