Tails from the Saddle: saddling up with your butt for the long haul

Good write up and pointers. Thanks. One thing that I tell people is that the saddle that is good to you for 8 hours might turn into a rabid snarling chihuahua after 10.

Last year on the TD route, I got waylaid on day 3 by a heat rash. not a saddle sore, but a rash right through the middle. TMI perhaps, but it must be described. It was like sitting on fire even in cool water.

When I got home, I did a post mortem analysis. I was demoralized like you couldn't imagine but was determined to learn from my misfortunes. The analysis showed me a couple of things that you have already mentioned.
- The importance of keeping things as dry and cool as possible.
- The importance of keeping chamois clean and dry. Something that I neglected and paid the price for it.

On day 1, I could feel sweat trickling down my back so on day 2, I tucked a small teri cloth rag right at the top of my waistline. Salty sweat accumulating in the nether areas can come back to haunt you. Especially after 12+ hours. If you do wear a backpack, tuck a rag back there at the waistline to catch the sweat. It works great.

I also investigated 2 other strategies. NO CHAMOIS... and Leather saddles with a center slot.

With a leather saddle, adjustment and break in is very important. My Brooks B-17 Imperial which is great on my road bike is a bit misadjusted on our tandem. I'm tweaking it a bit here and there to get it dialed in better but it is still great for a 55 mile ride. Many leather saddles can also be laced in different ways to adjust tension and countouring which I like. Break in applies to the saddle and your back side. It does take a bit top get toughened up to ride them long distances.

There was a time when I would have considered not having a padded bibs or shorts blasphemy. Now, my sit bones have broken in my leather saddles just right and I am very comfortable.
IMHO, some of the benefits of non padded shorts.
- 3 of my lycra shorts weigh the same as my old preferred bib shorts.
- My lycra shorts take up less room and can be used to pad other items in bike bags.
- The Lycra shorts dry very quickly after being washed.
- Lycra shorts dry quickly even while being worn.
- Airflow. When riding, I will stand out of the saddle and I can feel things cooling off.

My strategies aren't for everyone, but they work for me.