| Numb nuts? Painful perineum? Languishing lips?
Regardless of your affliction, if you’re experiencing any of the above while on your bike, you may want to consider changing seats.
Numerous articles and scientific studies in sport and recreation literature suggest a traditional bike saddle (seat) – one with a rounded part for your butt and longer nose piece – causes impotence and/or erectile dysfunction for those who spend significant time on their bikes.
The truth of this matter is debatable. Few of the articles define "significant time" on a bike, and other studies test small samples of people. And while many riders complain of one or more of the above afflictions, apparently their concerns seldom reach any cycling governing bodies or saddle manufacturers.
Visits to several Calgary bike shops reveal nary a noseless saddle. Many shops offer to look in their product books to see if they can bring one in, but none have any on the shelves.
What the shops offer are varieties of "split" saddles. These saddles feature hollowed seams down their length as a method to take pressure off the perineum, allowing someone’s external bits more room to hang.
A friend who is a daily commuter purchased a noseless saddle via the Internet. He notices little difference between the two when it comes to discomfort in the nether regions. The biggest difference he says is learning to keep your balance with a noseless saddle.
Don’t ask cyclists with Canada’s Cycling Association either – they are bound by international racing rules governing the maximum and minimum sizes and positioning of the saddle.
There seems to be little outcry from dedicated cyclists about a need to further examine bike saddles. "As far as I know, the Canadian Cycling Association has not conducted any research into the area of noseless saddles," says CCA’s public relations spokesman Ian Dalling. "As a personal observation, I cannot remember having ever seen a noseless saddle being used on a bicycle."
Regardless of whether or not you stick with a traditional saddle, or seek out a noseless saddle, Dalling offers good advice.
"What is important is correct positioning of the saddle (and correct setup of the entire bike), to give the rider a position that offers the optimum balance of comfort and performance."
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
Calgary hockey fans have a hard time cheering for the Edmonton Oilers at the best of times, even if they’re the only remaining Canadian team in the NHL playoffs.
The rivalry between the cities is well documented on and off the ice. Surprisingly, when Edmonton clinched a spot in this year’s semifinals, hockey fans at the Kilkenny Irish Pub in Calgary – not a one wearing an Oilers jersey, hat, T-shirt, etc. – broke out into cheers and applause.
If the tables were turned, I doubt the Flames would have received such earnest support. Oiler fans traditionally don’t play nice.
Living in Red Deer in the 1980s, when the Flames-Oiler rivalry reached its peak, the ugly side of team loyalty often reared its head. And almost always, an Oiler fan launched the catcalls and friendly insults well over the line of respectability, falling into the personal, profane or pathetic. At any bar in the city, this scene replayed itself over and over again, year after year.
Given that history, it comes as no surprise that the Blue Mile – Edmonton’s attempt to copy the Red Mile NHL playoff fervour – turned ugly, with dozens of arrests and a few stabbings thrown in for good measure.
A friend originally from Montreal once said, after travelling south to north in Alberta, he found people were meaner the more northerly you went. Perhaps he was right? |
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