March 14, 2012 – I finally had enough money to go buy my first road bike. And of course, I skipped over the usual “entry-level” ride and purchased my cycling pride and joy, a Felt ZW5. A carbon and jade-colored dream, I dubbed her Electric Dream Machine (or EDM for short). I was at the shop for something like an hour with a completely ridiculous smile on my face. I went the whole nine yards and got cycling shoes and pedals too (SPDs).
I took her out for a 50 mile ride within a week or so of taking delivery and was still relatively new to clipless pedals. I managed to fall. You can read about it in my archives. But I also remember mentioning to my fellow Sturdy Girls that my seat was starting to hurt my sit-bones. After a short round of Q&A, we determined I probably just needed to break in my seat. If it still hurt after a few months, I should think about a new saddle.
Well, we’re almost a year later and I think I’ve put in enough suffering to decide I need a new saddle. Once I get beyond about 30 or 40 miles (sometimes as little as 25) I can tell that my sit bones are on the outside edge of the seat. On my first century last fall, the last 7 miles or so were agony as soft-tissue swelling started to make itself apparent. Not as bad as the time I rode 53 miles on a men’s race saddle (that was four days of swelling and pain), but really there’s no reason for this kind of pain on a bike.
As a cyclist who has managed to keep my base miles around 40-50 this winter, that’s a lot of sore butt.
Stay tuned for more on this riveting topic – keeping your butt happy on the road. And please – if you have a suggestion or wisdom to impart, please comment below!
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In other news, I am pleased to announce the newest addition to my bicycle family! She’s a 1988 Peugeot Versailles 12-speed I have dubbed Lady Rainicorn. She’s going in for an overhaul, chrome fenders, a rack and lights next week.
(I’m really sorry to everyone who follows me on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter … recycling this news for the masses. )
wife. mother. awesome girl. 
This is cheap and despite the low profile, surprisingly comfortable. I use it for cross racing. I haven’t put more than 50 miles at a time on it so I can’t speak to super long distances, but I think the reviews are positive for that as well.
http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_526964_-1___202449
Thanks for the tip! It looks pretty narrow. I think I currently have a mid-width and that’s just a touch too small. Think I may need to go to wide (but not cruiser-wide).
my road saddle is wider, but this one is so nice I may be replacing it with this one. I think I’m just used to the smaller saddles now–and that’s a new development for me
I used to ride on rather expensive handmade Italian racing saddles, but now I have an inexpensive Planet Bike ARS Saddle on all five of my bikes. I posted a review of them at: http://wp.me/p1sFbY-EO
Good luck find a saddle you love!
Thank you for the tip! I’ve been looking at endurance/touring saddles because come cycling season I have several century+ rides planned. This looks like it could be very comfortable.
Love the Peugeot! I have dreams of doing up an old steel steed :-)))
Thank you! I’m excited to give it a go!
That is a great picture. Thanks for sharing it. My first bike for touring was a Peugeot from 1984. I rode all over the streets of Portland and multiple tours to the San Juan Islands.
Thanks. The bike is very light so there’s a good chance she will become my go-to bike for commuting and weekend jaunts.
Can’t wait to see the Peugeot after it’s all done up, looks great already! Good luck finding a saddle you can really ride with. I had a similar issue, however, after a bit of time I think my “sit-bones” have finally gotten accustomed to it 🙂
Thank you – I’m so excited about the new ride!
re: saddles. Really it just needs to be a bit wider. I should measure my current seat and do a home measure of my sit bones before venturing out. Have a 50-60mi ride planned this weekend – would love to not be sore at the end. 🙂