Skierchickie - I was in the similar boat like you were. I had the Bontrager Affinity. When I first started cycling nearly two years ago, I had the Terry Butterfly Ti with the cutout on it. It was comfortable for a long while, but then when I started to change my bike into a little more aggressive position (raising the seat, lowering the handlebars, etc), sitting on the saddle seems to get more uncomfortable. It seems that when I'm in more upright, the saddle is perfect, but once I go in the drops or more tight position, my sit bones seems to kind of slide off to the side slightly.

After a long while, I decided that it's time to start saddle trials. Bontrager was the first I tried. It wasn't bad. Felt comfortable for certain amount of time, then I start to fidget. The width of the saddle was perfect. After a few more rides, I realized that the sides of it is a little too sharp for me (got a big butt), and the indentation on the back part was bothering me really bad. Returned the saddle and now I'm testing the SI Diva. In a small way, I wished I did the research before buying because it turned out to be a lot more money at the LBS than online...however, this LBS has given me so much free service (free adjustments, free fitting, and little free stuff) even though I didn't buy the bike from them. So, I think it's fair.

When I sat on it for the first time, I was already SO comfortable! I'm looking forward for my first ride with it tomorrow. Did you ever think about trying Selle Italia Lady Gel Flow (cutouts), or the Diva? A few of my women cycling friends swears on Selle Italia's products...and they're long distance cyclists.

I'm hoping that the money that I shelled out on this saddle will be worth it and thousands of miles...and for my first century.

Good luck!