The only solution, according to Schrader, is the no-nose saddle, which looks like a half-moon and puts the majority of pressure on the biker’s sit bones, where it’s meant to be. NIOSCH and the Center for Disease Control officially recommends the no-nose saddle for bike cops and other professionals who spend extended time on the bike, but Schrader says it can be hard to convince recreational and competitive cyclists to make the switch.
“Cyclists will argue with me all day, and some of them will never experience any erectile dysfunction. It’s like smoking. Not all smokers get cancer,” Schrader says. “At the end of the day, I just tell them, ‘It’s your penis. Treat it how you like.’”
Refuse to go no-nose? Two things you can do to relieve some of the pressure while biking:
1) Get up off the saddle as much as you can.
2) Sit back on your sit bones as often as possible.
RULE THE GROUP RIDE
The key to biking stronger than your compadres? “Treat the group ride like it’s a race, and prepare for it like it’s a race,” says Colin Izzard, head coach for Carmichael Training Systems in Asheville. Here’s Izzard’s step-by-step plan for ruling the group ride.
Lay the Foundation
In the winter and early spring, focus on good endurance miles and low-end lactate threshold training (intervals at about 80 percent max effort).
Rest more
Most of us ride too hard, too often, never allowing the body to adapt and get stronger from the last workout. Days off the bike should be rest days or cross training days. You get faster when you rest, not when you are working hard.
No, Really, Rest
If the group ride is your main goal, then prepare for it as if it were a race. Take the day before and just warm up well. And the day after the group ride should be a recovery day. That way you will be fresh for the ride, and well recovered and adapted from the stress afterward.
