Why I Do Not Shave My Legs
posted on July 25, 2008 by TryScott
1 - Wife is not impressed by the look. In fact, she thinks it's more feminine than she would like her husband to be.
2 - It's more maintenance on top of my essential stuff
3 - I don't want to explain it to others.
4 - If I were to slack off, I really hate stubble. The stubble on Sunday night after not shaving for the weekend is bad enough.
5 - Planning is not my strength, so planning to wreck my bike is no exception.
6 - Time spent doing it vs time saved if I get road rash doesn't look to work in my favor. Maybe if I wrecked every week or 2 it would be worth it.
7 - Whatever reason given requires shaving arms also. Maybe people do shave their arms, but I don't think so.
8 - I don't eat the paste - not saying a lot of people do it to "fit in", just saying that I don't feel pressure to do it to fit in.
Would I ever? Sure, if it knocked more than 5 min off an olympic distance tri, or maybe if it turned my wife on. Other than that, I'm staying hairy.
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12 comments.
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tri-ac posted 1 year ago.
TryScott wrote:
Would I ever? Sure, if it knocked more than 5 min off an olympic distance tri, or maybe if it turned my wife on. Other than that, I'm staying hairy.
you're not alone
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caeagle16 posted 1 year ago.
+1 plus it would require shaving my chest and i feel like stubble there would be worse/ more awkward when ppl saw me with my shirt off
Plus I like to be unassuming so other ppl don't take me seriously if I dont shave then I can get the pleasure of kicking their butt
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RREfan posted 1 year ago.
+1, although I can't say that it will never happen. I barely keep up with the face during the summer months.
307
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J.Michael posted 1 year ago.
When people ask me if I'm going to shave before a race, I tell them;
I don't even shave my face. I trim it with clippers.
I havent had a haircut in 2yrs. (1/2 way down my back)
If my legs hairs are really slowing me down that much,.......I'll just train harder.
I'll still beat a lot of the guys that take the shaving ritual to the extreme.
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SDtriman posted 1 year ago.
I shaved my legs as a bet in college and the next race I became an all-american in the 10K and had my best ever race. I have shaved my legs for every event since. My wife still laughs at me but have to keep up with tradition now.
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zagfan posted 1 year ago.
Reasons Why I Shave My Legs:
1. If I shave my legs like the pros then maybe one day I'll wake up and race like them
2. It makes me feel fast (although I'm not)
3. I have a thing against body hair and triathlon gives me an excuse to get rid of it (I've trimmed my leg and body hair with clippers since college, legs are the only part I shave now though)
4. If I crash and get road rash....oh wait, everyone already knows that ones not true
5. I have some sexy legs
We all know that shaving for the majority of us all comes down to the image thing. Whether its a haircut, facial hair or tattoos it all comes back to the external image we portray. Shaved legs just happens to be the image most associated with triathlon. By not shaving, you to are putting yourself into the "gorilla" category. I think shaving my legs is a little funny and I can take all of the laughs and comments I get from my friends. I really wish I didn't shave b/c it's a pain to maintain. But hey, it takes work to fit in with the crowd right? :)
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cjhoffmn posted 1 year ago.
I did it and have mildly kept up with it. I'm considering letting it grow back because, well, I'm a bit tired of it, and being realistic, most of my riding is on my trainer. The risks I take of getting road rash there is fairly low.
Having now tried both sides of the coin, I'm going to back to the original side to see I feel like I lose anything in the process.
I will probably miss looking down and thinking "wow those legs look fast."
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SpeedDemon07 posted 1 year ago.
"5 - Planning is not my strength, so planning to wreck my bike is no exception."
Well then why do you wear your helmet??
No one "plans" to wreck
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vistring posted 1 year ago.
I can see to advantages though that don't also require shaving your arms
The hairs don't pull me to extreme pain on the piriformis stretch.
Removing my wetsuit in a race doesn't rip off my ankle hairs even with body glide.
I can understand the mixed feelings over shaving for road rash, since your can get road rash on your arms, so why not shave them too.
But that sticky feeling on the bike behind your knee after you just shaved at 9-12 o'clock on pedal stroke, Not cool.
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bcctruby posted 1 year ago.
Great post...thanks for the laugh.
I have yet to hear anyone tell me...."Damn, if only I would have shaved my legs, I would have had a PR." or "I felt slow today, I should have shaved this morning."
Still don't get it....not sure I want too. Roll on Gorilla's!