So I'm hurrying along, trying to get my new Pegoretti TT bike running before the Fitchburg Longsjo Stage Race. One of my hangups was finding a proper seat. I'll have less than a week once it is complete to get comfortable with the bike before the crucial opening TT. Doesn't give me much time to mess around. I decided to use a Specialized Toupe saddle I've had for a while. It was pretty beat but I always found it to be comfy. Because Fitchburg is a NRC race this year I have been told they will be checking TT bikes for UCI compliance. That means the seat must be 5cm or more behind the center of the BB. The Toupe has a large plastic piece on the nose. I can't recall ever actually sitting on that part of the saddle, so I decided to do like the Pro Tour guys and cut it off. It was pretty easy and I think it will work. (Sorry for foggy photos, my camera was pretty water-logged from earlier in the day.)
The original seat. It was pretty beat up. I started by removing the plastic cover. The underside. Going to pull back the cover and cut off that plastic extension piece. Post cutting and whittling the nose smooth. Underside after. Glued the fabric back down. Thats another Toupe saddle on top. Got about 2.5cm after the chop. Glued the new nose. Nose. So PRO.
was a good one, and let me forget some recent frustrations for a bit.
Friday was a travel day out to Saratoga, NY. A shake out the legs ride through historic battle grounds. A lesson in riding where the deer own the fields and demand that cyclists yield to them.
Raced the Balloon Festival race in upstate NY on Saturday. Missed out on the break that stuck but was able to solo in for the best of the rest... 5th place. Word is Embrocation also scored a 3rd place at the Auburn Road Race in Maine, behind the King brothers, AND a 2nd place finish out in Washington state. The stories will all come out in the Team Blog in the next few days.
Sunday James and I went out for a long cruise that ended up a bit harder than planned probably. Harder at least for James as he let me draft pretty much the whole way. We started with espressos and a long roll to Wells Ave to catch the end of the A race, then proceeded out through Weston to Concord for a sandwich and finally to Harvard. Drinks, but no hot dogs, were had at the Harvard General store and then we pushed the pace back down into Lexington for fear of some dark clouds moving in. Decided we were clear and rolled the last few miles in on the Minute Man bike path, following a poodle getting a free ride. 100+ miles, good socializing and a day in the sun working on the tan.
Bit of video here, the poodle and the last 2 laps of Wells. Someday I'll remember to shoot more...
Post cutting and whittling the nose smooth.
Underside after.
Glued the fabric back down. Thats another Toupe saddle on top.
Got about 2.5cm after the chop.
Nose.
So PRO.
