21 Jan 2016

Fussy Bottoms


My latest bike came with this hard plastic saddle, which didn't quite agree with me.  The pain would set in after about an hour into the ride, and cause considerable discomfort.

I bore with it for about a month, thinking I would get used to it, but that never happened.
Son No 1 then gave me the saddle above, one he had bought but turned out to be painful for him.  Also a plastic one, I tried it for another month, but my bum said no.

So I removed my 20 year old leather saddle from another bike and put it on my new one.
As you can see, it's nicely curved from years of use.  Riding it is like sitting on a hammock.
It's contoured itself to fit me beautifully.
We've been having a strange summer.  After the hot days and that terrible bushfire, we've had a cool change and a run of 25°C days; it's been almost spring-like.

So two days ago, I took the opportunity of this wonderfully cool weather to take a ride to the city, on my new old saddle, to have my first look at the new waterfront development called Elizabeth Quay, due to be opened in a week or two.

You can view a map of my ride by clicking the link in the right hand column.

On reaching it, I found that it was still fenced off, still a construction site and this was the closest I could get to it.
I'm afraid the photo doesn't show very much.  The development is currently that forest of streetlights and those two arches which support a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the water.

Previously, that patch of land was public open space.  Now there will be more tall buildings, restaurants and cafes.   A change for the better?  I wonder.

I aimed my iPhone around and took these 2 shots around me.
That patch of development looked somewhat like this before.

And the flag tells me I will have a headwind on the way home.

A view of South Perth before I leave.
Lastly, I'd like to add that for all of the 46km ride, and for nearly 2.5 hours it took me, my bum was in bliss.

(Incidentally, in Strava site which details my rides, my account is under one of my many 'net pseudonyms - Nat Hopnoo.  Those who have known me for a very long time may like to hazard a guess as to why I chose that name.)







12 comments:

  1. They have still not designed a bicycle seat for people suffering from piles like myself. I gave up cycling many years ago because of that. Your old friends can easily figure out what "Nat Hopnoo" means by simply reading it backwards. Elementary, my dear Arthur.

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    1. A saddle like this might be usseful: https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/05/4Z8A6525.jpg

      A more difficult pseudonym to figure out is this one that I use: Andy Plume. Why do I use that name?

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    2. Why Andy Plume? Hmm, that's a tough question. The only well-known "Andy" I know is the cartoon character "Andy Capp" (mispronunciation of "Handicap"). It seems that Ozzies also associate "Plumes" with something on the hat or cap. Maybe Andy Capp is your favourite cartoon character. So my wild guess is that "Andy Plume" is your version of "Andy Capp". Do I get any marks for imagination even if it is wrong?

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    3. No, nothing like that. I'll give you a clue. It's derived from the French.

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    4. My last try. "Pseudonym" in French is "nom de plume". So that's where the "plume" comes from.
      "Andy" begins with "A" as in "Arthur". Ha ha.

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    5. My clue is too good. Half right. "Pseudonym" = "nom de plume" = "n d plume" = "Andy Plume".

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    6. Very clever use of the initials n d. Should have thought of it. LOL
      BTW I have not seen the special bike seat for piles sufferers in any of the models available here in SG.
      Another reason why I have stopped cycling is that I had a bad fall from a ride many years ago and suffered an impacted neck of right femur, for which I had to have two steel rods implanted in my right femur. This gives me a phobia of falling from a bike.

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    7. You know what they say about falling off a horse - get right back up again. Anyway, the saddle's not specifically meant for pile sufferers, just a design meant for general crotch comfort. Won't come cheap.

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  2. Waterfront looks so beautiful - wish I could hop over to Perth some day.

    The saddles sure don;t look like the ones I used to know...in the 50s and 60's. Have not cycled for so long, dunno if I can still do it or not...

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    1. Fares are cheaper these days. Come over, but I'm not an expert at good places to eat! Yes most people give up cycling in adulthood. But you can easily pick it up again; just go at your own pace.

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  3. You're really good considering that you can tahan for 1 hour. When I used to cycle long time ago, I couldn't even manage 30 mins before the pain sets in. I used 1 of those gel seat covers which helped considerably.

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    1. I think I'm used to it, as I've been cycling almost all my life. In Singapore and in Perth, I cycled to work almost every day. Only stopped for about 10 years in retirement - bad mistake, shouldn't have done that. Maybe I'll need such a seat cover, thanks for the suggestion.

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