Ride easy in comfort

Ever notice how a slow recovery ride is harder on your rear end than a hammerfest?

When you're forcefully pushing down on the pedals, your body is pushed up. During hard riding you actually sit lighter on the saddle, reducing pressure on your soft tissue.

Not so when you're spinning along at a low heart rate, checking the scenery. Now all your weight is right where you don't want it.

Recovery rides are important. So are slow social rides where you chat with friends. Here's the bottom line for helping your tush enjoy these easy outings.

Use a cushier seat. On their easy days, some roadies use a "slow ride" bike with a softer and/or wider saddle. This could be your commuting bike or winter bike.

Wear softer shorts. You can find cycling shorts with liners containing thicker padding or gel inserts. These may be unnecessary for comfort on regular training rides, but perfect for easy ones.
Ed recalls riding with Italian great Francesco Moser at a training camp in Miami 20 years ago. It was midwinter, so the pace was moderate each day and there were few reasons to stand, the area not known for its climbs.

For this kind of riding, Moser had special shorts with so much padding under the chamois that it looked like he was wearing a loaded diaper. But it did the trick.

Stand frequently. Don't let a stop sign, short hill or headwind section go by without getting out of the saddle to relieve pressure and stretch your legs. This doesn't mean to accelerate and drop slower companions. Simply shift to a bigger gear, stand and "walk" the bike for a minute or more at their speed.

Ride like a jockey. On descents, level the pedals and crouch with an inch between your seat and the bike seat. This is a good tactic on any ride when you're not pedaling down a hill.

Source: RBR