Shaving legs

Originally Posted by TadThomas

Here are my reasons for doing it.

1) I can't stand my leg hair matting. (biggest reason) When I go on a long rainy ride, the mixture of hair, rainwater, and road grime must be a primative epoxy adhesive. It's just as bad with sunscreen (or other balms), dust, pollen and asphalt particles. It hurts like hell to get them out and seems to take forever.

2) Ease of cleaning a wound and speed of healing. Falls happen...Whether you're in a group and hit someone's rear wheel or a dog runs out from behind a bush into the backside of your front wheel while checking traffic behind you (the one with the dog happened to me). It's not a question of if you're gonna fall; it's a question of when. The though of getting shaved after the fact sounds much less desirable than having it already done. Further, that area is already going to be tender and the last thing I want is somebody trying to shave my uneven abrasion affected areas.

3) My wife absolutely hates for my legs to be smoother than hers! I never say anything about it but she will notice and will go shave if I'm smoother. So I basically get 4 silky smooth legs for the personal effort of just shaving 2! She also seems to like my legs shaved.

4) Respect for the sport. You wouldn't go to gym to play basketball with a cheapo, multicolored rubber ball....you better show up with a good leather ball to be taken seriously. You also wouldn't enter a race wearing the rainbow jersey/kit....unless your name is Paolo Bettini.

5) Messages. They freakin' hurt when you're getting a deep leg message and you get a finger or thumb that pushes a hair down and over. I want a message....not my hair pulled! The novelty of having my hair pulled wore off in preschool!

I do like the way my legs look shaved but that by itself was never really a reason to do it. I thought they looked good with hair too.

One last thought....It's not manly? I double dog dare you to tell that to a bodybuilder! Most of them shave their whole bodies. Go ahead! Do it! Call 'em a sissy!!!!

Anyone overly hung up on hair or the lack thereof really has much bigger issues.

Originally Posted by cyclesox

I shaved my chest once and my wife flipped out. If i start riding i hope that i can shave my legs. How old are you? how long riding?