I'm grateful for the replies to this thread. Can I pull a complete "newbie" here and throw a different and more, ahem, "pressing" problem out to the experts?
I'm a 40 year-old. Six feet tall, 240 pounds, very big boned (i.e. 40 pounds overweight, not 60). I'm in good shape all around, save for the extra weight. Just got back into cycling this year after 15 years or so off a bike, and have been riding religously this spring, doing 35-km rides every day averaging 23 km/h with ease (don't laugh, I'm proud and happy about that, and want that speed to continue increasing).
But I haven't ridden the last five days due to the pain I've been in. Here's the scoop:
Tuesday I went out on a gloriously warm Ontario (Canada) day to do a quick 30-km ride in the afternoon. I'd just put slicks on my hybrid a few days prior and lowered my handlebars a bit, so I was going fast (for me). What I was really beginning to enjoy were the 2 to 4-km stretches into strong headwinds, because where in the past I'd find them disheartening, with the new slicks I'd just lower my head and do more "lifting" in my cadence to keep my speed up and power through them. With these new slicks I was inspired, and really riding hard. Everything seem fine on Tuesday, but halfway through my ride I went for a drink of cherry Gatorade, and...yuck! It felt like there was sand in it, and it tasted really and strangely bitter. But, silly me, at the time I figured maybe it just wasn't that sweet, so I drank half my bottle before finally giving up on it.
By the time I got home my stomach was in pain. Excruciating pain. I spent the next day constipated, with the pain slowly shifting down my stomach, until finally by Thursday I could move my bowels a bit. By then the pain was right at the bottom, a two-pronged attack of sharpish pain just about two inches above the top of the penis, i.e. in the bladder area, combined with further pain in the area between the testicles and anus. Coughing and laughing was painful, as was bending over and even laying down. I've slept badly, being woken up by the pain. On Friday the doctor had me pee in a cup, and ruled out a number of things. Since by the time I saw him the pain had begun to subside somewhat, he said to leave it for a few days to see if it cleared up, and suggested that it could have been a muscle strain from cycling or perhaps irritable bowels, which might have explained the strange taste in my mouth.
It's now Sunday evening. The pain has noticeably subsided, and I was able to sleep last night, but it isn't completely gone. I know that I really did
something to myself, but I'm not completely sure
what. I want to keep riding, but I don't want to go through what I just went through again. Which was...what? Would anyone have any ideas?
My thoughts:
1. When I first bought my Fuji hybrid last fall I had a regular saddle that gave me pain in the area between the testicles and anus (is there a name for that area?) and a numb penis. Ouch. I bought a split saddle, lowered the front a bit, and solved the problem. Or did I? Is my current conundrum the result of the new lowered handlebars? Does it look like my bike isn't set up properly? Do I need an expert at a bike shop to set me up on it correctly? Here's a photo:
2. The new slicks at 115 psi are fast and soul-stirring on flat, smooth straightaways in the peaceful countryside, but they are pretty rough when the asphalt isn't in pristine condition. Did the bumps do me in? The shocks on the front forks and the seat on my hybrid don't really work.
3. When I got home my wife washed out my water bottle and noticed a bunch of black stuff at the bottom. She got it out with a scouring pad, but up to then I'd only ever rinsed my bottle out with water, and would keep unfinished Gatorade in my bottle in the fridge over night and even over the weekend. Did I swallow a bunch of mould which did harm to my digestive system, partly plugging me up and not getting through very easily? Or was it a "bad" batch of cherry Gatorade?
I'd be grateful for any ideas you might have. I wish I knew for sure what happened to me. At the moment I'm a bit gunshy about getting back on my bike, which is really depressing.