3.5 hours seems like an abnormally long time... there are nerves and vessels down there that can be damaged... you're not choosing forks here, you're talking about a fairly important part of your body (in my opinion), so I'd be calling the doctor (I'd predict that whoever's on-call will get back to you pretty quickly if you explain your symptoms) instead of asking a bunch of anonymous cyber-folks...

Just my two cents worth.

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http://irondad06.blogspot.com/

http://irondad.blogspot.com/

yeah, I'm with the first response. I've never had the numbness last post ride. This is not something to mess around with. Damn the embarassment, call your doc. If you don't have someone to call, hit the ER.

I have to wonder why you say typical numbness? I just rode 78 miles today and no numbness at al. I never get it. I'm not boasting, I'm just saying you shouldn't be numb on any rides. I can't help you with the problem, except to say see if your lady or Freddy five fingers can get the blood flowing down there.

Once you get past this, start looking at different saddles and shorts. I use the performance gel shorts and I'm happy with those. Did you spend most of your time in the aero position? Maybe tilt your seat a bit or stand up on the pedals every once in awhile.

It might be worth asking: Did you ride a different course? Wear different riding shorts? New saddle or an old (shoddy) saddle? New shoes/cleats? Trying out a new position on the bars? Carrying a lot of stuff in the back pockets of your riding shirt? "Little" things like that can have a big impact on your sensitive area. I'm willing to bet it might have to do with something unique to the ride that made you go numb, rather than some permanent problem. I agree with irondad, if is it's still numb in the morning get it checked out. Good luck and don't get too freaked out.

Well, I've had similar symptoms. I also get occasional numbness in the toes, mostly in the left foot. After my last half-iron race, it was a couple of days before the tingling went away entirely.

I'm no expert, but I'd say that you probably pinched a nerve, and that the feeling will come back over the course of the next day or so.

You definitely need to be looking at your bike setup, shorts, and maybe a new saddle. I have been making adjustments and the problem is getting better. If this happens to you after most rides, you need to be making adjustments now, or at least standing once in a while to give the boys a break.

There was a great article in Bicycling magazine a couple of months ago talking about this subject, that is, the various testicular and related problems that professional/amateur bike racers encounter. These are real problems, and can lead to serious health consequences. If you don't want to have permanent problems, you need to find and resolve the root cause of this ASAP.

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Those symptoms should not be ignored hoping they will go away. Especially after 3 hours. Get to the doc asap. Could mean nerve damage, lack of blood flow, etc...

First stop: Your (hopefully knowledgable) Doctor as soon as possible.

Second stop: Get set up on the bike correctly, you may need new seat: numbness is not normal anywhere while riding. These days there are enough variations of seats, shoes, inner soles, gloves etc for everyone to have full function and no numbness.

I'm no expert on this, but my understanding of this problem is that the perineal membrane becomes compressed while sitting on the saddle which then compresses either/or/both the pudendal nerve and pudendal artery that supplies the penis.

Apparently, this effects some guys more than others. I can ride all day on a hard saddle with minimum padding, even in a speedo during a tri and have absolutely no problems while other guys are much more easily effected. You'll have to look into and experiment with different saddles. Some of those cut out saddles seem to alleviate the problem for many riders.

As for now, I'd get to see your doc ASAP. Maybe even ask for a referral to a urologist, preferably one who knows a bit about cycling.

Thank you all for the help!!! I decided to give it a little time and if it wasn't changing by today then I would be at the doctors right now. But I am glad to say everything seems to be normal today! I will definately getting some new shorts and a saddle. I appreciate your advice and concern! Thanks again.

spiderman

Check out this article--- The first paragraph says it all. . .

http://www.nfl.com/insider/story/5853695

I've had the experience, and the numbness lasted abuit three days, although it was getting better fairly constantly. It happened when I bought my Trek 5200 a few years ago, and switched my saddle (Specialized Body Geometry) from my old POS Pugeot while deciding what to get. I rode 104 miles the first day, because the bike felt so great, then at a rest stop at about 96 miles, I couldn't feel my johnson when I stopped to pee. Scared the #### out of me.

I stayed off the bike for three days, and changed the saddle to a Terry Fly. End of problem. I've since switched to the Aspide Triathlon, and have no problem with it.

Also, getting out of the saddle at stop lights and for short sprints (especially for short hills) helps, too.

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Cousin Elwood - Team Over-the-hill Racing
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