Impotence in our fellas?

OK, I've been putting off asking this one. Whenever something comes up about our new cycling habit, a friend's husband chortles gleefully about how "there are only 2 kinds of cyclists (males) - those who are impotent, and those who soon will be.":eek:

A quick internet search seems to show that this is the opinion of one possibly publicity-happy urologist. I find it hard to believe that all the seemingly happy male cyclists I've been meeting have made THAT sacrifice. But I don't want to be luring my hubby into a sport that will put a damper on my other favorite sport.;)

So, my very frank women friends with male mates who also ride...what's the word?

How much is your fella riding? It happens, but usually in guys who ride extreme distances/hours. Bike fit, seat position, riding position, and overall health (weight, blood pressure, prostate status, smoking) also matter.

It seems to me like the immediate concern would be how to shut up your friend's husband, as such comments are extremely rude and uncalled for, especially by someone who apparently does not ride, cares not for the sport, and does not have any facts to back up his claim.

If being polite does not work, you could ask him what kind of riding caused his impotence. That ought to make him think twice about bringing up the topic again.

I like Tulip's answer.

Without going into details - the cycling induced impotence thing is largely a myth.

V.

BF has been riding A LOT since he was about 10 years old and, after 20 years of such treatment, we don't suffer from any dysfunction in this area. :rolleyes:

This being said, I do believe that a bad fit and prolonged pressure caused by some positions on the bike (like leaning in the aerobars) could have a numbing effect if the saddle and fit are not right.

I've also had a friend complain of pain and severe numbness in the genital area, presumably caused by a non-fitting saddle. He's an ultra-distance triathlete, and shopping for a new saddle. Last I heard, he got a new one, and stayed on it for just 10 minutes, "I'm careful you know!"

A good long ride makes my husband more horny and no dysfunction problems. He always loves a good long ride followed by another :D

I think fit and the seat make a difference. People who are riding/training like crazy may leave themselves open to problems, but there's no problem in this house. The only time my husband noticed any issue in that area of his body was about 4 years ago, when he rode 70 miles, including a big climb up a ski mountain road, with guys who were faster than him. The next day he went out to do a shorter ride and when he came back, he had blood in his urine. He got really freaked out, but I knew that was a sign of serious over training. It never happened again.

My son, who rode about 5-6,000 miles a year from age 14-18 and now runs like crazy has assured me there's "no problems in that area."

I am not a Dr. nor do I play one on TV and I bat for the other team but my understanding of causes of impotence is it can have to do with the men-folks plumbing, circulation.

There's this one cartooney ED product ad that talks about the possible causes as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity. This has me screaming at the TV "well if you guys'd put down the Dominos 3 meats pizza and beer, turn off the tv, log off the computer, get outside and ride, you might not have this problem".

So ask your friends husband "how long do you ride?" ;)

and they can take that any way they want :rolleyes:

I can always count on you wimmen to answer my questions AND put a smile on my face. Yeah, my friend's husband can be a real....I think the Yiddish word is nudge?... And I do think it is a case of misery loving company!
Charles is not likely to become that extreme a rider, but as we both increase our ability as riders, we'll be sure to take our saddles seriously.:rolleyes:

I almost gave myself the giggles one night during the indoor training when it was me & about 15 male riders. I kept picturing myself saying, "Hey, while I've got you all together like this, I have a question..."

I lack carnal knowledge on the subject but having ridden with lots of men over the years, the most I hear about is how much better their sex lives are because they are healthy and in shape.

Of course, I hear lots of dissatisfaction from men whose wives are less than understanding about cycling/exercise desires/needs and view sex as their duty or obligation. It never ceases to amaze me how many men get sex very seldom from their wives. Isn't sex an expression of love for your mate? And isn't an interest in your mate's activities and what makes them happy an expression of love for your mate? Of course, I know some men who believe life is all about them, too. Human nature is an interesting study.

The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. From my reading of bike forums, and general observation of guys pulling kiddie trailers on local bike trails, there seems to be no lack of fatherhood in the cycling population.

That being said, with all the talk of uncomfortable saddles around here, it is more than possible that a largish percentage of men have had problems, probably seat related. Or they have an important vein in just the wrong place. It's possible, and certainly something to be aware of, but really, I think the so-called friend was just being a jerk.

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Originally Posted by corrine

A good long ride makes my husband more horny and no dysfunction problems. He always loves a good long ride followed by another :D

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Mine too :D

We've done a bunch of fertility testing, and I can tell you that riding has not had any impact on his production levels ;) ..now if we can just get my body working right :confused:

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Originally Posted by latelatebloomer

I can always count on you wimmen to answer my questions AND put a smile on my face. Yeah, my friend's husband can be a real....I think the Yiddish word is nudge?...

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Well, 'schmuck,' 'schmendrick' or 'schlameil' probably fits the situation better. 'Nudge' just means 'pesty.':D

While we're in the urology department, I must add though that my live-in boyfriend BADLY needs to go EVERY time he comes back from a ride.

Anyone else notice that in their sweetie? (Or themselves?)

Janusdog "Well, 'schmuck,' 'schmendrick' or 'schlameil' probably fits the situation better. 'Nudge' just means 'pesty.':D"

what's Yiddish for Jerk? :confused:

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Originally Posted by Grog

While we're in the urology department, I must add though that my live-in boyfriend BADLY needs to go EVERY time he comes back from a ride.

Anyone else notice that in their sweetie? (Or themselves?)

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Depends if I saw any elephants on the ride or not. ;) (Where the heck did that saying come from anyway?)

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Originally Posted by tlkiwi

Depends if I saw any elephants on the ride or not. ;) (Where the heck did that saying come from anyway?)

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Never EVER heard of that before. Too funny!!

It was someone here's code word, but I can't remember who. I wanna blame SK, but that's not fair if it wasn't her.

I think "elephants " is aka_kim's word...

Yep, an aka_kim-ism. For once, I don't deserve the blame.

This segues into a funny story I read last night from the book "Sand in my Bra," a collection of women's travel stories. The writer was trying to ask for popcorn and used her handy dictionary to translate "pop" and "corn." It didn't work. She found out she was requesting elephant farts. However, isn't an elephant the best place for this activity? :p

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Originally Posted by Grog

While we're in the urology department, I must add though that my live-in boyfriend BADLY needs to go EVERY time he comes back from a ride.

Anyone else notice that in their sweetie? (Or themselves?)

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Ah... not really... maybe its just the length of his ride? Remember, the male bladder is approximately 4 times the size of the female, so maybe he hasn't "emptied" out before the ride, and if he hydrates well on the ride, and rides for a few hours without having "a leak" during the ride, he'll be ready for a visit to the loo!

As for the sex thing... well saddle sores will make a men feel less sexy, and long rides can make my man tired (my partner does about 5-600 km a week) ... but imho, the sex drive/performance is not affected.

I remember when he first started riding he talked about numbness in the genital area, but that was to do with saddle fit and disappeared when he got the angle right.

I would think the number of pro cyclists with kids (Hincapie and Basso come to mind) is enough proof for me. My husband rides every chance he can and there doesn't seem to be a problem in this area.

My husband rides almost as much as I do. Not a problem. After my 600k, I am the one with the "issues"! :D

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Originally Posted by RoadRaven

Ah... not really... maybe its just the length of his ride? Remember, the male bladder is approximately 4 times the size of the female, so maybe he hasn't "emptied" out before the ride, and if he hydrates well on the ride, and rides for a few hours without having "a leak" during the ride, he'll be ready for a visit to the loo!

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Nope! ANY ride will do it. Even the 45 minute ones!

Really strange.

Just chiming in...and in agreement with most everyone. I'm the newbie to cycling, my bf has succeeded in getting me interested in it. Anyway, he logs on about 230-300+ miles a week and I can very confidently say that all the plumbing works perfectly well. The only problems have been when he wasn't dressed warm enough for a ride and came home with a frozen package (so to speak). He was still hurting in that department a couple of hours later (but this is MN cold I'm talking about)...poor guy.