Selle Anatomica lives on

Crazy I know - I rode on my new Selle Anatomica LD 25 miles (tour of the valley) and decided it was good enough to take on my next ride: the 240 mile 24 hour no questions asked Warren Vermont to Mystic Connecticut Fleche.  And it worked!  Just like Tom Milton says " this saddle requires no break in."  I thought I had found my perfect Tour Divide saddle... but there was one little problem... a red welt on my right thigh where the saddle skirt rubs my leg.  A close inspection of the saddle revealed that the  right side of the saddle was not curved in as much as the left.  An email was sent to Tom Milton at Selle Anatomica.  A prickly back and forth resulted some saddle related some not.  I gave up. I sent the saddle home, dear John.   I know I'm a guy who didn't try to get along.  And he won't get a chance again. That's all she wrote: "Dear John; I've sent your saddle home." as the Hank Williams song goes.

Then I got a call today from the factory - Tom Milton died riding a double century this past weekend.  They will be carrying on  the business of making Tom Milton's Selle Anatomica designs.  They are fixing my saddle and sending it home to me....

Ride on Tom....

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/4003.html

                                Selle Anatomica (brown) vs Brooks B17 imperial (narrow -black)
The Selle An has an interesting leather lamination and longer cut out.  The Brooks has much deeper sides and a much more polished look.  Randy said the Selle looked like I had made it myself!

the perfect bike for the Great Divide

                                   Great Divide Dave!


I saw this bike outside the Salvation Army in SE Portland.  I didn't know Magna made a Great Divide model. I couldn't believe this one had the Dave vanity plate to boot!  What Karma!  I tried to meet Dave - but no luck.  I will have to acquire my own Great Divide bike.  Perhaps I will suggest to Matt Lee that Magna sponsor the Tour Divide and we all ride this model bike - like a One Design race.

I puttered around Portland a bit - but no other riding for an entire week now.  I did run some - ran 1:15 out of town here in Spokane to get to a restaurant - ate then ran/walked back to the hotel.  Interesting running on a FULL stomach of Indian food.

Got my first taste of what the Great Divide might look like on the Ag Facility tour in the Palouse and the Scab Lands of SE Washington.  Saw pivot ag and sage brush and tumbleweed and long off mountains, slow long climbs.  I was trying to figure out how far off the near horizon was - 30 or 40 miles?  I then ended up at the Continental Divide dinner table with the inspectors from New Mexico, Texas, Wyoming, Montana ( Salish - Kootenai Tribes near Flathead Lake) - Colorado was across the room. We had a grand old time - it will be tough to pass up fun times like these and keep on racing!