Use the taint, Luke

Long day riding.

I did lots of saddle adjustments today, i hope i had a breakthough. i had the saddle too far back, and tilted rear side down too much, or nose up.

towards the end of the day, i found nose down, and saddle an inch forward, or in the middle of the seat rails was far, far better. I wasn't putting all the weight on just my sit bones anymore. Still some on the sit bones but some to my taint area, more surface area to spread the contact area out. (taint= between the dood dad and pooper, or the hoo hah and pooper for the ladies...).

Anyhoo, started the ride officially at about 10a.m. jacqui took photos of me loading up the bike. we left the hotel around 9a.m., then 20-30 minutes of traffic and it took me 30 minutes to load up all the gear after putting the front tire back on the bike. I'll add a bunch more photos below.

i started riding. I confused Jacqui with my all is well and ok gestures, when she caught up to me at a light. I was adjusting something on the bike. She probably thought i meant ok to pull over and park. but after reassuring her all was well, i continued on.

After a half mile or so, ran into my first issue. Nearly all the shore line trail at the beginning is closed off. they're updating the park so it wasn't very long and i had to do a u-turn at the park closed sign. And then my bike computer routed me through nearly every downtown neighborhood and by university housing. Some of it was pretty, some wasn't. Never felt unsafe, and there was actually some bike lanes to use. Good for buffalo street planners. Eventually though i was back on the shore line trail. with the Lake on my left.

my premium ridewithgps app membership and garmin 1040 gps bike computer earned their pay today. I would have been completely lost otherwise. Together they performed flawlessly and got me to the canal trail again. Sucks to have to pay $90/year for the app, but i don't regret the $450 bike computer at all.

At mile 17, I had lunch at mudd's mississipi grill and ice cream. good grub. 1/4lb cheeseburger and onions rings.

at gasport i said screw it and biked 1 mile out of the way to get some gatorade, water and an ice cream. my fault i should have navigated to something closer when i went through lockport. there's a learning curve to this touring thing.

also with the photos, i took stuff that looked interesting, but i need to do a better job of knowing their context and where i am. Next time. i really felt busy today, had to put the hammer down to get to the camping area.

The bungee broke on my little ultra light chair, still usable i think, just makes assembly slower. if not, i get to ditch 2.25lbs of weight, and buy a new, lighter version. for the next trip.

also my usb battery isn't working. just says it's at 100%, but when I plug stuff into it, nothing happens. just had a thought, maybe i need to plug it in to wake it up or something. if not there's a best buy in syracuse very close to my route. i already checked they have a few in stock. update: gave up on it and chuck it into the trash, will buy a new one at Best Buy, probably the one close to erie blvd in Syracuse.

anyhoo pizza/food time.

ordered a veggie pizza. but it's going to take 50 minutes. i found a hidden outlet by my booth, had to pull it from the wall a little, lol. anyway. gives me time to charge up the phone and my shokz induction headphones.

i think bikepacking is hard on my electronics gear. lots of bouncing. humidity and what not probably doesn't help either. can't complain though having this tech is amazing. i keep it all in small quart size ziplocs.

my new little fanny pack i made today worked well. has 2 pouches, keep my ridge credit card wallet holder in the smaller pouch, the bigger one has cash and room for either my cellphone or bike computer. i usually but the bike computer in it, and then have my phone in my shirt pocket for quick access.

given the 50 min wait on the pizza. i may be setting the tent up in the dark, but that's ok. killing time updating the blog and charging my gear

my fanny pack has 2 of my favorite colors (favs as of late) army green and puke orange. the more migraine inducing the better.

I should have also explained, that with the improved seating position i started going faster too. like 14-15mph instead of just 10-11 when the seat was further back. and that was at the end of the 50 mile ride today. The new position must be engaging my quads more. Maybe i can make it to Rochester tomorrow. It would be good to get a hotel room to charge up my gear tomorrow night. Also, not sure i only want to do 30 miles to brockport tomorrow. my butt will be the main decider on whether i shoot for Rochester. I do have rain gear, so if i get rained on a little to bike further, no biggee.

stay tuned for tomorrow. fingers crossed Rochester and hotel. easier to charge my gear and i can wash my bike/riding clothes in the bathtub.