re: Cyclists Risk Infertility

TimGreen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:01:20 GMT

There is some good research into this problem - a US study into the effects of prolonged riding on a group of cycle patrol officers found that there was no damage to sperm count but that there was erectile dysfunction, which increased the longer the riders spent in the saddle. The research is available on the ECD website (www.ecdsports.com).

re: Cyclists Risk Infertility

FunRun — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:10 GMT

I cycle. Yesterday I pedaled 24 miles up into a nearby mountains, then turned around and rode back home. It makes me happy. It relieves stress. It keeps me fit. It makes me feel like I'm alive.

When this story came out it was sent to the email list of my triathlon club. I have to admit, when I read it I was more than a bit frustrated. To publish this just a few days before the beginning of the Tour de France is no coincidence.

When Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France bike sales skyrocketed. They continued on a upward trend throughout his seven year reign. People joined bike clubs and lobbied for cycling routes. Spinning classes exploded, bicycle touring vacations took off and commuting to work by bicycle became an accepted form of transportation for many.

Then the backlash began. The dangers of cycling are constantly on display. Every time a cyclist is hit by a car (regardless if they were drunk and it was 3am) the incident garners front-page attention. The city I live in strung up hundreds of massive banners encouraging cyclists to "ride safely", to "cycle defensively", and one particularly obnoxious one reminding us that "cars always win".

The obvious health benefits of cycling are shoved aside without a second though by articles about Lance's testicular cancer and now this low-quality-sperm nonsense. Of course professional cyclists are doing themselves damage by sitting on a tiny saddle for six to eight hours a day, every day. To limit blood flow to any area of the body for that period of time has got to be a bad thing. Tight cycling shorts with a thick pad increases the heat to the area. Of course this increased heat is going to cause defective sperm.

Is the average recreational cyclists riding anywhere near the amount of miles those professional triathletes ride? No way.

Will the average recreational cyclist read this article and convince themselves that it is too dangerous to ride their bike? You bet they will.