A reader writes:
I, like many men of my age, suffer from an enlarged prostate. When I was diagnosed with this a few years ago I asked if I could still cycle. Needless to say [the doctor] advised against it other than occasional short runs.
Straight after diagnosis I bought suitable saddles (those with a significant cutaway to relieve pressure on the perineum – very common now) and reduced my cycling to a max of 2 hours once or twice a week. I had always worn padded shorts.
I have a couple of friends that suffer this problem but they carry on cycling: one has completed in a couple of multi-day off-road rides and is planning a multi-week tour. None seemed concerned.
I would appreciate your views on this matter.
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information should not be taken as medical advice.
And I do not (yet!) have first-hand experience to draw on in the case of cycle touring or bikepacking with an enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, to give it its technical name.
With the understanding that this makes me unqualified to give either medical or anecdotal recommendations for long-distance cycling with such a condition, I do have one slightly unorthodox thought:
Have you considered moving to a recumbent bike?
Reading around on the topic, most advice on the subject of cycling with an enlarged prostate sounds like a workaround for sitting on a traditional bicycle saddle, which is intrinsically problematic by design.
But the seating position on a recumbent is nothing like a traditional saddle at all – more like a deck chair, in fact!
And, once you’ve got used to it, riding a recumbent is far more comfortable in many other ways, relieving the causes of so much of the wrist, neck and back aches that cycle tourers seem to spend so much time and energy trying to manage.
While I wrote a short series of blogs about my own experiences on a recumbent touring bike (starting here), the undisputed online home of all things recumbent is bentrideronline.com. And there are over a thousand journals from recumbent touring cyclists over at CrazyGuyOnABike.com.
I know this is a totally wacky idea, and I won’t blame you if you reject it out of hand. But at the very least I hope it provides an interesting window onto one of the quirkiest, least-considered niches of cycling!
And I applaud the question, because it belongs in a category that might be called “uncomfortable questions”, of which there are surely many more. Perhaps that’s an idea for a new blog series…
This is part of my “No Stupid Questions” series, in which readers write in with questions about cycle touring or bikepacking and I attempt to answer them. Check out more recent posts in the series or ask one of your own.
Something to add?