July riding

[north woods gal]

Surprised to hear that on the road comparison, but probably shouldn't be, given the widely held belief that our infrastructure in this country is a mess.

I do understand the importance of the right seat and seat position for road biking and my sympathies for those suffering from associated problems. It is a big deal, given that so much riding time is from a fully seated position. Has always been one of the many issues of trying to make road bikes that are designed for men fit me, properly. On most bikes, the factory supplied seat is the first thing to go on a road bike.

Interestingly, though, now that I do so much trail biking, the seat issue is almost non-existent for me, to the point of just going with a minimal seat to keep it out of the way and, yes, for some tech riding, the seat just gets in the way. Even thinking of adding a dropper post on one of the bikes for just that reason. Given that most of my trail bikes are rigid with no suspension at all, I spend a lot of time up off the seat, standing on the pedals, knees flexed, acting as shock absorbers. Even when seated, a lot of seat time is with only light pressure on the seat. I also move forward and back on the seat a lot as I climb or descend. In other words, I'm not fully seated long enough to develop chaffing and so on.

Of course, there are a lot of other issues and risks with serious MTB riding and I do have plenty of scars and bruises to prove it. Bruised a knuckle, today, when I cut too close to a tree during a tight turn. Ouch! Oh, well, no free lunch with any kind of serious riding. Anyway, best of luck in your search for that ideal seat, NY.

Steady rain, today, but mostly the light stuff, so rode my trails in the rain. Not unpleasant, though, given the nice temps. Used my fat bike with the biggest footprint to keep trail damage, down, but no problem at all riding through some flooded areas, though it really helps to know the trails. No way would I ride through a swamp, otherwise.