The Bush, the Bike and the Search for Saddle Nirvana

[Kat]

Part 1

Link to photos

Late last Sunday evening the call came through. Someone was calling in sick and my partner would be travelling to a nearby regional town to work on Tuesday. Fortunately for me, that regional town happens to be the trailhead of a rail trail and the perfect spot for a bike ride. So we packed the work suitcase and the bike and set off on Monday night. 

On Tuesday morning I rolled out just before 7am. The morning was cool and misty. Within ten minutes I had acquired breakfast from the town bakery and hit the rail trail. 

The South Burnett rail trail runs for 80km through beautiful Wakka Wakka country. The first 40km, to Murgon, is paved, and my goal for the day was to get to Murgon and back to where I started, Kingaroy. After Murgon, the trail becomes dirt and continues another 40km to Kilkivan. It’s been open since 2017 following the success of the hugely popular Brisbane Valley Rail Trail which is slightly further south. 

Rolling out of town, I was surrounded by dog walkers, kids on their way to school, and joggers. After a few kilometres the general traffic faded away and the trail whisked me away from town and through gently rolling farmland. I was soon at the first town on the trail, Crawford, which was really not more than a school and a few houses. I passed through a few other small towns and ate my bakery breakfast in the old Wooroolin train station which had been converted to a shelter. 

This ride was the first really long ride that Jo (Appaloosa) and I were doing together. Our longest previous ride was 30km in a day, so 80km would be a real test of our relationship. I would also be testing out the new B67, which had proved comfortable around town, and was partially broken in already due to accidentally leaving it out in the rain to get soaked on its maiden voyage. But how would we fare for multiple hours? 

I tried adjusting the saddle angle a few times along the way. I’d started with it tilted quite far upwards but by 22km in this was feeling less than ideal. At Tingoora I adjusted it to be almost level which also felt wrong and I had the classic “falling forward” sensation. After 8km, which was luckily all downhill, I made it to Wondai, which is one of the largest towns along the trail. I bummed around in the park here for almost an hour, fiddling with the saddle angle again and trying to decide whether I should press on to Murgon. It was still pretty early in the day but I was feeling a bit saddle sore already. And there was the fact that I had lost 200m of elevation, which would need to be regained on the way back, and would lose more by continuing to Murgon. Being a rail trail, the gradients were very gentle (between 1 – 3%) but it was all uphill on the way home. 

At last I decided I would continue, having found an acceptable saddle angle (crazy how much difference 1mm this way or that can make) and the fact that I didn’t have any prospect of rescue until 4pm when my partner finished work. I was glad that I did, because the Wondai-Murgon section was my favourite part of the trail. The day was overcast, cool and lightly sprinkling rain. I was the only one on the trail, accompanied only by butterflies and the sweet smell of eucalyptus. 

[Kat]

At my self imposed turn around time of 11am I made it to the weir, just a few kilometres outside the town of Murgon. As you can see the creek was flooding from the recent rains – only ankle depth, and not impassable by any means, but I decided it was a good sign to turn around. 

So began the long slog uphill back home. As any cyclist can tell you, there is a huge difference between 0% and 1 or 2% (and there is often also a huge difference between 0% and 0%!). My legs were getting pretty sore and I had to have an emergency caffeine and chips fix when I got back to Wondai. I climbed and climbed, with lots of breaks to rest along the way. Many times I considered lying down and waiting for rescue, but after a long long while I finally made it back to Kingaroy, very sore but triumphant!

According to Strava I did 78.8km in 5 hrs and 19 minutes of moving time, with 291m of elevation gain, which is my longest ride ever!

The ride was good fun, in a beautiful part of the world, and perfect weather. However I certainly was in a lot of pain by the end, both muscle pain from general lack of fitness and saddle sores. I think there’s several reasons for this – inappropriate underwear (merino, but with seams in the wrong locations), riding the first 30km with the wrong saddle angle, the new B67 not being quite broken in yet, and… I think my bars are too high! I love the bolt upright position around town but on a longer ride I did find myself wishing to be lower and slightly further forward. 

So from here I have a few plans. I don’t want to resort to chamois yet – I don’t have anything against it for longer rides but I want to fix any fit issues first. I know riding long distances without one is possible because I’ve done 70km before on my old Flyer in regular shorts. I also think my saddle may actually be slightly too high – I’m going to take some measurements over the weekend. I’ve learned my lesson to not ride long distances in seamed underwear. And finally, a Chocomoose bar is in the mail from Blue Lug. I love my Boscos but I’m keen to try something with less rise and a few more forward positions. 

The search for saddle nirvana continues. Fellow women riders, I would be keen to hear your thoughts on non-chamois underwear on longer rides. What are you wearing? Should I just order some padded shorts? Or do I need to suck it up and put a few more miles into the B67 until it’s properly broken in?

Thanks,

Kathryn

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Kathryn, I was wondering how you and your Appa were getting along! 78k is very good, and that is a long stretch for breaking in a new saddle. But well done! 

I ride a B68m which is essentially the same as your new saddle, but without springs, so I think my experiences pertain. I mostly don’t have a break in period on my saddles. The B17, yes, but not the B68. But I have had a little saddle soreness from not having the saddle positioned just right, but once I got that sorted, I never had another problem. I do not wear chamois or padded shorts and never have. I own none. I was gifted a pair by a woman who works at Terry and felt like I had diaper butt, so I gave them away. 

I put my saddle almost totally level, with the nose only barely, barely tipped up. I don’t feel like I’m falling forward then. As far as underwear, I haven’t had too much issue with seams. But if I do have an issue with seams it’s because of pants - jeans come to mind. But I would never ride a long distance in jeans, just around town stuff. For 40 mile rides I’d choose leggings/unpadded bike shorts and NO underwear. If you want underwear recommendation, I have been loving PACT organic cotton underwear because their seams are SO MINIMAL. Great for riding and also not having panty lines. (The guys aren’t reading this… Are they reading this? Stop reading this, guys!)

Bars. I just got my first pair of Choco bars on my Charlie and I’m really liking them. I used to ride Boscos but I did not find them aggressive enough. Like you, I thought it felt great to be bolt upright, but as I got faster and rode longer those bars put me in position to sit too much on my butt. I felt like I wanted to lean forward and like I would be generating more power if I could. I also love an albatross and a Billie bar. 

Leah

[Patrick Moore]

Congrats for seeing it through on the 50-miler. That’s ~13 or so miles more than I’ve ridden at one go in the last few years.* And thanks for very interesting photos — different part of the world! I had to Google Wakka Wakka County and Murgon; distances in Australia make even New Mexico, USA distances look short!

Someone with more ambition and a stronger work ethic than I have should compile a RBW list folder of “foreign” cycling landscapes with accompanying bicycles.

I’ll be interested to learn what you do to perfect the fit of the B 67.

*In my defense, 27 years ago, commissioning my second of 3 and now only remaining Riv road custom from Grant, I told him apologetically, “30 miles is a long ride.” He said, “It is a long ride!” And I ride mostly fixed gears; the custom is a fixed gear.

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[Dan]

Hi Kat,

Thank you for sharing your ride report and photos of your lovely part of Australia! I thoroughly enjoy reading people's experiences of their bikes and the adventures they get on. With photos of course.

I echo Leah's comments that for me it is about having pants with no seams or rear pockets rather than padded shorts. I use some cheap MTB shorts for now, but I'd prefer to find something that looked a bit more 'normal'. Hmm.

How do you find doing long rides with a basket on your Appaloosa? I see you are a fellow Frameworks Designs enjoyer. I have the same bag on my Appaloosa - see photo from a recent overnighter below. I think the bags are extremely well thought out and made. I regularly get compliments when I carry the bag around off the bike. Nice one!

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Dan, oh how I know. Normal pants, yes. I like leggings for long club rides but not for regular stuff. Someone turned me on to these pants and I think they come in shorts, too. I got the women’s, here are the men’s:

https://topodesigns.com/products/desert-pants-mens?variant=44185958285365

https://topodesigns.com/products/dirt-pants-mens?variant=44368985227317

REI has a couple other options, too. But I thought these were so interesting because they were organic cotton and not synthetic. 

Leah

[Daniel Grilli]

Thanks for the recommendation Leah. They look great. How do the rear pockets go in terms of saddle comfort on a longer ride?

Regards,

Daniel

6/4/2025 11:48、Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com>のメール:

Dan, oh how I know. Normal pants, yes. I like leggings for long club rides but not for regular stuff. Someone turned me on to these pants and I think they come in shorts, too. I got the women’s, here are the men’s:

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[Leah Peterson]

I only discovered them a few months ago, of course when riding season was ending. But I haven’t noticed a thing about those rear pockets on any of my rides so far. Someone on this List recommended them so I’m assuming they would work great for long rides. They are half off on Back Country right now…I just got a second pair ordered yesterday…

On Apr 6, 2025, at 2:42 AM, Daniel Grilli <gril...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for the recommendation Leah. They look great. How do the rear pockets go in terms of saddle comfort on a longer ride?

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[Cormac O'Keeffe]

I have two pairs of the Topo Design trousers. They're okay, but the pockets are angled in such a way when that sitting down, objects can easily fall put. Or pehaps that's just me.

[Kat]

Thanks for all the clothing suggestions everyone! I was wearing my Rapha Randonnee shorts on this ride, which I wear regularly including long(er) rides without issue - hence why I think it was the underwear rather than the pants causing issues. I have a few things to try out now - I too am trying to avoid synthetics in my clothing which seems to get harder and harder all the time.

Patrick - any ride on a fixed gear is longer than I've done! You must have strong legs.

Dan - I love my Haul All, I waited a year I think for it to be back in stock. It's a bit overkill for just around town but great for shopping and trips. We're lucky to have some really cool bag makers in Aus. I like having a front load, it's just what I'm used to I guess.

I am off on my first camping trip with Jo tomorrow - now we've done a long ride, it's time for a loaded ride! I will report back on saddle comforts and discomforts.

Kathryn

[Patrick Moore]

+ 1 for Rapha Randonee shorts. Mine have been very comfortable sans padding and show no wear after many miles and years.

Please continue sharing your photos.

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