Bicycle shake-down day

After the winter break, time to get the bikes out, pump up tyres, lubricate the gears, tighten the brake cables and get set for a summer's riding. Recalling the painful first rides of the season, I decided to replace the stock saddle on my Cannondale Caffeine F2 (above) with my trusty old Brooks B66 sprung mattress saddle - now on its fourth bike. I bought the saddle new in 1986, put it on my first mountainbike, a Saracen Kili Flyer, and the very next day set off for a 1,300km (800mile) ride across the Iberian peninsula, from Santander to the Algarve. Covering up to 160km (100 miles) a day, I had no trouble whatsoever with a sore bum. Just a few weeks earlier, I'd covered the 56miles (90km) from London to Brighton on a charity ride, and my backside was so painful that I rode home from Victoria Station standing on the pedals, unable to park my posterior on my bike's stock saddle. The B66 is heavy as saddles go, but is supremely comfortable - and incomparably lighter than rear suspension. The photo was taken by the pedestrian railway crossing at ul. Kórnicka, behind the bike is the 12:00 Kraków-Olsztyn, less than half way through its 10 hour journey.