Originally Posted by Propofol

It's hard to say whether his osteoarthritis was caused by cycling, but it certainly is making it worse. The constant movement of his hip joints is just causing further damage and is at least speeding up the degenerative process from osteoarthritis. And as the surgeon mentioned, these things do not get better over time.

Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver

In a follow up Tom said some of the pain issues had been mediated by physical therapy but it is known that anyone who rides as much as he does will experience issues with walking as the muscles used for walking and cycling are different.

The man who set the record for most miles in a year (75,000 miles) had great issues after spending 365 days in the saddle and had to learn how to walk after this feat was accomplished.

I agree that the arthritis may have been independent of the cycling and this did not seem to be causing him as many issues as most which is probably due to the time he was in the saddle as it is is not the same level of load bearing exercise as walking, running, or lifting.

I suffer from issues that stem from axial loading issues because of a lower back injury and can ride forever as it is a nearly pain free exercise but walking is very difficult... but I also do this to make sure that my strength is as balanced as it can be.