Ride Report/Saddle Question

[pooks]

So, I did my first long-ish ride with the Camelbak Rogue this morning, and here's the report:

I love it.

I'm not sure I could tolerate warm water out of it, because it does have a plastic taste that's pretty strong when warm, but for some reason the flavor doesn't bother me when it's cold. I haven't figured out why, yet.

Which leads to -- in no time at ALL the water in the tube warms up. So my first drink is the nasty warm water. I learned to either spit out the first mouthful, or hold the tube out and "milk" out a little water before drinking. The cold water is great.

This is so superior to bottles for me. I can't drink from a bottle without stopping because of where my bottle holder is. So I end up thinking, "Hmm, kind of thirsty but don't want to stop yet," then, "Hmm, I'm getting pretty thirsty, but don't want to stop yet," and sometimes even, "I'm dying for water but I do not want to stop," which leads to stopping, drinking.

Once I stop, I immediately feel heat and fatigue I didn't feel until I stopped, and then have to start up again.

Today, as soon as I had a twinge of thirst I grabbed a sip. I ended up not drinking all that much (probably not as much as from a bottle) but was never thirsty because the water was always available.

So the Camelback is my new best friend, and I'm not even aware of it on my back -- and I hate backpacks. It's small, but the Rogue holds the equivalent of 3 bottles of water.

The other issue -- I haven't had any problems with my saddle (Velo Plush) but now I'm thinking that as I spend more time on it, I may. My tail bone has been sore today, and it never has before. I also was aware of getting sore when riding, until I shifted my position.

Question: When you're seated properly on the saddle, is the nose of the saddle supposed to be between your thighs? When my saddle was bothering me, I shifted myself farther back on the saddle so I was sitting on the very back of it, which made me up a little higher so that I actually felt the nose between the top of my thighs rather than on my girly bits. Is that the way it's supposed to be? Or does it sound like I need an adjustment?

[eclectic]

No comment on the on seat problem

But re the warm water in the tube on the camelback.
What I do is after I drink I blow into the tube forcing the water back up. Then when I need a drink it is cool water again,

Or when I forget it is a blast of warm water again

But not near as bad as an entire water bottle of warm water

[mimitabby]

your actual tailbone hurts? as in the coccyx at the end of your spine?
if your saddle fits you correctly your tail bone should never contact your
saddle, only your sitting bones, which are underneath your buttocks, one on
each side (put your hands under your butt you should feel those bones coming through ... i'm boney, maybe that's not true for everyone)

so if your tailbone is hurting something is really wrong.
and on a long ride i notice that the point of my saddle is not always DEAD CENTER between my thighs.

[KnottedYet]

Without seeing you on your bike, it's hard to know what's going on.

I agree with Mimitabby, that it sounds like something is not right.

Is the saddle too plush, and it's squishing up into your tailbone? Are you sitting too far forward? (is the seat moved too far back on the rails for the position you ride in?)

The nose should not be on your girly bits. Nothing should be on your girly bits! And yes, you should be sitting on the back, wider part of the seat. Each of your sit bones will be happiest if they are centered in each "cheek" of the wide part of your seat.

I find that when I am happily riding along I really am not aware of the nose of my seat. I just use it to help me control the bike, I don't "sit" on it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The nose should not be on your girly bits. Nothing should be on your girly bits! And yes, you should be sitting on the back, wider part of the seat. Each of your sit bones will be happiest if they are centered in each "cheek" of the wide part of your seat.

How can "nothing" be on your girly bits if you are sitting on a saddle? Are you talking about a saddle with some giant cut out? I sit mostly on my sit bones at the rear wider part of my saddle, but my vulva area is certainly on the middle flat part of my saddle. Maybe my pubicbone/clitoral area does not touch much, cause it is higher up...is that what you mean by "girly bits"? I include the vulva area in my "girly bits" definition.

[KnottedYet]

I meant not weightbearing on the girly bits. Sorry I didn't make that more clear.

She said when she scooted back on the seat she felt the nose more on the tops of the thighs rather than pressing into the girly bits. When I sat on my saddle and tried to duplicate what she described, I found that if I slid forward I ended up with the nose taking most of my weight and most of my weighbearing on my clitoris/pubic bone (with some on the tip of my coccyx). That's not the most comfortable place for me to weightbear. If I slid back to where I usually sit, I felt what she described, the weight (not necessarily contact, but actual weight) came off the girly bits and transferred to the sit bones and the wider part of the saddle, which is a much better place to weightbear in my humble opinion.

My clitoris really isn't able to bear 150 lbs. Unless it's someone very special...