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Saddle Sores

Anybody that rides a bicycle for long enough will find him/herself cursed with saddle sores. Usually a few days off the bike will let things clear up a bit and life continues without a hitch. But, what if you need to ride. Say you're on a bike tour. A multi day stage race. Or, the trails are just so good that you can't say no. Stay tuned folks, the answers are coming up!

Ask around and you'll get advice with everything from ointments to putting a raw steak between you and your shammy. I've been doing some searching on the internet machine here at the home office and found some outstanding ideas that just may help.

One thing often overlooked is the size of the saddle on your bike. Got a saddle sore, think more surface area for your backside. Get yourself out of the "saddle" category and put yourself into something that's described as more of a "seat". This model (below) will definitely let you use your whole butt and is probably IDEAL for a road bike or commuter application. However, this model may present some issues when trying to get behind the seat during a steep descent on a mountain bike. It's probably also a bit on the heavy side.

To address the weight issue, there's the half moon saddle to satisfy all you racer types. This little beauty will let you disperse your cheeks over a bigger area and is a little more stylie than the previous model. But we still have the issue of getting behind the saddle on the ATB. (that's All Terrain Bicycle for those not in the know) Ahh, the search continues.

Enter The Spongy Wonder Seat. Light weight with good looks (comparatively). Those wiley Canucks sure did their homework on this one. With four models to choose from, the sky's the limit. Get one for each bike in the quiver. I'd consider this an "equal opportunity bike" kind of seat that will work well on everything from road to mountain.

Don't like the looks of any of those seats? Why not try a recumbent bike? This design lets you get your whole ass on the seat.... reminiscent of a couch. Plus their soooooo cool. Don't take my word for it, just look at this guy! Seems happy enough.

Plus, if you ride a recumbent, it will take you back to your formative years. Even if you don't currently ride bikes, you surely remember the infamous Big Wheel! Ahhh, plastic wheeled freedom at its finest. I logged more that a few miles on mine when I was just a wee lad and I never ever remember having saddle sores. You?

Still not satisfied? Ok. One more for ya. The Flying Squirrel Bike". I think this could really be the answer. It requires a commitment of some special clothing, necessitates that there be someone available to "rig you up", limits you to road rides and certainly won't climb that well (I actually don't even know if this can climb at all) but it takes all, and I mean ALL of the pressure off your "nether-regions". Isn't that what we were going for in the first place?

So, there you have it. The choice is yours. So many ways to avoid the all too common saddle sores.

Ed Note: The opinions expressed in the above story are soley that of the author and are not to be taken seriously, lightly, mildly or really even taken at all. The author, authors girlfriend, authors dog, authors friends and riding partners hereby exquibe all exquibeable abilities to hereon postedness within thusly.

NOT shut down....

So....... forget that post from last week. I was out "snooping" in the Tahoe Donner area and we've got some trails open again. Buff. Very buff. Traction like you read about!

Nevada City Trails

Rode off Hwy 20 today up from Nevada City. It's good. Real good down there.

Rode Pioneer from Conservancy Camp Rd to just shy of Omega Rest stop. Good conditions. The moto trails are just a weekend away from being the fast, tacky, bermed out love that everybody heads down there for. They were a little muddy and soft today. If you moto.... now's your time!!

This site is a good place to look for beta if you're new to riding down there. It'll get you the basics. There's also the Nevada City Ranger Station in Nevada City. Take Hwy 20 to JUST before N.C. and make a right on Hwy 49. The Ranger Station is about a 1/4 mile on your right. Once you get there, grab yourself a copy of the South Yuba Recreation Guide. It's got enough to keep you occupied for plenty of riding when the trails are snowed in around Truckee.

Cross Eyed

Headed down to Reno this past weekend for some cyclocross action. Hard. Real hard. I can tell I haven't been in "suffer mode" in a while. This race was part of the NCNCA series and the turnout was amazing. Lots of riders. Lots of neat bikes.

I spent most of my race suffering just inside the top 10. My last four laps were my best and I can only hope the riders I was catching were in my class. If the race were only another hour longer. I'm guessing I ended up 5th or so. The officials were a bit confused by something or other and as of this posting, there are still no results. Hmmmm.

Shut Down

No big surprise really. "They" said it was coming... I didn't wanna believe "them".

I should've know better. Instead, I left the hose out. The corners of the wood pile uncovered. The shovels in the shed... far away from the front door. The snow blower..... no gas. "They" warned me not to do that, but I did it anyway.

When I shut the lights off Monday night and to get some sleep, it was already snowing. The forecast of 4-6 in town and 10" + up high. "They've" been wrong before and I was hoping "they" would be wrong again. As I awoke Tuesday morning, I realized I owed "them" an apology. "They" had hit it perfectly. Actually, "they" were a little off as the reports came in of 16" of the white stuff up high.

We're in that period of seasons where you either get out the rock skis or load the bikes and head down the hill to quench your thirst for single-tracks. Until "they" say it's gonna snow again, I'll see you on the trails.