Sore Seat Syndrome

Do you get a sore bum when you cycle ? I used to and like everyone else just blamed the saddle and bought new ones. Some were better than others , but ultimately none of them cured my raw rear. It only really happened on longer rides, but on multiple day rides the pain was cumulative. 

But surely, a wide saddle with 2 inches of soft padding will fix it! ? Any saddle with a hard plastic base will never be that comfy on a very long ride, unless your arse has serious padding  of its own of course. This is why I prefer leather saddles without a base to bottom out on. But this isn't the way to fix Sore Seat Syndrome, oh no! 

Sore Seat Syndrome or as it is more coloquially known; Arse Ache, can be permenamtly fixed by checking bike size and saddle height. Yes it can. 

The reason my arse isn't sore anymore is  not because I have a nice leather saddle, or because I wear padded lycra shorts- heaven forbid. My arse is happy because my saddle is the correct height. My bikes are also the right size for me and I have good riding technique.

Most people I've met with SSS have good bikes that fit. But they also have saddles that are too low or too high. If the saddle is too low then too much of your body weight is on it when you peddle. If it's too high, then your sit bones are getting too much action while your arse moves from side to side as you stretch for your peddles. Either way, you'll get SSS sooner or later. 

If you've ever been for a professional bike fit , then you'll already know how important getting saddle height is. Even a centimeter too high or low and you'll feel it. 

Once your saddle is the right height , your weight distribution across the bike will be much more balanced and your peddle strokes more efficient too. You won't be sitting on the saddle so much as perching on it. 

So what else can you do to give your arse a break? No, not padded lycra. You can however learn a couple of cycling techniques that reduce the load on your saddle. 

Assuming your saddle is the correct height, then you should be able to lock out or straighten one of your legs as you coast - this will cause your bum to lift slightly while still being in contact with the saddle, thus mostly reducing the load. You can also stand up on both peddles as you coast or freewheel along and peddle while out of the saddle like the pros do. 

Once you can do these 3 things, you will find , as I have that you can peddle along all day without arse ache and , dare I say it, without padded lycra. 

Skin tight clothing on any man who isn't in a race , just doesn't sit well for me. Sorry chaps. 

I have nothing against lycra on women. Nothing at all. 

Virtual Life

Like a lot of people who's lives have been profoundly affected by Covid19,  I've found myself thinking more and more about setting myself free from all financial burden and cycling off into the sunset. These thoughts probably  have to do with my lifelong craving for uncertainty and adventure. 

This thought of leaving it all behind usually forces me to consider the reality of doing such a thing. Previous experiences have taught me that embarking upon any lone journey is very different to the wanderlust fuelled imagination that saw only freedom and sunshine. I've tasted something of what it is to journey alone, self powered without support and I know that for me, loneliness on the road is something that is very hard to live with. 

Even if my only connection to the life I'd leave behind is my smart phone, I doubt that would benefit my quest for a new way of life - or at least the ongoing search for my ever burgeoning 'personal legend'. (The Alchemist)

Like most people, I have quite a few active social media accounts, but unlike most , I don't really engage with them regularly. I do try to post more and 'like' and 'share' more, but that behaviour just won't stick. I'm not anti social at all, I just don't like being drawn into virtual socialising as some kind of new world replacement for spending time in the actual company of friends and family. I've never liked being indoors or on computers and I'm quite sure that anything that sits me down to one spot can't be good for me.

The more I think about leaving, the more I remember how it was before the internet, certainly before smartphones and online shopping, and of course, before social gatherings became something you do by yourself. I think that is why I can't help seeing social media like a virtual prison that I am being drawn into, with more and more of the things we rely on daily being done using a smartphone; going shopping, writing letters, listening to music, taking pictures, reading a map and a many more things that all used to involve getting out of my chair, going somewhere and doing something that needed a different skill.  I mean, anyone can move one or two fingers over a screen - maybe evolution will turn us back into fish , this time with just a couple of really fast thumbs and a smartphone sized kangaroo pouch. I suppose our brains will get smaller too. 

That's all I've got to say about that this morning. Think I'll go for a cycle ride while the sun is out. I don't want to take my phone with me... but I probably will.