Definitely not a bicycle built for two
Oh-oh.
Danger, and from an unexpected source. Men, you may want to leave the room now, especially if you are the sensitive sort.
Today’s NY Times has an article on the hazards of bike-riding–yes, you heard me, bike riding, specifically the bicycle seat. And don’t think you’ll avoid the problem by using one of those new-fangled ergonomically blah-blah-blah seats, either. No; they appear to be, if anything, worse.
Since the Times is registration-only, I’ll give an excerpt–a rather expurgated excerpt. Read the whole thing for the precise anatomical details–if you dare.
The studies add to earlier evidence that traditional bicycle saddles, the kind with a narrow rear and pointy nose, play a role in sexual impotence.
Some saddle designs are more damaging than others, scientists say. But even so-called ergonomic seats, to protect the sex organs, can be harmful, the research finds. The dozen or so studies, from peer-reviewed journals, are summarized in three articles in September’s Journal of Sexual Medicine…
Researchers have estimated that 5 percent of men who ride bikes intensively have developed severe to moderate erectile dysfunction as a result. But some experts believe that the numbers may be much higher because many men are too embarrassed to talk about it or fail to associate cycling with their problems in the bedroom.
The link between bicycle saddles and impotence first received public attention in 1997 when a Boston urologist, Dr. Irwin Goldstein, who had studied the problem, asserted that “there are only two kinds of male cyclists – those who are impotent and those who will be impotent.”
Although Bostonians (and even Boston neurologists, as far as I know) are not ordinarily given to hyperbole, the evidence is that Dr. Goldstein was over-the-top on this one. But 5% is nothing to sneeze at, either. So, forewarned is forearmed, all you bicycle-riding guys out there.
The World’s Most Comfortable Bike Seat is available online at http://www.realseat.com!
If neo wanted to make good on her warning to men, before her post, she should have quoted the part in the artcle about “testicle trauma” resulting in small calcified deposits in the gonads.
That’s a lot more visceral than the abstract idea that the loss of blood and nerve control of the penis, can lead to impotence in the future.
Got my two already. So long as it doesn’t affect ummmmm, desire and performance then I’m good to go.
Mind you, the seat I have is designed to take weight away from the prostrate region which becomes more important to me every year. Ugh.
Kalroy
Think of it as evolution in action.
Americans are too fat, but don’t ride a bike. But don’t run either because that is bad for your knees. Warning: Living is dangerous. You might die one day.
I don’t ride a bicycle.
I’ll have to find something else to blame…
How about the pros of the Tour de France, like Lance Armstrong (three children, engaged to famous pop singer after divorce), has amyone studied their potency, or loss of potency? They spend an insane number of hours riding, or, as it seems from photos, do they ride standing up. hovering (as it were) above the saddle? So many questions…
It’s “cowperson” in our PC nation now.
ride a cowboy, save a horse, or so the words of a C&W song goes – sheesh! I don’t know how that popped into my mind.
What does this say about cowboys? Are they not in the saddle for hours each day also? I knew my life as a couch potato had merit.