The not-so-secret story of the anti-numbnuts saddle genesis is that the Bicycling mag editor who started the worry epidemic was going through a nasty divorce at the time. Speculation is that perhaps non-saddle factors had a significant effect on what he experienced.JohnOlsson said:Cycling Effects on Riders' Sexual Health (seems to be mostly positive)
Study points out that saddle did NOT have a significant affect.
The split saddle craze has its genesis when Ed Pavelka of Bicycling Mag was experiencing impotency in 1997. He blamed it on the saddle, not his riding style or his marriage/life falling apart. he sought out a doctor, Irwin Goldstein of Boston U, who didn't think people should be riding bikes at all. This single doctor's theories, if I recall correctly, formed the backbone of the article. Bicycling had a big cover story that got picked up by the mainstream press--Newsweek, TV news magazines, many more--sounding the alarm. Another doctor, Minkow, had just developed what became the Specialized Body Geometry split saddle, which exploded in sales, and saddles have been split ever since.Jules said:Wait wut??? Please tell all.
Here's an excerpt from an article about the article.
From "Newsweek", August 25, 1997
"A Very Sore Sport
Exercise helps keep a man sexually fit, but Dr. Irwin Goldstein, a Boston University impotency specialist, says that bicycling is one workout to avoid. When a man uses a standard bike seat, his weight flattens the main penile artery, temporarily occluding the blood flow required for erections. Goldstein believes that, over time, this pressure can permanently damage the vessel. He says he sees several patients a week with bicycle-induced sexual difficulties. One was Ed Pavelka of Bicycling magazine, who recounted in a recent article that years of marathon riding had left him "as soft as overcooked rigatoni" Several companies sell padded, oversized saddles intended to reduce the pressure of the perineum, but Goldstein advises men to stop riding altogether until a seat is proven safe. He said the ideal seat would 'look like a toilet seat."
"De Vlaeminck’s obsession with preserving his health saw his career last until 1984 and gave us both a thrilling dual with Francesco Moser in the late 1970s and early 80s, and an insight into the direction the sport was taking. After the 1981 edition of Paris Roubaix, won by Bernard Hinault with De Vlaeminck second — the only time he would place ahead of Moser, who completed the podium — the Belgian was accosted by a small, bespectacled doctor who worked for the Italian.
Michele Ferrari told Mr. Paris Roubaix that he could all but guarantee he would win a fifth cobblestone, if he would allow the good doctor to draw some blood at a strategic moment, deep-freeze it and then re-infuse it just before the following year’s Roubaix. After all, how do you think Moser did it?
De Vlaeminck was shocked, and scared. “I didn’t do it because the idea scared me,” he said. “It sounded terrible. I didn’t want to know anything about it.”"
In other news, the Swiss cycling federation was surprised that Danilo Hondo admitted to doping. Maybe none of them were alive in 2005, or noticed the teams he rode for. https://dopeology.org/people/Danilo_Hondo/
Jules said:I think Warren St John is the CEO of patch
He is. It certainly didn't hurt.
B movie plot-lines?eloy said:don't even know where to put this...
https://road.cc/content/news/260863-sidi-customers-usa-warned-delays-orders-after-f16-fighter-jet-crashes-warehouse
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a27467560/pegoretti-responsorium-is-a-masterpiece/
https://youtu.be/S48SMejuhRA
Sure sounds like at least for now, he is gonna try this for real.Jules said:I'm not a particularly big Phil G fan but I really cannot help but root for an underdog.
https://youtu.be/ErrrqJz9m-I
I'd like to get off the couch like that.Jules said:4:30 "off the couch" is no joke.
They both fessed up to the fact it was a five year old bike fit they set him up with. As for the pre-ride; I'm not sure where the line is. Obv. they didn't start the efforts without ever having ridden the bike - but was it that day, or a couple of trips with some test efforts? I think it's fair to believe those were his first efforts at significant distance.mugwump said:dialed fit on a world class bike, great aero gear, and a track coach.Jules said:4:30 "off the couch" is no joke.
And I'm sure he had done several track sessions and at least a few test runs, no matter what he says.
Writing in El Telegrafo, former cycling-cross rider Sebastian Palacios issued something of a call to arms.
"Some say sport changes lives. I believe that sport can change an entire country," he wrote.
"For that, Richard's triumph, as well as filling us with happiness and pride, must make us reflect on those athletes who have the ability but not the means - those that need dedicated structures to help them train, to provide them with the resources to enable them to fulfil their potential. Fewer words and more actions. Let’s hope that, with Richard's victory, the government treats sport as a priority and that the President understands the benefits of investing in sport, which keeps us healthy, keeps us away from drugs and other vices, and cultivates values like discipline and perseverance."
It seems the government is already on the same page. President Moreno has just announced that taxes on bicycle imports will be removed, and that the state will go further in supporting its athletes.
For now, though, Ecuadorians are simply still basking in the euphoria of national glory on the world stage. Carapaz's homecoming should be some party, but in the meantime, El Universo delivered a message to him from the people.
"The country, which rose early for three weeks to see him in action and buzzed with the pride of being Ecuadorian, says with great emotion, at full voice and with a tear in the eye: "Brilliant, Carapaz! Wonderful, Richard! Eternal thanks, the Locomotive of Carchi!"
Let's go race bikes!
I can't waste hope on Porte, when he either can't make the move, misses the move, crashes, or waits around for someone else to make the move.Mark Taylor said:This guy !Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) ended up on the wrong side of a split on stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Monday, giving up 31 important seconds to overall contenders like Chris Froome