I took a friend (60) out for his first ride in 13 years. Michael is fit and very active. I am 68 and been riding 4 years and ride a lot but I'm still recovering from a new hip, so my mileage and speed are down (23 rides in June & July, 13.7 mph avg. at average ascent of 40'/mile).*

1. Day 1 was 19 miles. 11 miles out was reminding him of a lot of basics. The 8 miles back he filled my mirror - 14.2 mph @ 38'/mile
   • His bike was a Nishiki, pre-indexing. I upgraded the front brake to a dual pivot, replaced one of the tires, and tuned the bike. The gearing was quite reasonable, IMO, and it worked well.
2. Day 2, the very next day, at his insistence, was 20 miles. He was dragging butt from the start but absolutely refused to turn back or let me get a car. His average moving speed was about 10 mph for the first 15 miles. He did consent to eat a Clif bar. Later he revived, triggered by a nice, long downhill stretch, and he's saying "faster." Our final 5.4 miles (@ 47'/mi.) were done at 15.1.
3. Day 3 he was willing to admit he was sore. For the next 7 days - he didn't ride, he was in Maine.

Today he tells me that his bladder blew up while he was in Maine. He was completely blocked. Catheter got installed, LOTS of urine got drained. He was told his prostate had swelled, probably caused by the cycling. He is learning how to self-catheterize!

I am curious. Does cycling inflaming his prostate sound plausible? I'm sure that there is a lot of relevant experience.

Thanks all!

FYI - Points of possible interest:

• I had prostate cancer 3 years ago, "moderately aggressive," and had it removed (it takes the surgeon 8 hours doing it robotically). No complications since.
• I broke my hip while I was leading 70 riders on my 3rd annual "Bonsai Ride." After 42 miles, everybody eats the sandwich they pre-ordered from a good bakery in the courtyard at Bonsai West. Which Michael owns.

* [This is a brag, but it helps put my unusually high mph with Michael in perspective.] I got PO'd at myself and decided to work more in August. I made a max effort ride to start August (16.0 for 24 @ 31'), have done 2 other rides over 15.0, improved my longest ride to 47 miles, and did a major hill ride of 38 miles at 71'.)

Cycling in the 48 hours before a PSA test can give rise to abnormally high readings, so I guess it's plausible that pressure on the prostate from a saddle could cause inflammation. I'm not a doctor, though, so that is just speculation on my part.

Never heard of that happening, but I guess it's entirely possible.

I just know for myself that when I switched to a SMP saddle, I never got numb "down there" anymore when I rode. Before I switched, it took about 45-minutes or an hour before the numbness really became annoying. Even slightly painful. Took the joy out of cycling. SMP saddles have a real funky shape, and one either likes them or they don't. They have a center cut-out that relieves pressure on the perineum. The only discomfort I feel now is due to lack of saddle time, (mild soreness due to lack of riding). It seems that most saddle manufactures now offer several models with some type of center cut-out, either a total cut-out or a groove down the center.

I hope our friend recovers and desires to ride again. Sounds like he pushed it too much. And good for you...overcoming that prostrate cancer thing. I understand that's what usually gets us men in the end. Especially if it is not caught soon enough. Bummer about your hip. Sounds like you're coming back nicely.

you would have to separate that you were getting older from the cycling

.. NB: it happens to non cycling men too .

BTW the Prostate Gland is within your hips, you dont sit on it..

Agree with the recommendation to use a saddle with a large cutout. I also use an SMP.

Probably too much salt on his lobster.



IMO Prostate can be irritated by cycling.

Does it happen all the time - No.

Sugar, salt, and fried foods also cause me problems.

But when the prostate isn't happy - nobody is happy.

I got completely blocked- needed a cath did the self cath thing for a month or so. Took the drugs, didn't open up, finally had a TURP. I was benign. At the time, I rode only a recumbent, plus I spent a lot of time riding in the car and got blocked while on the road. I think it was the car, not bike that caused more of my issue.

I don't have any documented evidence but I do know that changing my saddle recently has caused some burning when urinating after riding. I think there is defintely a connection. Since making adjustments to the saddle angle the problem has been solved but I was surprised how that could have caused problems so quickly.

BTW- Up until recently my go to bike was a Nishki Prestige.At least the frame still is as the bike has gone through many upgrades since 1984 when itwas first purchased.

Hope your friend is doing better and gets well quickly.

Oldroadog-

IMHO, it may have been a contributing factor. Cycling could have been the trigger that brought the symptoms to the fore.

TURP is my friend too.

Started a century in 2013, did not finish. Actually asked to see a urologist. Surgery ensued. 8 weeks off the bike. Went back to the same century event this year, finished strong!

Oh, and I spend 1/4 the time at a urinal than many others my age do.

Yes
It can irritate prostate
The prostate sorta wraps around urethra(urine tube in penis)
You kinda DO sit on it.
The proximal part of your penis-is "in" your body-an unrelieved saddle puts some of your weight on it
it -penis-is sometimes "released" to increase effective length (not for me-not this lifetime!!)

I am 100% certain that cycling can irritate the prostrate. I have been off my bike for several months with just this problem.

I keep taking short exploratory rides hoping this will stop. I can ride for 10 minutes and it takes 3 weeks off the bike for my prostrate to quit bothering me.

I was riding an SMP saddle when the problem started, I am starting to look for other alternatives.

Riding a bent can do a lot to do away with that worry.

For me...no, Doc said all is good.

New (preliminary) evidence that cyclists can have a higher incidence of prostate cancer - 3 to 6 times higher! That's a lot!

Road Bike Rider

Is Prostate Cancer More Prevalent Among Serious 50+ Riders?
Question:

The June 2014 issue of Journal of Men's Health published a study that riders 50 and over logging 4 to 8.5 hours or more per week were three times more likely to develop prostate cancer than those riders logging four hours or less per week. Are you aware of this study? Can you comment? Thanks. –

Robert B.
Dr. Richard Ellin Replies:

I was able to get a copy of the article and read it. The article did, in fact, find an association between weekly cycling time and the odds of having prostate cancer. There are many potential issues with the study, which the authors readily admit. Nevertheless, here is what they found.

The study was done by surveying 5,282 male cyclists in the UK in 2012-13. They relied on people's self-reporting of cycling time and prostate cancer. (They also looked at erectile dysfunction and infertility, but I won't comment on that here).

Based on these self-reports, the authors found that those who cycled 3.75-8.5 hours per week had a roughly 3 times higher prevalence of prostate cancer compared with those who cycled less than 3.75 hour per week, and those who cycled more than 8.5 hours per week had a 6 times higher prevalence, controlling for age, smoking status, body mass index, presence or absence of hypertension, alcohol intake, and other physical activities.

The authors stress that this study merely shows a relationship between duration of cycling and prevalence of prostate cancer. It does not imply or indicate causality.

They postulate several mechanisms by which cycling might increase the risk, but clearly state that more investigation needs to be done to both confirm the association, and investigate the possible causes.

They readily admit that it's possible being a cyclist simply means that one is more likely to have their prostate cancer diagnosed, for any number of reasons.

So it does raise some concern. However, I typically cycle about 4 hours most weeks, and don't plan to cut back, but it does give one pause.

Richard Ellin, MD, FACP, is a board-certified specialist in Internal Medicine who practices in Alpharetta, Georgia. He received his medical degree and completed residency at Emory University, and has been in practice with Kaiser Permanente for 26 years. He is also an avid cyclist.

I have BPH and take meds to shrink it. The microwave prostate burn helped incrementally on flow and knocked PSA's down to less than 2. I was using SMP saddles (not the $300 ones) but started to get blood in the urine once rides approached 70 to 100 miles. I went back to the Selle Italia Max Flights that I used to use. They have much higher density foam with the same cutouts as the SMP's and are much more comfortable for me over longer distances. Saddle selection is something each rider must determine for themselves, sometimes at great cost. I take blood thinners so the enlarged prostate will impinge on other body parts during cycling to cause bleeding if the saddle doesn't fit well and is not at the right angle and height. My Urologist doesn't believe there is a significant connection between cycling and Prostate Cancer.

Managing inflammation in general helps my prostatisis. Allergy season like right now is the worst. I have not identified cycling as a particular issue for me. My saddle is wide as are my tires. YMMV.

WOW! What a spectacular piece of information. And food for thought.

I averaged 12+ hours a week during my first 7 months (June-Dec, 4700 miles) of riding. I cut down some the next year, but I was on pace for maybe 6,000 miles for the year (so I was still riding a lot) when I was diagnosed with "moderately aggressive prostate cancer." I had never had a high PSA. The surgery (robotic) was only my fourth time I spent a night in a hospital (one night each for heel spurs removed @ 30, and two motorcycle accidents @ 28 and 31).

I am a fan of vigilant watching if the cancer is not advanced. Mine might be borderline now, and "watching" was less popular in 2011, but my PCP (of 30+ years, who has never steered me wrong) said take it out. I stalled for a few months for the sake of cycling, and then found the doctor in Boston who had done hundreds of robotic surgeries. The surgery takes 8 hours! (That shocked me.) The catheter and bag constrained me for two weeks. Then it wasn't too bad. (NOWHERE near as hard as breast cancer or hip replacement.)

Results: The cancer didn't spread, I dribbled for a couple of months, and now it takes me less than 10 seconds to pee!

I was at the urologist on Thursday and asked him, he said don't worry about it, its not a problem. BTW.. .he's a cyclist also.

At age 81 I still pedal 5,000 miles a year and have cycled over 300,000 miles (240,000 of them on tandem with my wife).
In my opinion cycling did not affect my prostate, but probably 'old age' was the culprit for my cancer episode.
Had seed implants about 10 years ago and am doing great!
Have always ridden hard saddles and correct fit/positioning on a bike/tandem is crucial.

Your statistics are freaky and spectacularly beautiful. You made me smile. Thanks

I'm new here but older and haven't lived the healthiest of lives...I'm now diabetic as well and of the age where prostate can become an issue so....I've been following this thread with interest because I certainly don't want something I'm doing to get healthy to cause me further illnesses and despite the professional medical advice aired here regarding whether or not cycling is linked to such?...I feel this way...

I listen to my body these days....it seems to be far more accurate than the stuff I get from doctors who "think they know"....so...if my gems or butt is going numb?....that's a problem...namely?...lack of circulation...which in turn causes tissue death....including nerves...often times starting with nerves...hence the "going numb" feeling....and imho?....blood in urine?...that's a definite problem!

But instead of going the three stooges route where the doc says.."If it hurts when you do that then don't do that!" LOL!...common sense tells me to take measures to remedy the root cause and not live (or die) with the self inflicted results.

That said?...logic tells me that even the most expensive orthopedic and ergo correct seat available today is a blue light special bargain as compered to even just one trip to the Dr.s Office...in a decision where the comfort factor alone is worth the money spent let alone tolerating and putting your body through such things as numbness or?...for the love of God...blood in your urine? LOL!

So...could someone please direct me here?....I'm no speed demon...nor am I a member of the 1K miles a week club...but I'm left wondering if wally worlds best hanging on the Bell pegboard for $27.95 isn't leaps and bounds better than stock.

57,000 plus mile...never been numb.

finkster:

Get a saddle that does not bear on your perineum (the base of your d**ck). I currently use the Adamo "Prologue" and shall soon try the Cobb JOF fifty-five. These saddles have no nose and simply cannot apply pressure to your perineum.

I have tried a number of carefully selected saddles and none gave me any relief for numbness and/or pain in my nether parts. However, after switching to the Adamo saddle, I have experienced no pain or numbness. None. Not any. Their secret is no secret at all: if you don't sit on your perineum -- it won't hurt. Other manufacturers are catching on to this simple fact and you'll see many more such saddle designs as time goes on.

Joe

Local pressure and bruising can inflame anything.

We get swollen feet from tight shoes and bumps, lumps and swelling from impact injuries, so it stands to reason that the prostrate, or tissues surrounding it can get inflamed from too much time sitting on a saddle that doesn't fit right. This shouldn't surprise anybody, though your friend seems to have gotten a very extreme case.

Men over 50 may also have another reason to be careful about bruising or swelling. Many are on low dose aspirin, which is a blood "thinner". That makes bleed and swell more than when we were younger.

The same advice applies at any age, know and listen to your body. If you overwork your body, know what's changing and monitor that for effects. Doesn't mean running to the Doc for every little thing, just watching for implications.

My urologist is also a bike rider and he said that the health benefits of riding far outweigh the potential harm to the prostate. He also said that he would be surprised if my prostate problems became worse from riding a bicycle AS LONG AS I'm comfortable on the seat. If I have any discomfort or numbness in genitals or in the perineum, I should adjust my saddle.