Obvious Observations from Academia
Isn’t it lovely when major research institutions tell us what we already know? Our pals at Harvard reveal today via press release that bicycling can cause man-issues.
Mind you, I know not from experience of having man-issues of such nature, but because, hey: It’s been all over the bike press for years and every saddle manufacturer has a saddle to allegedly solve the problem.
Harvard’s helpful hints are… well, not novel, to say the least:
Wear padded biking shorts.
Oooh. Good thing manufacturers are already seizing the day with that one.
Position the seat to reduce pressure: Make sure it is not so high that your legs are fully extended at the bottom of your pedal stroke, and don’t tilt the seat up.
Any LCI could tell you this one, so long as they mean ‘don’t lock your knees on the bottom of the pedal stroke,’ and not ‘do the grampa bike thing where you knee yourself in the beer gut on every stroke!’
Change your position and take breaks during long rides.
A good idea no matter what your plumbing, if for no other reason that on a long ride, you’d best hydrate and eat, and if you hydrate enough, you’re going to need a few pauses to refresh, as it were.
If you feel tingling or numbness in the penis, stop riding for a week or two.
Again, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I’d think if you own the equipment, this would be obvious.
Why do I think they got fat cash from some endowment to tell us these things?
