The truth is I’ve dragged my feet a little bit before writing this. I could tell you that there were other reviews to bring you, or things that required my attention but that wouldn’t be completely true. The challenge is there’s no drama to share. I had no broken bike, no headwinds to contend with, and only minor mistakes to correct while riding. Hopefully, you appreciate that it’s worth sharing the highs as well as the lows.
Sometimes plans come together, the weather cooperates, and everything you’ve worked towards aligns exactly how you wanted it to. While friends and colleagues hiked through rainstorms and scraped peanut butter mud off their bikes, I pedalled across perfect asphalt under a blue sky and ate ice cream. If that sounds like your kind of adventure, keep reading and I’ll tell you exactly how to do it. You might even be able to set a new record while you are at it.
The idea
It took over a year for everything to come together and it started with a factory invite. My interest in 3D-printed saddles led me to a brand called Posedla. It wasn’t a brand I’d heard of or knew much about but it turns out the company calls the Czech Republic home. Posedla doesn’t just call Czechia home though, founder Jiří Dužár has a deep vein of pride for the countryside and a goal of helping the small country shine on the world stage. He wanted me to come to see not just his factory but also experience the people, the food, the beauty and don’t forget the beer.
This part of the story isn’t about experiencing Czechia though. Instead, I had other ideas. The truth is that I experience the people and locations I travel to in my own way but also, I wanted to do something unique and hopefully interesting. With this in mind, I proposed a different idea.
I asked a simple question. “What if I take your saddle, untested, put it on a bike and ride from Prague to Vienna to set a new record?” I think most people will agree that it’s a compelling concept but it does require a lot of me, right? I mean, I ride my bike a lot but I’m a journalist, not a professional athlete. Would I be able to set a record covering the 370 km / 230 miles between the two cities?
The truth is I’m not that fast but…
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