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@Haideez
I took part for the first time in the Dunwich Dynamo over the weekend which was both lots of fun and gruelingly painful depending on when you asked. Having never done a long ride like that before I wasn't the best equipped, I was on my normal commuter bike - a mid-range hybrid with a fairly cheap saddle. My friend (on a much nicer bike) commented throughout the race that he couldn't feel his member, but I didn't notice anything like that myself (perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention down there). However after the event I got home and went to indulge in a celebratory romp with my missus only to discover I'd lost sensation in that region. I could still stand to attention so to speak without any problems, but with no sensation down there it took me an eternity to get over the last hill and pop the cork. We joked at times it felt more knackering than the ride itself!
Now this didn't concern me at the time especially given it was post ride and that my friend had mentioned experiencing something similar during the event, however it's now been nearly four days and I still have this problem. It seems very localised - the undercarriage and the base I can feel like normal, it's just the bellend which is senseless and feels like someone has given it some novocaine! A bit of googling has uncovered that general numbness up to a week afterwards is not uncommon in long rides due to the pressure on the perinium from the saddle over extended periods of time, but the idea of potential long term nerve damage is what is starting to worry me. Could doing such a distance on an unsuitable bike have caused some harm? I did sit bolt upright for a lot of the event as I had a sore back.
I'm aware that getting a better saddle will be a good idea for future rides (Selle SMP I've read do a good one designed to prevent this sort of problem), but I'm wondering whether anyone else has experienced such an issue that lasted for so long. Should I be seeing a doctor about this or is this just all part of the experience? There is a thread similar to this on here but it's about preventing this problem in the future rather than what to do now! I'm also aware this could open the floodgates for bawdy replies, by all means I don't mind a good laugh but if anyone can give an indication from their experience on whether this is a serious issue or most likely temporary it'd be much appreciated. Cheers!