the saddle/ride position seems to be fine - i don't ache anywhere i feel i shouldn't after the ride, i am new to this so my legs feel a bit tight when i'm finsihed but yeh, my butt is the biggest issue - shorts first, then saddle and then elimination from there i guess? cheers guys.
getting the saddle position correct can really matter and an incorrect position may not reflect in other areas over shorter distances. There are 4 bits to get right and they all interlink:-
1. saddle height in relation to pedals
2. saddle setback, ie how far behind the pedals/bottom bracket it is, this impacts on point 1, so for example if you always set the saddle relative to the ground the further back it is the higher it will feel and vice versa.
3. saddle orientation, dead flat, nose up or nose down, you'll find people split across preferences here and it's a bit only you can work out, but if points 1 and 2 aren't right then it can be tempting to tilt the saddle to help correct this rather than the other way round.
4. saddle reach/height variance to handlebars, all the recommendations seem to be to sort out points 1-3 and then position the bars to match the saddle position, not trying to work from bars back.
Apologies if you have all of this sorted properly already and yes things will toughen up and become more comfortable. But if any of the above isn't right then problems tend to get worse the more you ride and the further you go.
