I am planning to take a long bike tour this summer, Vancouver to Mexico. I find biking more than 30-40km becomes quite uncomfortable. I am trying to decide what shorts are the best for long rides yet are not too pricey. Are the gel pads the way to go?? As for saddles, i am thinking that my saddle may not be best suited for touring. My saddle is a Selle Royal Wing, it came with my 2004 cannondale R500. I've been told not to use gel covers (for long rides), and so I have not tried them. Is this the general consensus on gel covers?

Does anyone have any advice on what kind of padded shorts I should purchase for very long rides or a saddle i should change to?

Thanks for your help, I know there have been many short threads in the past, but I thought it would be best to describe my situation.

Happy adventuring!