Odd Days: Saddle Sores

I've been the victim of a hoax! I think.

First some history. I've been riding a bike for some 53 (ACK!) years. When I rode Ride the Rockies two years ago, my bike seat was the same one I'd had for several decades. During those decades, I watched Durf purchase a new saddle each time the technology improved. Nowadays, bike seats for guys have a giant hole in the middle so they can still have children after riding their bikes.

For quite a long time, it seemed as though saddle innovators ignored female anatomy. I mean, I could have used one of those giant holes, too. Not so much so that I could have children, but so that I could shower afterward without screaming in pain.

After Ride the Rockies (five long days of mountain climbing on a bike with a 30 year old seat), I decided to do a little research into high tech bike seats for women. And indeed it would appear that changes have been made. I googlized the subject to death, narrowed the search to a couple of seats and finally selected a highly rated one. A self-described superstar female rider gave the seat high praise with these words, "This is the perfect saddle - protection and comfort without being too squishy." And there's the rub, if you will.

I bought the seat. The good news is that I don't scream in the shower anymore. Nope, the pain has shifted back to my sit bones. The seat is so damn hard that I walk like Grandpappy Amos when I first get off the bike. And then it's a good 36 hours before I can sit in a chair. As I was pacing yesterday, waiting for the pain to subside, I was thinking about that reviewer. It was probably some redneck pickup truck driver trying to clear the road of pesky female bike riders. I've been had.