Tuesday, April 28, 2009

NIOSH Report on Noseless Saddles

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued a new publication recommending the use of no-nose, or noseless, bicycle saddles in the prevention of genital numbness and sexual dysfunction in workers who ride bicycles as part of their job.
This new publication, Workplace Solutions: No-Nose Saddles for Preventing Genital Numbness and Sexual Dysfunction from Occupational Bicycling, summarizes the findings of a number of NIOSH studies that demonstrated the effectiveness of these new saddles (seats) for the nearly 40,000 workers in public safety occupations who ride bicycles for their job. It also provides recommendations for addressing considerations involved in a switch to no-nose saddles from saddles that have noses, such as maintaining balance and stability on the bicycle.
NIOSH studies have shown that male bicycle patrol officers who spend an average of 25 hours a week on traditional bicycle saddles reported groin and genital numbness and more severe sexual problems. Previous NIOSH studies showed that the pressure on a traditional bicycle saddle in the area under the rider's groin is approximately 2.90 pounds per square inch during cycling, and can go up as high as 5.37 pounds per square inch. The pressure on the groin area compresses nerves and arteries that run through the groin between the sit bones, the bones located under the flesh of the butt, to the genitals. Over time, the pressure exerted on these nerves and arteries may lead to a loss of sensation and a decrease in blood supply to the genitals.
"Improving the quality of life for workers is an important part of workplace safety and health," said NIOSH Acting Director Christine M. Branche, Ph.D. "NIOSH is dedicated to improving the lives of workers and is pleased to see this research being put into practice for the benefit of these workers."
NIOSH studies have shown that no-nose bicycle saddles greatly reduced the pressure in the groin area, to approximately 1.02 pounds per square inch on average. The no-nose saddles also placed very little pressure forward of the sit bones, where the nerves and arteries for the genitals pass through. A 2008 NIOSH study found that more than 90% of officers on bicycle patrol who had tried using the no-nose saddles were still using them after 6 months and reporting that they believed the saddles could be used safely and effectively in their work.
In addition to employing no-nose bicycle saddles, the publication provides additional recommendations for reducing cyclists' risk from bicycle saddle pressure. These include seeking guidance on proper bicycle fit from a trained specialist, dismounting the bicycle when at a standstill, and dismounting the bicycle if you begin to have numbness, tingling, or loss of feeling in any part of your body.
The NIOSH Science Blog posted an entry on the use of no-nose bicycle saddles, which can be viewed at www.cdc.gov/niosh/blog/nsb042209_bikesaddle.html. For more information on no-nose bicycle saddles and how to reduce worker's risks go to www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2009-131/default.html.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Hillary Biscay's IM China Race Report

ISM had some great results at this year's Ironman China.
Tereza Macel 3rd
Hillary Biscay 6th
Jocelyn Wong 9th

Below is Hillary Biscay's race report.

Most people probably know that I’ve crammed my fair share of racing into the past three years. By now it’s difficult for me to find a precedent-setting challenge at ironman. It’s always a hard day, comprised of numerous tests that make finishing seem somewhat incomprehensible at times—but I now feel like I’ve encountered nearly every sort of test once or twice before, and have always been able to make it through to the other side.
That said, Ironman China, my 34th ironman, set a new precedent: it was the toughest day of racing I have ever experienced. However, while this fact in itself would usually rank a race amongst my favorites, I don’t think I ever need to return to this one . . .
The race started with a two-loop swim in a river that I did not touch until race day, for fear of getting sick. The banks were lined with trash, and the water was an opaque brown; there was no sight even of one’s own hand. It was warm brown slush, though, and that was part of the reason I chose this race: it was to be a non-wetsuit swim. Swimming is my strength, so the tougher the swim is and the less assistance everyone has from layers of neoprene, the more I can benefit from this strength. So when we were informed the afternoon before the race that we’d be getting out and running a substantial part of each swim loop in order to avoid swimming too long into the current, I was more than a little disappointed.
The chaos that was the ironman swim began with a unique mass swim start, in which the pros started amongst the wetsuit-clad age group athletes. Because of the currents, people took off in every which direction, and there were heaps of age groupers around and in front of me; I immediately lost track of the pro race. I just tried to find the next buoy and swim hard towards it, despite the fact that people seemed to arbitrarily playing choose-your-own swim (run) course….So when I found Teresa Macel, who I knew was the other top swimmer in the field, halfway through the first loop, it was reassuring. We swam together on and off for the rest of the race, getting separated on a couple of occasions when each one of us strayed off course. I took the final wrong line, however, and she gapped me by half of a minute into the current on the way home. So I followed her in, while watching age groupers next to me walking in the shallow water faster than I was swimming into the current.
I hopped onto my bike feeling fine and ready to push it. Teresa was down the road already, so when some pro men passed me just a few kilometers in, I decided to try to keep their pace for as long as I could. These were guys that I can’t usually ride with, so I was pretty happy to be able to keep their pace for about fifteen kilometers. It turns out , however, that 180 kilometers is a long way when the highlight comes in the first twenty!
The bike course was predominantly flat and rarely even necessitated coming out of the aerobars; in other words, there is no reason I shouldn’t have been able to ride well on this course. But I didn’t. For whatever reason, I just didn’t “have it” on the bike on Sunday. I started the ride in second and came off the bike in fifth.
However, since I felt like my head was going to explode while I was cycling, and I was desperately needing to dump water all over myself, I knew it must be hot. I’ve always found that when it feels hot on the bike, it is REALLY hot. So I stayed positive, thinking, “This is will be my kind of run!”
My suspicions were confirmed when I was doing the last kilometers of the ride and I could see the runners doing their first few kilometers. There wasn’t a whole lot of running going on. Most of these were athletes in the half ironman, who apparently couldn’t even run 21 kilometers . . . not a good sign. Then I saw a couple of the top pro men—two guys who are known for their run are always easy to spot because of the killer rhythm that characterizes their marathons. I had never seen them look like this. These guys were in the first few kilometers and already looked like death?! That was not a good sign. The next sight was the women’s race leader, already walking. Carnage. In some sick way I was excited to know that I was in for an epic day at the races.
This excitement was short-lived, however, as the reality of attempting to run a marathon in these conditions set in very quickly during the first couple kilometers of my own run . I have done ironman marathons in 100-degree heat, but never 110+. Turns out there is a difference. And it’s not pretty.
I am so glad that I knew better than to ever look at my watch during this marathon, because I just kept telling myself that I only had to run around while baking on the asphalt for three hours and change . . . Turns out it was 4:17, or the longest it has taken me to do 26.2 miles since my first ironman. And yes, that was “running.” To provide some perspective, my Czech counterpart, Petr V, who consistently runs sub-3, ran a 4:18. And he was also “running.”
I spent the first 15 kilometers doing what I would describe as a really bad impression of jogging, which means making a running-type motion while actually going up and down on the spot. This stretch marks the most difficult time I have ever had not quitting one of these races and sticking to my “no walking in ironman” rule; it was very daunting to think about how many miles I had in front of me while suffering so much, and knowing that it was all just to complete the race and likely still end up with a disappointing result.
And then I encountered a sight that gave me a major boost: my friend Charlotte (Paul) had taken over the lead of our race. The last time I had seen her she’d been running in third, and I had a hunch that the little running machine would make her way to the front. I certainly can’t win every race, and I’ve always thought that the next best thing is seeing my friends do it; so seeing Charlotte running so strong really re-energized me.
At this point I believe I transitioned to actually jogging. In fact there were times when I felt like I was really moving, like “Yeah, I’m flying right now!” And then I’d get passed by a first-lap guy, and think “Wow, that dude looks like he is suffering,” and realize that the fact that the same dude just dropped me like a bad habit meant that I looked even worse. This actual jogging continued til the end of the race, excepting a couple of coke-deprivation-induced lows…As we always say, once you go on Coke in the ironman marathon, you can’t go off—you need another hit every mile or so. I “went on” halfway through the marathon as per usual, but unfortunately I failed to realize that A) there weren’t aid stations every mile and B) there wasn’t coke at every aid station.
I should note here that the aid stations were another interesting element of this race. Fantasies about water and anything cold kept me moving from one aid station to the next. However, when we’d arrive there, the volunteers were so busy trying to refill cups that they weren’t very ready to hand us coke, etc. So many aid stations required stopping to search for what the cups contained, grabbing what one could, and then carrying on. Often we were handed liter-sized water bottles, which I certainly wouldn’t even carry on a training run. Yet on this day, fearful of parting with our precious water, many of us were running along between aid stations, carrying these massive bottles, alternately drinking and dumping water on ourselves.
Another bright spot in the day was the inevitable camaraderie that seems to form in the most nasty races--this was one of those days. So because people were often handed these huge water bottles, they’d use them for awhile, and then hand them off to another parched athlete who they’d encounter between aid stations, or offer to pour water on a passing runner. And I am talking about professionals as well; so many people found a way to reach out from the depths of their own suffering to help others on their way.
Strangely enough, I finished the marathon feeling noticeably stronger than when I started, in sixth place. This was not the race that I had aspired to have, but it was one of those days where just finishing had become enough of a challenge in itself; so in doing that, a bit of my performance-related disappointment diminished. I’ve got seven more ironmans on the calendar over the next several months, and I expect to remedy the latter over this time!
Finally, I want to thank my sponsors for their support. First and foremost, I must thank K-Swiss, who is not only my personal running shoe and apparel sponsor, but was the race sponsor. Having the K-Swiss team in China with us made the whole experience far more pleasant than it would have been otherwise. Their passion and enthusiasm for the sport makes me so proud and grateful to be a K-Swiss athlete. Additionally, one of the few issues noticeably absent from my Ironman China sufferfest was blisters—normally a big problem in this kind of heat when feet swell and we are continually soaking ourselves with water. Besides being light and fast, the K-Swiss K-ona has holes in the bottom that allow water to drain, so I never have to run in sloshing shoes now. They are just awesome.
I also very much appreciate the assistance of my other sponsors: PowerBar, Zipp wheels, FuelBelt, ORCA wetsuits, and ISM saddles.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

CEOs and ADAMOs

Just got word that American Bicycle Group's CEO, Peter Hurley is rocking an Adamo Racing saddle on his new Quintana Roo Cd0.1. http://www.rooworld.com/ Enjoy Pete.



Baker's Brand Cookies' (official granola of Ironman), head Bryan Geshwill is using his trusty Adamo Road saddle. http://www.bbcookies.com/


Angelo Cilli of Wilier USA uses the Adamo Racing saddle on his Cento Crono. http://www.wilier-usa.com/


Trigger Point Technology's, Cassidy Phillips, equipped his ride with an Adamo Road saddle. http://www.tpmassageball.com/


The inventer of the Hydrotail hydration system, Andrew Block, uses an Adamo Racing saddle. http://www.beakerconcepts.com/


Founder of the Speedfil water bottle system, David Dietterle has been using his Adamo Racing saddle for 6 months now. http://www.speedfil.com/


Toby Jones of Art of Tri clothing uses an Adamo Road. http://www.artoftri.com/


Javelin Bicycles head, Dave Grundman loves his Adamo Racing saddle. http://www.javbike.com/

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

New Orleans 70.3

Here are a few more pics of the New Orleans 70.3. It was the first year of the event and it already had more competitors than any 70.3 in the world! Here are some Team ISM members in action. Special thanks to Steve Toll for braving the heat all day to get these great shots.










Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Weekend Results

ISM had an interesting weekend of racing with athletes competing in Australia, California, and New Orleans. Here's a brief list of race reports:

April 4, 2009 Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside, CA New recruit Andy Potts 2nd! 2 time defending champion, Andy Potts would beat his Oceanside PR by 5 minutes and finish 2nd. Andy had a solid swim and bike, but it all came down to the run. He would finish a mere 1:46 down from first. Way to go Andy. Proud of ya. In the women’s event, defending champion Erika Csomor would finish 4th in 4:28:31. Andy competed using his Adamo Road saddle and Erika with her trusty Adamo Racing.

April 5, 2009 Ironman 70.3 New Orleans New Orleans, LA Team ISM was down expo’ing at this event. Thanks to all the folks who came by the booth. It was a big weekend for us as 5 of us competed and all 5 finished. In the pro division, Austin, TX stud Brandon Marsh would take 6th and Chris McDonald would finish 13th. It was a warm day indeed, but it’s always nice hanging in the Big Easy. Brandon and Chris both competed using their Adamo Racing saddles.

April 5, 2009 Ironman Australia Port Macquarie, Australia Patrick Vernay wins! Vernay is now a 3X winner of IMOZ. After exiting the swim, Vernay had some time to make up. He would eventually motor his way up to a top 3 off the bike and by mile 13 on the run, pull away from his peers. Patrick won by over 4 minutes on the next competitor. Keep it up my man. Sadly, multiple world champ and ISM athlete Michellie Jones would not start the event due to a nagging leg injuryand flu. Patrick Vernay won the event using his Adamo Racing saddle.


April 5, 2009 Ironman South Africa Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa ISM and Team TBB athlete Lucie Zelenkova wins!! Read her race report on her blog. http://www.teamtbb.com/luciezelenkova Lucie raced using her pink Adamo Racing saddle. Congrats on your first IM victory, Lucie. I’m sure many more will follow.

April 8, 2009 Check out the cover of the May issue of Triathlete Magazine. It’s ISM athlete and 2008 Athlete of the Year Becky Lavelle!!

Post race party time!


Brothers in arms.
Find the vein already!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

ANDY POTTS signs with ISM SADDLES!

April 2, 2009 Andy Potts signs with ISM Saddles We are pleased to announce the latest recruit from ISM Saddles. Andy Potts has been testing the Adamo saddle line for about 8 weeks. After finishing 2nd in Florida's Miami International Triathlon (by 2 seconds), his decision was final. He will be using the Adamo Road model saddles on his road and tt bikes. Andy is a 3X USAT Triathlete of the Year, Olympian, 70.3 World Champion, and Ironman. He'll be racing Cali 70.3 this weekend!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

New Orleans Bound

This weekend the crew is heading to New Orleans for the first 70.3 to be held in Louisiana. I can't think of a better city to host (despite hailing from Shreveport, LA). Steve has been busy loading up the tricked out ISM van. Look for it. Sweet paint with ISM colors and logos plastered on it. Banging stereo system with dubs! He even logo'd ISM on the roof for all to see while flying to the events so look out of the plane's window next time. :) We've got lots of seats, hydration systems and other goodies for the event. Steve starts his journey tomorrow and will be there just in time to pick up Laura, Melissa, and myself from the airport. Yeah that's right. I got it like that. While he's loading up the van with all the expo gear, I'm busy charging my iPod so I have plenty of battery to blast tunes while in the air!

2.5 of ISM's employees will be racing this weekend. Laura, myself and long time friend Russell. Russell has a full time job, but tends to get his feet wet with ISM on the weekends. Lucky for me he's coming as he's bringing my bike down. Thanks Smooth! Maybe I should lump Steve in with the work being done on Sunday. He is afterall the official Team ISM photographer. He'll be the guy on the course with a photo lense bigger than ESPN's!

Look for Team ISM clothing during the event. This is the first race it will be worn by competitors and we've got some hotties all geared up. Come by the booth if you are in town and introduce yourself. On Saturday, we'll have ISM pro Chris McDonald on hand signing autographs. My buddy Darren from Rocket Science Sports has also generously donated some of his wind tunnel tuned water bottles. For anyone buying our Quick Draw hydration system, you get a bottle!

Additionally, we'd like to wish new recruit Andy Potts the best of luck at Oceanside 70.3 this weekend. Bella Comerford will be racing Ironman South Africa. Michellie Jones and Patrick Vernay will be battling Ironman Australia. Good luck to all!!

Dave