That's why they make women's bicycling saddles, like these

Never tried one myself, but know people who swear by these:

http://www.spiderflex.com/

Really, there isn't that much that can be done, if you're going to use a traditional bike seat, and most of the alternatives have drawbacks of one kind or another. For on-road use, recumbents are great, but they're also a lot more expensive, and can be a bit harder to ride. Also, recumbents, being a bit faster than regular road bikes in a lot of situations, aren't legal for most road races. For mountain biking, you're pretty much stuck with a regular bike. A lot of work has been done to make saddles more comfortable, and women-specific saddles, especially when worn with padding, can be pretty good these days. That said, not that many people invest in good saddles, and a comfortable saddle is heavy; people shaving off ounces on road bikes won't get near them.

When you support a lot of body weight on a few square inches, it's gonna cause problems. not really much anyone has figured out to do about it.

To make matters worse: the better biker you are, the more you tend to ride in a forward-leaning position. And the more miles you tend to put on every week. And--you guessed it--the farther forward you lean, the worse the pressure gets.

Standing and pedaling every now and then is said to help (don't know if it actually does though)

There are also various sex-specific cutout saddles which reduce pressure on specific areas. Opinions vary on whether the cut out helps (by reducing "bad" pressure) or makes things worse (if you cut out half the saddle, you double the pressure on the remaining flesh).

It's probably not a problem for most suburban recreational low-mileage riders. Everything I've read to date suggests that it is the prolonged saddle use whihc causes the problems. Also, recrational riders ride more upright (which allows them to use a fater cushier saddle with more square inches of contact area, thus reducing pressure).

A recumbent will solve the problem to a large extent but are not widely accepted yet.

Do you know if something similar applies to women who ride motorcycles? I think there's someone on this blog who'd be very interested in that.

Well, now I have a good excuse for future partners!

As a competitive female road cyclist, I'll weigh in with an informed opinion.

To start, competitive cycling is VERY male dominated. At any given race in my region, there will be approximately 15-30 women, and 150-250 men. Women are not a target market.

For bike seats at a design and weight for serious or competitive female cyclists, there is about 1 women’s seat for every 15 or 20 men’s seats, and the high level women’s seats are about mid-price (and mid-weight) compared to the men’s seats. So, not only do men have a wider selection, they also can choose from more expensive and better designed/lighter weight seats. Men’s numbness has been documented for about 10 years, so men are very knowledgeable and concerned about pinching nerves and blood vessels.

One manufacturer came out with a new women’s racing saddle, and the back part (where your sit bones rest) is 2 cm (about ¾ of an inch) narrower than their other women’s seats. So, if you want to buy a racing women’s seat, you have to have sit bones that are almost as narrow as men’s sit bones. I bought this seat, and I have a small bone structure, and I just barely fit on the seat.

For the average female cycle, from personal experience and looking at the seats that other female racers use, I suggest the Selle Italia Lady Sport Gel Flow. They make at least two models at different price points depending on if you want leather or synthetic.

WARNING!!! Probably not work safe. Spotted this in the back pages of a motorcycle magazine. Probably not what you're looking for.

http://www.viberider.com/vibe_rider.asp

Hogwash. When I started cycling 20+ miles consistently every day, my sex drive increased a millionfold. I'm in better shape than I've ever been, which is extremely sexy to me, no only because I look and feel healthier, but because my strengthened body can get and stay into positions that feel best for my sexual anatomy.

There may indeed be an effect on the flesh that comes into contact with the bike seat, but sexuality is so much more than an external lump of tissue and nerves.

48 is a VERY small sample size. Plus, the study's conclusion did say they didn't find negative sexual effects.

(And given how whole-body/whole-mind orgasm and arousal are, I gotta say, I question this premise, anyway. Sexually speaking for women, genital sensation isn't a big sexual problem: lack or desire and lack of partners who get where to apply the genital sensation are the prevalent issues. And I question all the more so given that as mentioned above, there are some nice saddle out there designed for women: mine has a swell little divet in it so that I wind up with little to no pressure on my vulva at all.)

It's perhaps also worth mentioning that when I read this, I got an alarming sense of deja vu. About 100 years ago, at the start of the popularity of women's leisure activities, it was also doctors who spread the (false) rumour that horseback riding and bicycling, specifically -- and coincidentally, the two big popular sports for women -- could cause hymen breakage. All that propaganda? Was just intended to keep women at home and off the free, open road.

Wait, less sensation DOESN'T equal less function? How does that work?

it wouldn't surprise me if the same thing were true for horseback riding. depending on your saddle/discipline/particular riding style, you could put quite a bit of pressure on the front part of your seat.

"Sexually speaking for women, genital sensation isn't a big sexual problem: lack or desire and lack of partners who get where to apply the genital sensation are the prevalent issues." But it is. Or for me it is. It already takes me a long time to climax, even when I am masturbating. And I know very well where to apply and how to apply and what to apply.
In the article they speak of competitive cycling but then they talk about 10 miles per week. That is so very little. I already do more than that and I don’t race or anything I just do it for exercise. I think people who do competitive cycling cycle way more than that.

Sojourner: even bearing in mind that it's a physiological given, on average for it to take about twice as long for women to reach orgasm as for men?

(In other words, it taking a while doesn't really equal sexual problem, technically speaking.)

And no, Amanda, less sensation wouldn't necessarily equal less function, merely because sexual arousal and orgasm -- per how it happens in the body -- is more whole-body neurological than genital.