Back to Long Riding on Upright

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I just started riding my upright bike about a week ago. It has been almost 3 weeks since what I call my “TMI procedure“, after which I was supposed to avoid sitting on a saddle for a while. At first, I stuck to riding my recumbent, then about a week ago I tried upright but with continuous standing. A couple of days ago I did my first short upright ride in the saddle, and it went well. I ride with my group on Tuesdays, usually about 2 1/2 hours or so, and I usually take my upright for that. So yesterday I wanted to see about my stamina in the saddle and tried a ride of a bit over two hours. It went fine. I was worried the portions of my anatomy that interface with the saddle would have lost their “toughness”, but it was not too bad in just a little over a couple of weeks.

I had a great ride. Although I enjoy riding my electric-assist recumbent, it is a bit of a clunker, weighing almost 50 pounds including the battery and motor. My upright Specialized Sirrus is just over 20 pounds so it feels much more nimble like a sports car. I did my first out-and-back on the Coyote Creek trail on the upright in quite a while and enjoyed it a lot. It will be nice to get back to riding with my group on Tuesday as I missed 3 weeks between my procedure and my mishap last week.

A ranch at the side of the Coyote Creek trail, with El Toro in the background. I’m a big fan of barns, I have several books from the great artist and author Eric Sloane, who wrote about their role in American history.

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