Back in the Saddle Again

Metaphorical

No longer feeling neglected.

After the whole scare with Angelia's legs at the start of this month, her activity level seriously dropped off (for good reason).  A bout with bronchitis after that sure didn't help.  She still managed to do the swim leg of our family relay at the Classic Rock Sprint Triathlon which was great, but running and biking put more stress on the leg.  Her first attempt to run was a real struggle and she clearly needed more time to get well.  By this point, the fact that one leg was still sluggish was getting worrisome.  There was a new bike in the garage with some custom wheels added on Mother's Day that still hadn't been out for a ride.  Nearly 3 weeks later, after the Buffalo Creek Kids Tri, she ventured out on the inaugural ride of the Specialized Ruby with Julian and Jessica.  The ride went well and there were no problems with the leg even when needing to power into the wind.  This was a good sign!  Four days later she got up for an early morning run, ran about 3mi, and even though the pace was slower she was grinning from ear to ear.  Yep ....... she's back in the saddle again!

Literal

Out with the old ....

.... and in with the new.

When I got my road bike about a year-and-a-half ago one of the first things I knew needed changing was the saddle.  I tried a bunch of saddles and eventually settled on the Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow.  That was not a cheap saddle by any stretch but it just felt right so I went with it.  Recently, I've become more and more aware that it just isn't as comfortable as it used to be.  I don't think it's the saddle though - I think it's me.  I spend a lot more time riding in more aggressive positions than I did when I first started.  Throw in the physiology changes from weight loss and general fitness and I just require something different from my saddle now.  So it's back to testing out saddles but I'm hoping this will be simpler this time around.  I'm starting with the Specialized Romin which is a saddle I almost got originally.  I made a mental note at the time that when I was in the market again I would give it another try.  I installed it the other night but it didn't get a full test as I had high cadence trainer intervals on the agenda.  The next day has some tough intervals on the road and then there's the race-pace group ride on Saturday.  If I still like it then, I'll stick with it.  Even in the short workout last night I could tell the difference in some areas.  It's definitely a harder saddle than the Flite but I was feeling it primarily on the sit bones which is what you want.  There was more relief for the perineal artery (my primary pain point) and the less bulky nose of the saddle was an appreciated feature too.