Not because I didn't want to bike more often, but because every ride would be followed by inevitable days-long soreness from an hour or two spent in the saddle.
Ever since I was little, riding my blue Giant mountain bike with my family on forest trails in the Czech Republic, I'd complain, if not outright cry, that it hurt and burned to sit or squat after a ride. I was told bike saddles just aren't all that comfortable. My stepmom and I were experiencing the same issues, sore for days, which only added to the impression that pain is an inherent part of cycling.
So I went with it. As a woman, I've been curled up in pain every 28 days since my teenage years; the postride crotch pain wasn't that bad in comparison. For how infrequent my rides were, it was what it was.
Once I became an editor at Bicycling, I started finding myself in a saddleand sore-more frequently. Yet I didn't even comment on how uncomfortable the saddles of the bikes I rode and tested were anymore. No amount of adjustmentsmoving it up and down, or shifting it back and forth-would alleviate the pain they caused. I concluded that we were all together in this suffering for the things we love to do.
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Denne historien er fra Fall 2024-utgaven av Bicycling US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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ONE MAN'S OBSESSIVE CRUSADE TO Take Down Zwift Cheats
Indoor cycling and virtual racing are booming, and so are the ranks of digital dopers abusing the platforms.
WHAT I LEARNED WHEN LOST IT ON A MOUNTAIN BIKE
A lifelong roadie tries singletrack for the first time. It did not go as planned.
THE UNLIKELY HERO WHO RECOVERED OVER 200 STOLEN BIKES IN ONE AMERICAN CITY
It was a sunny day in the summer of 2022. There were some things I had to move into the house, so I left the garage door open. I was gone less than 15 minutes.
YOU CAN BE MORE THAN JUST A CYCLIST
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A LOVE FOR SPORTS, starting with the usual team ones such as football and baseball. But that faded in favor of more individual pursuits. Watching my dad roll down the driveway to go for a ride, I wanted to do the same. The bike was my first taste of freedom, a freedom to do it my way.
THE RIGHT SADDLE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
UP UNTIL RECENTLY, I WAS, AT BEST, A TWICEa-month cyclist.
HOW TO SAY GOODBYE TO THE RIDER YOU USED TO BE
CYCLISTS OF ALL LEVELS GO THROUGH various phases or eras over the years they spend in the saddle. For the vast majority of riders (myself included), these things happen privately, without fanfare.
BIKES MAKE THE WORLD A MORE INCLUSIVE PLACE
LIFE'S A BEAUTIFUL PUZZLE THAT COMES in all sorts of shapes, colors, and sizes.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD CYCLING SCENE, ANYWAY?
I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF INVOLVING myself in a few populous and dramatically different cycling communities.
CHOOSE GEAR THAT INSPIRES YOU TO HAVE FUN E
EVEN THOUGH I TEST LOADS OF CYCLING gear for a living, sometimes I get locked in on particular items and find it difficult to enjoy competing products, even if those products have obvious advantages.
WHY YOU DESERVE A CUSTOM BIKE
Custom. The word evokes passionate opinions about what constitutes a custom-made bike and who gets to ride one. There's this idea that they're wildly expensive pieces of functional art meant only for the fittest, fastest riders.
