Gear review - Terry Saddles

Time for another gear review ... this time I'll talk about something that can make or break your ride - saddles! Before I go any further I want to say that 'no saddle fits all' so if you are looking at getting a new saddle, see if you can 'try before you buy' (maybe a friend has one you can try?). It has to be right for your body geometry and your riding style.

I love Terry Saddles - they seem to make a fit for every type of riding and rider. I am going to start with what I'll call the 'comfort' performance saddle - the Terry Butterfly. This was my first Terry saddle and what made me fall in love with Terry saddles. I purchased my first mountain bike in 2001 so the memory is still pretty clear. The bike came with some stiff men's saddle and I just couldn't understand how people could love to ride their bikes for more than 1 hour at a time - my bum hated it! It hurt, I had to stand a lot, and worst of all - i developed sores in short rides. Not good. I talked to some girls about the issue at hand and found out that it wasn't me - it wasn't that I needed time to 'adjust', it was my saddle. Aha! I did a lot of research and landed on the Terry butterfly. It had great reviews. Here is my take:
Comfort: 10 - this saddle supports you where you need it and does not put undue pressure on the sitting bones
Power Transfer: 8 - I found that this saddle was lacking in power transfer - i wanted something a little harder to push against for those power bursts
When used: La Ruta 2003 (3 day race across Costa Rica), Adventure racing, and several 8 hour races
Recommendation: Good for people who like a plush saddle or those that are just starting out (as I was).


Terry Damselfly
After a year of racing I got hooked and wanted to try the shorter stuff. As mentioned in the earlier paragraph, I wanted something a little harder for power transfer. So on a friend's recommendation I tried the Terry Damselfly.
Comfort: 8 - not as comfy as the terry butterfly but was fine for up to 8 hours in the saddle
Power Transfer: 10 - this saddle is perfect for racing - especially the shorter races where you are using your upper zones
When used: TransRockies, Shorter Canada Cup/ Norba style races
Recommendation: Perfect saddle for shorter (2-6) hour races; both road and mountain

Terry Firefly
In 2006 I decided to try 24hr solo racing. It had always appealed to me and with our move to the US it seemed like a good time to make the change. I knew I didn't want to ride the damselfy for 24hrs straight, especially on a rough mountain bike course. So I did some research and decided to give the Firefly a try. I wasn't disappointed! This saddle is firm but forgiving, and a little wider than the damselfly.
Comfort: 10 - I could ride forever with this saddle
Power Transfer: 9 - I can't honestly give it a 10 because I just don't push the high power zones any more. I have no complaints about power transfer though!
When used: I've completed seven 24hr Solos and countless hours of training with this saddle and haven't walked away with a saddle sore yet!
Recommendation: This is a great saddle for anyone who loves to ride or race long distances.

And where can you get one of these handy saddles? If you are in the Seattle area you can go to Sammamish Valley Cycle and pick one up - otherwise you can find one online. Happy riding!

By popular request - the tale of 3 crashes

OK OK, I know it wasn't fair to say I crashed 3 times at worlds but omit the gory details. It isn't as exciting as you may think but here we go.

All three crashes happened after 6am on Sunday (read: i'd been riding 18 hours already). You'll have to excuse me if I was feeling a little stunned and like I'd been hit by a truck. I usually love the first morning lap - the sun rise energizes me and gets the legs turning again. At Canmore I was bonked though so the morning lap was a little rough.

I mentioned that there was a lot of technical singletrack so it should come as no surprise that all 3 of my crashes were in the singletrack....

Crash #1: there were a lot of little (8-10 feet) steep dips down with a steep up immediately afterwards. Several of these dips had roots, rocks, and fun stuff in the middle, on both sides, or all three. This was one with all three - and root on the 'up' side. Momentum is my friend so I usually sail through these with no issue. Not so on this lap. I went down the rocky side nice and smooth (and fast)and somehow aimed for the biggest part of the root which was a 1 foot up and over and yup, you guessed it, landed flat on my back. I did a backwards endo if you will. for some reason it took about 30 seconds for me to get my feet unclipped and during this time my bike was upside down on top of me. I am sure if anyone had seen this they'd be laughing their butts off.

Crash #2: the course was dusty and some sections were really loose. There was this one spot with a 1.5 foot drop where you had to do a 90 degree turn right after. Normally, not an issue. I was behind someone who decided to pull off the trail and decided that the right thing to do was to look at them instead of the trail infront of me. Wham, over the drop and over my handle-bars and into the woods i went. Another classic moment.

Crash #3: this crash was on my last lap when i was 'riding scared'. I was pushing the pace through the tight singletrack, took a wrong line (i honestly don't know what happened here) and ended up hugging a tree. This was the only crash that produced a nice bruise and some good bleeding - i think i was going pretty fast!

Want a tour? Heck yes!

Today we ventured up to Galbrath with our friend Calvin. It's about a 1.75hr drive each way but well worth it...

We arrived at the trailhead and were greeted by several other riders. People are very friendly in Bellingham, WA. We suited up out bikes and headed out with maps in-hand. Today would be an exploration day - hopefully we'd find these trails we heard so much about.

We ended up on a steep (I am talking 40+ percent incline) single-track that was partly over-grown with blackberry bushes. At the top of the hill we ran into a few locals who were (of course) super friendly and we chatted for a bit (after we caught our breath). We asked them which way to Bob's and headed off. We met them again just down the trail at an intersection and they offered us a tour.

Do you want a tour of the best trails on Galbrath? Um, ok! It was amazing. They took us on the best single-track I've ridden in a long time. It had everything you want including berms, roots, rocks, flow, stunts, bridges, ledges, views, and more. Three hours flew by and before we knew it we were back at the car!

We'll definately head up there again - maybe next time for an entire weekend :)

Heat wave in Seattle

We came back to a heat wave - can't beleive I am saying 'record temperatures' and 'Seattle' in the same sentence but here we go ... we broke the record for the all-time high in Seattle last week. Temperatures hit a high 104F.

Admidst the heat I presented at TechReady, tried to catch up on work and sleep, and ate a lot of watermelon and anything else cold.