The numbness and chafing many female riders experience can lead to damaged nerves and arteries, which can cause diminished sexual lubrication and arousal, unsatisfying orgasms, even arthritis, says Goldstein. "Do you get numbness while sitting on a chair?" he asks. "Of course not; but bicyclists accept it as normal." Apparently, these symptoms aren't just reserved for hard-core pros, either. First-time riders and cyclists in the Tour de France are all at risk, says Goldstein, as are those who take spin classes, in which participants don't shift their weight for extended periods of time.

Although scientific data on the sexual performance of female cyclists is practically nonexistent, research does show that men who ride are twice as likely than any other kinds of athletes to become impotent, says Kenneth S. Taylor, an assistant clinical professor of sports medicine at University of California at San Diego. Goldstein estimates that approximately 4 percent of male bike riders suffer from impotence-which, for some, is irreversible.

Part of the problem is cyclists refuse to accept that the numbness and pain from riding is linked to their sexual problems, Goldstein says. Still, women are more likely to stop riding than men. "When women sit on something narrow, it hurts their labia, and they get off the bike," says Goldstein. "But a lot of men think they don't have a good ride until they feel numbness. It's amazing that they'll wear helmets, but do nothing to protect erectile function. These guys happen to be 18-, 25- or 30-year-olds who love the outdoors and would be in a sense frustrated and angry that anyone would consider bicycle riding anything less than the perfect sport."

The cycling industry has responded by manufacturing new ergonomic bicycle seats. Roger Minkow, M.D., an avid cyclist and physician in Petaluma, California, engineered such a seat after reading a magazine article that linked male impotency with cycling. Now there are at least nine models of Minkow's Body Geometry seats available on the international market. A study at Stanford University Medical Center found that Minkow's seats relieved problems leading to sexual dysfunction in 24 out of 25 riders. Two other seats designed to relieve pressure on the groin area are the Serfas/Saber saddle, which looks like a narrow toilet seat, and Terry Precision Cycle's seat with an oval hole cut into the nose of the seat. However, Goldstein is unimpressed. "I think they're the equivalent of wearing a rubber band for a seat belt," he says. "They're not addressing the situation."

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