Feministing links to this article about female cyclists and loss of genital sensation. It jives with what I’ve heard from some women I know who ride regularly. The study also found, I was delighted to read, that no such problem occurred in a control group of women runners.
I cycle rarely these days. I enjoy the bike, but it doesn’t give me the same high, the same rush, as running. The article above suggests that many women might be well-advised to consider reducing saddle time, or at least invest in extra padding in the shorts. (Too many folks, both male and female, ride without sufficient padding in the right places.)
The study seems — iffy. I mean, we’re talking about competitive cyclists (though the minima seem oddly low — 10 miles a week?). I don’t disagree with the conclusions necessarily, but I think we need to bear in mind that average women (and men) have incredibly different cycling styles than competitive cyclists, and that if you like biking, the study found no negative effects on sexual function, so just go ahead and enjoy using the bike.
Wolfa, I didn’t see that 10 mile per week thing — that’s hardly a competitive cyclist’s mileage. (Try an exponent to get there.)
It depends on what kind of bike you ride and how you ride. After my first century ride, I was very saddle sore and numb in the perineal region. Of course, I rode 100 miles after having never ridden more than 35 at a time before. But I rode as much like a cyclist as possible — low profile, leaning forward.
10 miles a week is occasional errand-runner and low-distance commuter mileage. Hell, I bike more than 10 miles a week, and I turn to the bike for convenience only, not for exercise.
There’s been suggestion of links between cycling and male impotence for some time now, and it’s not surprising that women cyclists might have similar issues. This is one of the reasons I stick to running.
Well, I have done from occasional errand and trip along the river biking to serious daily biking on a road racer, and really, it’s not a huge problem except during the 8h/day 7d/wk biking times, when you need some time to recover. (As far as I know I’ve not had any lasting problems due to that.) I have no comment about this for men, though physiology suggests the problems are much worse for them.
I am incredibly doubtful of the study because we’re either talking about competitive bikers or occasional bikers, and those are two very different groups. I don’t have access to the article itself, though.
Still, I think this study is mostly useless, unless it sparks a renaissance in women’s bike seats (which would be nice). And that’s at best — at worst it suggests that biking is a bad idea for women. Especially when it’s republished without the finding that there are no negative effects on sexual function from biking.
Bike seats should be more comfortable and cushioned for both sexes… there’s no need for female-specific cushioned seats
This just makes me feel better about riding a smaller BMX style bike that forces me to stand up for most of the ride. I never enjoyed traditional bicycles anyway.