It's a Keeper

 At my last post I told you that I was waiting for the arrival of my new "moonsaddle". It is a new type of saddle without a nose and is supposed to be less stressful on the nerves in the groin area to prevent numbness and long term damage. Now I've been able to put over 125 miles on it, including a 45 mile ride. It's official; I like it and am going to keep the saddle.

It took me almost two weeks to decide to keep it because it does take a while to get used to. Because the saddle doesn't have a nose it destabilizes the bike a bit. I didn't realize how much I depended upon the traditional saddle nose to help keep the bike stable.  It requires some minor adjustments to find other ways to stabilize the bike and when you do the saddle works just fine. As promised, the saddle is much easier on the groin area. No more numbness and soreness. Without the nose on the saddle my legs are more free to move and power the bike. If you're interested, go to moonsaddle.com and check it out. It's a little bit different sensation for a saddle but it's worth the adjustment.

I also snapped a couple pics of the aerobars I put on the bike in preparation for the Ride Across Indiana in July. So far they offer a nice alternative position on the bike during a long ride. I just signed up for the Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in Winona Lake over the weekend of May 19. I'm going to see if I can get a century in.

I'm closing in on 1100 miles for the year and am feeling strong for this time of the year. Nan continues to ride with me about twice a week (I ride her pace) and she is definitely getting stronger. I'll continue to keep you in touch as the riding season progresses.

I ran across my little buddy on another website. Couldn't resist to include a picture of him. What do you think?

2012 so far

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted since the last day of 2011. A lot has happened since then relative to my cycling adventures. Here are some of the highlights:

• I just passed the 800 mile mark for 2012 thanks to the record setting warm month of March. UNBELIEVABLE! Of course, last year at this time I had almost 1800 miles on the bike and was in eastern New Mexico one year ago today.
• I tuned up my bike by replacing a damaged front rim and chain due to almost 7000 miles on my "new" bike that is just 16 months old.
• I have scheduled several century rides for the summer that includes:
• The Fat and Skinny Tire Festival in Winona Lake May18
• The Pumpkinvine Ride in Goshen, Shipshewana on June 16
• The 160 mile long one day Ride Across Indiana on July 21. My good friend Joe D. is going to ride with me and our wives will provide sag support along the way and then we will spend the night at my sister-in-law's and mother-in-law's places at the finish destination in Richmond, IN.
• On August 5 we ( my wife Nan will be joining me on several of these rides on our tandem and her new bike) will be over in Howe, IN for the Amishland ride.
• And then on Labor Day weekend Saturday we will ride in the Blueberry Festival Bike Cruise in Plymouth, IN.
• I'm still looking for a good October ride.
• I am most excited that I was able to talk Nan into getting bike for herself so she can start getting conditioned to join me on several of these rides. With the help of The Spin Zone bike shop, we purchased another Cannondale Synapse for her. The major difference between her bike and mine (also a Synapse) is that mine is an all carbon frame and hers is primarily aluminum with an all carbon front fork. It's really a nice bike and the techs spent a lot of time getting her properly fitted to it. We are in the process of outfitting it with a speedometer, water bottle cage, etc. One of the more interesting purchases we made were "moon saddles" (see moonsaddle.com). These are quite different ergonomically designed saddles that do not have the traditional horn or nose that a typical bike saddle has (see the picture below). They are very well reviewed and are supposed to eliminate the typical pain that accompanies distance cycling. It is a very weird looking saddle and I can't wait to try it out. I will probably let you know what I think of it when I've had a chance to put some long miles on it. Also, to work toward greater comfort and aerodynamic positioning for the Ride Across Indiana I installed a set of aerobars on my bike. This will allow me to ride in a more comfortable down position which will come in real handy when trying to cover 160 miles in one day. So far I have been very pleased with the results.