Goodrich, Paul - TEB <psgoodrich@bpa.gov> writes:
|> So, Jeffrey, a coupla suggestions: (1) Make sure that your "perch bones"
|> are coming down squarely on a LEVEL part of the seat (left-to-right). If
|> they're coming down on the rounded edge, they're being pried apart, and
|> neither your pelvis nor your soft tissues are going to appreciate it much.
Yup, they sure don't. That's probably the 2nd problem. There's still the
probelm of even getting to that situation.... but things just don't want to
get out of the way to let me get there comfortably.
Dan Colyer writes
|> I'd go with Paul Goodrich's advice on angling the saddle upwards from
|> front to back, but that may depend largely upon what sort of saddle
|> you've got.
I guess it's just an old Miyata saddle, which doesn't adjust. Jack helped
design that saddle, and since he doesn't have this problem (I'll leave why
to speculation), I guess it doesn't deal with it well. But then, Jack says
that he doesn't know anyone with the problemk to this extent......
|> it's not an option. Have you tried different saddles?
I've only ridden three cycles in my life.... the one that I have, which is
Jack's old Miyata that he gave me last year, Jack's new Miyata that he
bought to replace the one he kindly sloffed off on me :-), and then Jack's
27" (or something like that) cycle that had a notably wider seat. I tried
that last week, and at first it felt better, but I'm not sure. The post
wasn't easily adjustable, so I was just riding it with the seat about 6"
too low, which doesn't allow for a fair assesment. But I think that a wider
seat would certainly be better....
|> DON'T wear jeans. They can chafe horribly and can lead quickly to the
|> sweaty scrotum that causes the painful sticky skin scenario.
I haven't had this problem, but maybe just haven't ridden long enough.
|> DO wear padded lycra cycling shorts. They're comfortable, look sexy
|> (they do when I wear them anyway) and are tight enough to hold
They probably would when I wear them too (urhmp, sucking in gut :-).
I've never had a pair, though, and am not sure I'd really want to wear
them.... I dunno', maybe too conserative an upbringing.
|> Whatever you wear (except for jeans) you will last longer without
|> underwear. As far as I can tell, this is simply because one layer of
|> clothing rubs less than two.
I'd would always give experience creedence over theory, but doesn't it make
sense that if you had two layers, the inter-layer contact would rub,
leaving the contact with the skin rub-free?
John Foss writes:
|> > He says it's not a problem for him, and since
|> > I've met his kids I know he's got the, uh, same type of biology as I
|> > have . . .
|>
|> I think both of his kids were born before he started unicycling
You know, you're right. I notice he stopped having kids about the time he
started riding. But then, why didn't he have the problem at first, before
things were ground away? Mmmm, come to think of it, his kids don't look
a bit like him....
|> Tell us what type of saddle you are using. What is the brand
|> and age of the unicycle, and please describe the saddle in detail.
It's Jack's old Miyata, but...
|> me guess, please. You are riding a relatively new Miyata with the
|> plastic saddle with handle built into the front bumper.
That's the kind he has now... I guess mine is the version just before,
without the handle (and thank goodness for that -- riding his last week, I
got my finger caught in the "handle" part twice when catching the thing
during a fall, and the pain was almost as bad as the pain that this thread
is about).
|> If so, this saddle is too narrow for all adults. See if you can get a
|> wider saddle.
I think that's the ticket. But how come Jack has no problem, and says that
he doesn't know others with it? Does it just say something about the kind
of friends he keeps? :-)
|> I'm no doctor, but it sounds like you may have some kind of overuse
|> injury. It might be advisable for you to back off from riding for a
|> while, until whatever damage gets a chance to heal.
Actually, I hadn't ridden since the summer until showing up at his place
last week. I was happy that I was able to ride right away, but the familiar
problems were just as pressing.
|> He was a big guy, and I would guess that he was big in areas that we
|> could not see. He always got sore after a short time.
As I noted, there are the two problems. The "man problem" and the "sore
problem", and they're not related, I think. I would think padding and the
wider seat would help with the "sore problem", as would proper underware
(sometimes the seams of the underwear lie right where the weight sits, and
that's unpleasant). But the "man problem" where size and shapes matter
aren't in issue of "soreness", but of immediate and extream pain. Once I
can get things settled, I'm fine until the sore problem starts to set in,
or I fall and need to remount.
In non-list mail, Dennis Kathrens offered some advice (in frank terms,
which is why he said he mailed to me directly) that looks like it might be
really helpful. It also involes cycling shorts. Maybe I'll have to go
find a pair......
Bert Neff writes:
|> is that the crotch wears out on my jeans, which can be rather embarrasing
|> if I don't notice it in a timely fashion.
I can imagin(!)
|> For me, I found that when mounting, aiming for the seat just a bit ahead
|> of where I sit, and then backing up just a bit works pretty good, but I'm
|> guessing you've tried that sort of thing.
I can free-mount in two ways (successful and unsuccessful :-), and maybe
am at the point where I can start to think about methods. I'll try this.
I can see how the backing up could help roll things out of harms way.
------------------
Thanks all for your advice. I'll try some of the things mentioned, but
please chime in with additional comments if you have them. It's sort of
neat to be mailing through Kent.... I'm an alumus ('87, BS in Math/CS).
*jeffrey*
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Jeffrey E.F. Friedl <jfriedl@omron.co.jp> Omron Corporation, Kyoto Japan