Saddle Solution Number 4 and Other Stuff
Riding my bike has been a struggle all season. Home projects occupied most of my riding time early on in the year but when I did manage to take to the road, very seldom was I comfortable out there. I'd occasionally have a good ride but they were too few. My knees have been much sorer than ever. Tammy mentioned that maybe it was time to go back to Flanders and see if Scott could find anything wrong with my position on the bike. That thought kept coming back to me but I kept putting it off even though I was pretty certain she was right. I'd replaced my saddle three times in the last 18 months and each time I thought I'd done a good job of dialing it in but it was becoming apparent that I hadn't. I finally threw in the towel last week and loaded my bike into the back of my truck to spend a few minutes with Scott Flanders.
Scott took one look at my Brooks saddle and gave me a look that said, "really?" I was a little embarrassed but I told him it only speaks to how desperate I'd become in search of comfort. He said he hasn't liked them since the '70s when that's all there really was. I laughed and told him I was surprised at how quickly he noticed it. He said he saw it as I came through the door. He went in back and came out with three different saddles for me to consider. I chose a Turnix Pro and after installing it, he put my bike up on the trainer and I pedaled for him while he took measurements and made adjustments. Why didn't I do this earlier?
I got up after the all-night shift Thursday morning with nothing on my to-do list except ride. I worked my way northwest into a light breeze and noticed early on that I wasn't experiencing the knee pain I've become so accustomed to. Was it my position on my new saddle or the stretching I did before the ride (something I don't normally do)? Or was it prayer?
I tried not to get too ambitious out there but I wasn't very successful. I brought it home 115 miles later feeling good about nearly every aspect of the ride.
It's been so wet in the Minneapolis area the last month. Rainfall totals this past week from the gauge in our back garden were .8", .9", 2.2" and .4". I'm not complaining...yet.
We spent a day with Rachel in Rochester getting her registered at UMR. While she was getting her student I.D. card and class schedule ironed out we were going through an orientation designed to answer most of our questions, and it did.
One of the lectures we sat through talked about how college-age kids today are less likely to consider themselves adults as opposed to how our generation felt about ourselves when we were the same age. Kids today are less likely to feel independent because their parents are only a cellphone call or text message away, making their independence more elusive to achieve. While we were listening to the speaker from the back row of the lecture hall Rachel appeared in the doorway and got our attention: "Have you seen my cellphone? ...I can't find it."
We had no argument with what the lecturer was saying.
It was a Toy Story weekend for me. Rachel has already seen the new one and it was because of her enthusiasm that I figured it was time I got up to speed. I took over control of our Netflix queue and watched the first two shows on my days off. Rachel and Tammy joined me for Toy Story 2 last night and when we finished at 11:30, I wondered if either of them would be up for a late-night showing of the new one. They were both all-in but a quick check online showed that we were about two hours too late.
Yeah, I know the target audience is much younger than my age but the shows kept me entertained. I commented that I'd like to get a Buzz Lightyear and Woody doll for the shelves in our entertainment center in the basement. They both thought I was kidding.
Scott took one look at my Brooks saddle and gave me a look that said, "really?" I was a little embarrassed but I told him it only speaks to how desperate I'd become in search of comfort. He said he hasn't liked them since the '70s when that's all there really was. I laughed and told him I was surprised at how quickly he noticed it. He said he saw it as I came through the door. He went in back and came out with three different saddles for me to consider. I chose a Turnix Pro and after installing it, he put my bike up on the trainer and I pedaled for him while he took measurements and made adjustments. Why didn't I do this earlier?
I got up after the all-night shift Thursday morning with nothing on my to-do list except ride. I worked my way northwest into a light breeze and noticed early on that I wasn't experiencing the knee pain I've become so accustomed to. Was it my position on my new saddle or the stretching I did before the ride (something I don't normally do)? Or was it prayer?I tried not to get too ambitious out there but I wasn't very successful. I brought it home 115 miles later feeling good about nearly every aspect of the ride.
It's been so wet in the Minneapolis area the last month. Rainfall totals this past week from the gauge in our back garden were .8", .9", 2.2" and .4". I'm not complaining...yet.
We spent a day with Rachel in Rochester getting her registered at UMR. While she was getting her student I.D. card and class schedule ironed out we were going through an orientation designed to answer most of our questions, and it did.
One of the lectures we sat through talked about how college-age kids today are less likely to consider themselves adults as opposed to how our generation felt about ourselves when we were the same age. Kids today are less likely to feel independent because their parents are only a cellphone call or text message away, making their independence more elusive to achieve. While we were listening to the speaker from the back row of the lecture hall Rachel appeared in the doorway and got our attention: "Have you seen my cellphone? ...I can't find it."
We had no argument with what the lecturer was saying.
It was a Toy Story weekend for me. Rachel has already seen the new one and it was because of her enthusiasm that I figured it was time I got up to speed. I took over control of our Netflix queue and watched the first two shows on my days off. Rachel and Tammy joined me for Toy Story 2 last night and when we finished at 11:30, I wondered if either of them would be up for a late-night showing of the new one. They were both all-in but a quick check online showed that we were about two hours too late.
Yeah, I know the target audience is much younger than my age but the shows kept me entertained. I commented that I'd like to get a Buzz Lightyear and Woody doll for the shelves in our entertainment center in the basement. They both thought I was kidding.
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