The 1000-mile seat poll has me wondering a few things... I'm not a long distance rider and I always marvel at those whole claim to be able to ride all day long. While everyone is different, surely there must be some magic combination of body-type, physical conditioning, bike-type, and seat that makes some able to ride all day long. What is 'fit/unfit' in my poll? Only you can decide. Fit can be any combination of age and physical conditioning. You can be young and fit, you can be old and fit. You can be young and unfit, you can be old and unfit. It's all relative to whatever YOU think you are!
At 53, 5'8" and a weight varying between 220 and 250, I'm obviously not a great candidate for long distance riding. I'm unfit. Actually, I'm UN-fit! Despite the extra weight I am active and play competitive tennis so I'm not a slug on the couch either. But I'm only good for an hour and a half in the saddle regardless of what seat I have before I need a break. I've tried all big names, Corbin, Mustang, Le Pera (current), various stock seats (Hammock) along with gel pads, sheep-skin pads, Air Hawk pads, beads - you name it, but still I need a break to stretch.
My wife is 52, 5.4" and only weighs about 115 but she's even worse than me and needs a break at about an hour. In her defense she has bad hips from a lifetime of teaching ballet so it's less about her butt and more about the hips. But her butt does get sore as well.
Anyway, I thought I'd run a poll aimed at the longer(ish) distance guys to see not only what you are running for equipment, but what your body type, age, and general physical conditioning is. I assumed that a younger rider with an ideal body weight and great physical conditioning will be able to ride longer than an old fat guy that thinks beer is an actual food group!
So take the poll, please, but then post your general physical characteristics (if you don't mind), along with your equipment preferences that help you achieve your longest rides in the most comfort, including seats, bikes, clothes and any prep work before, during and after the ride like stretching, eating, drinking, etc. The terms in the poll are going to be relative (young/old, fit/unfit, long/short) and each person will have to decide what category they fall most into. Polls can be tricky to word.
So something like this (although I'm no long distance rider):
I'm 53, 5'8", 250, RGC CVO, Le Pera Maverick, good for an hour and a half non-stop riding then need a nice break then back in the saddle with each subsequent time being a factor of diminishing returns (less time each subsequent run).
