I would have been unable to ride a mile yesterday, being wiped out from my booster jab on Tuesday. But I seemed to have recovered quite nicely when I woke up this morning and I had the day off work, so I decided to have a go at the December Fondo. I chose the time-honoured eastbound route to Eastwell, despite a light wind coming from the west. I estimated that the headwind on the way back would be less strenuous than the hills south of Melbourne on the westbound route (and it wasn’t bad at all, as things turned out).
Definitely wanted an easy bike today and conditions were eminently dry, so I was going to take the Cannondale. But when I opened the garage door I noticed that the Planet X had two frame packs attached already. So I decided to take that, out of sheer idleness.
Last time I was out on it I noticed that the saddle was quite uncomfortable, and when I got back to the garage I noticed that it had tilted up a bit at the front. It’s a single bolt design and had worked itself backwards a bit. I adjusted it back to the proper inclination and thought no more of it.
It was very comfy when I set off today, but 15 miles later it definitely wasn’t. I got off and inspected it near Cotes, and sure enough it had worked itself back to a rather uncomfortable angle. I didn’t have an Allen key on me but out of sheer bloody-mindedness I decided to keep on anyway. I had broken my own rule of never doing a long ride on a bike that’s just been adjusted. And it cost me dear. The rest of the ride was decidedly uncomfortable and the last 20 or so especially were an ordeal.
I shouldn’t really have done this. An ill-adjusted saddle can do all sorts of mischief to your nether regions, including compromising your sexual health. I’m not, I reluctantly admit, much given or sought after for Hunnish practices these days but I shall seek an opportunity to test the reproductive equipment later. I confess it doesn’t stay up as long as it did when I was younger, but I could dig potatoes with it on a good day. Briefly.
Apart from having my perineum ravaged that was quite an enjoyable ride, or it would have been. But I’m happy to have got the complete set of monthly Fondos for 2021. That was the 27th Fondo this year, five of them being 100+ milers.
Back on 62.43. 146 this month, 4896 this year.