Day 27 - Ride to the Middle of Nowhere, Saddles and Pads


26th April 2018

 Tonight we are at a very nice campsite beside a fishing lake, a very peaceful spot.  



Today's ride crossed the Seine and past the very attractive Chateau Chaussy.  Jacqui and Ivan had a tougher time, encountering the dreaded "route barre" in the middle of Dreux.  In true French fashion there was a deviation sign, and then no more.  The satnav was apoplectic, but after some dicey negotiation of some very narrow streets  Ivan was eventually brought to the far side of town. 



Whilst riding along, lots of fairly random thoughts come into my mind.  Today I got onto thinking about saddles.  To non cyclists the skinny saddles on road bikes look like instruments of torture.  There is a reason they are like that and it isn't really about saving weight, they are actually more comfortable than the big, bulky, spongy things you see on less sporty bikes.  The key is to have a well made pad built into your cycling shorts.  This works much better.  Now, I'm not saying the undercarriage is blissfully cosseted over a long ride.  For about 20 miles all is good.  Then things start to ache and rub a little.  It can help to get off and readjust but this is at the risk, for men, of ending up sitting on dangly bits which are better not sat on.  The other tactic is to get out of the saddle to pedal standing up, 20 seconds of this has you gasping but on sitting down you are comfy again, for the next 10 seconds.  So far I have managed to avoid the dreaded saddle sore and am still able to sit down to enjoy a beer of an evening.

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