anatomy problem

Worry when you find it again! LOL
My crutch was getting so numb I didnt know it existed either. But you do
when it comes back . I find when ridiing I have to stand and pedal every 5
to 10 mins to help the blood flow and getting off the bike every 20 kms or
so and walking about also helps. These days the calluses are living proof
that I feel no pain, numbness or anything anymore - my crutch is not my
major focus on the bike now - which is great! LOL
Kathy.

steve m said:

G'day, just started cycling and noticed after a while of being seated on the
seat, that my crutch feels like it has dissappeared for the moment. Is this
normal and if it is, is it a temporary thing? Just riding is so enjoyable, I
dont want an issue like my crutch having no feeling, to get in the way of
cycling.

Sounds like you're putting more pressure on your perineum (sp?) than is ideal. NOTHING should go numb whilst exercising, it means you're either putting pressure on a nerve or cutting blood flow to that area, both of which are BAD. Go and read this article and then the rest of the site for good measure. Rotating your saddle forward a little and checking the height is probably a good start.

steve m said:

G'day, just started cycling and noticed after a while of being seated on the
seat, that my crutch feels like it has dissappeared for the moment. Is this
normal and if it is, is it a temporary thing? Just riding is so enjoyable, I
dont want an issue like my crutch having no feeling, to get in the way of
cycling.

* "Roll your hips forward..."
This means holding yourself on the bike so that it feels like you are
pushing your stomach down towards the "cross-bar" of the bike, while
sticking your bum up into the air. Does this make you look like you've
got a little pot belly? (Certainly does for me.)

* "Relax your shoulders and arms..."
It seems sensible that you shouls use your upper body muscles to support
your upper body when riding a bike. Ain't so. Whether your'e riding a
road bike or an MTB or a hybrid or whatever, if you lock your elbows
straight, and so use your upper body muscles to support your upper body,
you'll get sore arms, sore shoulders, and a numb wing-[censored]. Reason for
this is that the muscles that most efficiently support your upper body
riding a bike are those (in rough order of importance, and strength - I
thinks) in your thighs, your bum, your tum, and your lower back. If you
aren't riding in the posture that uses these muscles, you'll get sore.
And the biophysics of not using your thigh/bum/etc muscles will mean
that, because you're not using the lower body muscles correctly around
your wing-[censored], they get fatigued in unhappy biophysical
thingumy-whatist ways, and your wing-[censored] will also be unhappy.

HTH.

bruce

ps: then again, even with perfect "form" (=body position on your
bicycle) occasionally your wing-[censored] gets numb, don't ask me why. Once
it wears off, still works perfectly well, tho... :-) ...

quote='fred knieman'steve m said:

G'day, just started cycling and noticed after a while of being seated on the
seat, that my crutch feels like it has dissappeared for the moment. Is this
normal and if it is, is it a temporary thing? Just riding is so enjoyable, I
dont want an issue like my crutch having no feeling, to get in the way of
cycling.

* "Roll your hips forward..."
This means holding yourself on the bike so that it feels like you are
pushing your stomach down towards the "cross-bar" of the bike, while
sticking your bum up into the air. Does this make you look like you've
got a little pot belly? (Certainly does for me.)

* "Relax your shoulders and arms..."
It seems sensible that you shouls use your upper body muscles to support
your upper body when riding a bike. Ain't so. Whether your'e riding a
road bike or an MTB or a hybrid or whatever, if you lock your elbows
straight, and so use your upper body muscles to support your upper body,
you'll get sore arms, sore shoulders, and a numb wing-[censored]. Reason for
this is that the muscles that most efficiently support your upper body
riding a bike are those (in rough order of importance, and strength - I
thinks) in your thighs, your bum, your tum, and your lower back. If you
aren't riding in the posture that uses these muscles, you'll get sore.
And the biophysics of not using your thigh/bum/etc muscles will mean
that, because you're not using the lower body muscles correctly around
your wing-[censored], they get fatigued in unhappy biophysical
thingumy-whatist ways, and your wing-[censored] will also be unhappy.

HTH.

bruce

ps: then again, even with perfect "form" (=body position on your
bicycle) occasionally your wing-[censored] gets numb, don't ask me why. Once
it wears off, still works perfectly well, tho... :-) ...[/QUOTE]

If you relax your arms and shoulders without locking your elbows, then unless you've got a very upright riding position, you'll bounce your forehead on the stem. As Sheldon says, DON'T lock your arms, but DO use your arm and upper torso muscles to support you. Also, rolling your hips forwards would take weight off the bony protruberance bits of the pelvis (where it belongs) and places it on the perineum (soft tissues, urethra etc) which is specifically what you want to avoid. It'll also results in you riding sway-backed, which places nasty forces on the spine over bumps. Again, numbness during exercise is most certainly not normal, and should not be treated as such.

I wouldn't be complaining too much if my bits were numb.

Wouldn't it be worse if it felt like you'd been kicked in the groin by someone wearing steel caps? Which, by the way, is how mine feel after an hour on the bike.

Can't say too much for those 'ladies' seats (except "What a croc of sh!te!"😉.

Lotte

LotteBum said:

I wouldn't be complaining too much if my bits were numb.

Wouldn't it be worse if it felt like you'd been kicked in the groin by someone wearing steel caps? Which, by the way, is how mine feel after an hour on the bike.

Can't say too much for those 'ladies' seats (except "What a croc of sh!te!"😉.

Lotte

Heh, same comments apply. Female "bits" and the perineum in males are in about the same place.

Resound said:

fred knieman said:

steve m said:

G'day, just started cycling and noticed after a while of being seated

....

Quoted message said:

If you relax your arms and shoulders without locking your elbows, then
unless you've got a very upright riding position, you'll bounce your
forehead on the stem.

Hmm...

(We've both got it right. But - painted in broad-strokes - I think "I'm
right and *you're wrong*", + you're right, and *I'm wrong*.)

As Sheldon says, DON'T lock your arms, but DO use

Quoted message said:

your arm and upper torso muscles to support you. Also, rolling your hips
forwards would take weight off the bony protruberance bits of the pelvis
(where it belongs) and places it on the perineum (soft tissues, urethra
etc) which is specifically what you want to avoid. It'll also results
in you riding sway-backed, which places nasty forces on the spine over
bumps. Again, numbness during exercise is most certainly not normal,
and should not be treated as such.

SHELDON HAS SPOKEN!!!!

[censored]
p

"fred knieman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Resound said:

fred knieman said:

steve m wrote:

>G'day, just started cycling and noticed after a while of being seated

...

Quoted message said:

If you relax your arms and shoulders without locking your elbows, then
unless you've got a very upright riding position, you'll bounce your
forehead on the stem.

Hmm...

(We've both got it right. But - painted in broad-strokes - I think "I'm
right and *you're wrong*", + you're right, and *I'm wrong*.)

As Sheldon says, DON'T lock your arms, but DO use

Quoted message said:

your arm and upper torso muscles to support you. Also, rolling your hips
forwards would take weight off the bony protruberance bits of the pelvis
(where it belongs) and places it on the perineum (soft tissues, urethra
etc) which is specifically what you want to avoid. It'll also results
in you riding sway-backed, which places nasty forces on the spine over
bumps. Again, numbness during exercise is most certainly not normal,
and should not be treated as such.

SHELDON HAS SPOKEN!!!!

[censored]
p

Yes, yes, it did sound a bit "holy words of Sheldon Brown". I don't
neccessarily agree with everything he says, but in this case I definitely
do. If your hold your spine in reflex and then ballistically bounce it
FURTHER into reflex, you're going to do bad things to your lower back.