Watch any televised race, or for that matter, show up at any amateur road race in the world, and you're likely to see bronzed, muscular and most oddly (to the layperson at least) smooth legs. \u00a0The big question every cyclist has to answer is “Why? \u00a0What's the point?” \u00a0I'll admit I questioned the practice for a long time, but now it is as commonplace as the morning coffee, and so is explaining my smooth legs to others.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

That being said, what's the point of keeping legs silky smooth? \u00a0The oft mentioned aerodynamic benefit is really nothing worth considering. \u00a0You might save a second or two over a 40k time trial, but that's about it. \u00a0Getting a couple inches lower on your bike would decrease your drag infinitely more. \u00a0Hairless legs do make for easier post ride massage (or self massage for those of us without a live-in soigneur) aiding in recovery and allowing you to ride harder more often. \u00a0Additionally, scrubbing up road rash and properly bandaging it up is made exponentially easier without a mat of hair getting in the way.<\/p>\n

There are some less practical (less tangible even) reasons for keeping forest free. \u00a0One thing that I learned from my years mountain biking was that hair and slop, dirt and dust don't mix well. \u00a0It cakes in and becomes a pain to wipe off and clean up. \u00a0No hair, no obstacle to wiping down with a damp towel and being ready to hit the streets. \u00a0Furthermore, if you're Chewbacca's cousin, you're going to have a bit of a tough time applying embrocation. \u00a0Nothing is nastier than an embro\/hair mat. \u00a0Ugh. \u00a0And of course, there is the ever present psychological advantage of feeling like you're “part of the club” or “ready to take a scalp” on the weekly group ride, and other riders will tremble in fear of your finely sculpted, god like thighs. \u00a0You will likely be mistaken for Jan Ullrich.<\/p>\n

Or maybe not…<\/p>\n

Either way, first you have to clear the forest of the trees, and there are plenty of ways to do it. \u00a0The easiest is probably the oldest: get yourself a good razor and go to work. \u00a0But not so fast, there are some considerations.<\/p>\n

Landscape work<\/h3>\n

Just like your lawn, you need a few simple tools to care for your legs. \u00a0After all, you wouldn't hire a lawn service that didn't have a mower and a rake right? \u00a0(Hopefully you're not hiring a lawn service to shave your legs, that would be weird.) \u00a0With a few cheap, useful tools, you'll have legs your wife will be jealous of.<\/p>\n

First off, if you've got a winters worth of growth on your pistons, you'll need to trim it down to manageable length before getting the old razor involved. \u00a0Of course, you could do it with scissors, but you might as well just pop in a copy of Gettysburg and plan on spending the afternoon pulling and snipping little clumps of hair. \u00a0No, get yourself a set of clippers and start shearing them down just like a couple of tall, skinny sheep.<\/p>\n

Once you've cleared the redwoods, it's time to work on getting rid of the underbrush. \u00a0Now guys, this may sound a little weird, but go out and get yourself a nice ladies razor like a Venus or some such. \u00a0Forget those 5 blade super machines you use on your face: they just don't cut it for legs (cut it…get it? \u00a0Ugh.) \u00a0I've had more success with double or triple blade ladies razors than with the uber-blade I use for my face. \u00a0Also, no strips, vibrating gizmos, etc etc are needed; just a good old fashioned ladies razor.<\/p>\n

Note: DON'T use the wife's. \u00a0If you do, DON'T let her find out. \u00a0She'll probably be annoyed that you dulled her blade on your coarse manly fur. \u00a0Suck it up, go to CVS and buy yourself your own razor. \u00a0Explain that it's for YOUR legs, and you did it so she didn't have a dull blade in hers. \u00a0If nothing else, she might think of you as more thoughtful and less weird. \u00a0Bonus: when she sees your Venus come out, she'll know it's racing season. \u00a0Silent communication is always the best kind, right?<\/p>\n

Cuts like a razor<\/h3>\n

So you've got yourself a nice, sharp ladies razor, right? \u00a0Shaving cream is a personal preference, but one thing I always suggest is to let your legs get good and softened in a nice warm shower first, then lather them up with a THIN layer of cream. \u00a0This will help keep that razor from clogging up and leaving strays. \u00a0As for which way to go, any good man will take a cue from his grilling book. \u00a0You cut a steak against the grain, so why would you do anything but when it comes to your own meat-sticks? \u00a0Well, don't cut them, but shave from bottom to top, against the grain of the growing hair, with very gentle pressure. \u00a0You want the razor to glide over your skin as opposed to scrape through to the bone.<\/p>\n

If you've pretty much mowed down all the long hair, you can probably get away with long single strokes. \u00a0If you've got a lot of brush to clear, stick with shorter strokes. \u00a0Overlap a little of each stroke, just like cutting the grass, in order to ensure everything is cleared off. \u00a0Be careful around knees and back of the legs. \u00a0Those of you with overly muscular legs will want to keep everything as relaxed as possible, as it will make shaving over those muscular ridges a lot easier and cleaner.<\/p>\n

Aftercare<\/h3>\n

Once you've transitioned from bigfoot to ballerina, grab your washcloth (with some kind of moisturizing body wash) and go about your normal shower routine. \u00a0A washcloth is nice because it is relatively soft but will scrub away enough dead skin cells and dirt to prevent ingrown hairs or razor burn. \u00a0I like to keep some simple unscented body lotion on hand since my skin dries out quickly at this time of the year, but that's up to the habits of your own skin.<\/p>\n

It may take a few runs through the razor for your legs to get used to being abused in a new way, but in a couple weeks, you'll think nothing of your new look. \u00a0Just remember to keep it mowed down every few days (depending on how fast it grows) otherwise you'll be going the whole trimmer\/razor route again. \u00a0If you shave often enough, you won't have to worry: lather and go. \u00a0Bang, boom, done in 5 minutes tops, and you're back in racing shape.<\/p>\n

So, now you're part of the club. \u00a0Get out there and ride, and don't be afraid to show off your guns to the world. \u00a0 You might get an odd look or two here and there, but that's hardly any price to pay for looking (and feeling) that good about yourself. \u00a0Worst comes to worst, start hanging out with swimmers: they'll understand you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Questions? \u00a0Serious case of razor burn? \u00a0 Let me know in the comments below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve been a regular reader, you will know that I’ve got a couple races under the belt already this season, some good, some not so good. \u00a0But while Johnny Cake #3 was cold and windy, Battenkill was warm, sunny and dusty. \u00a0The race, and the resultant tan lines reminded me that one very important early season ritual had yet to be undertaken. \u00a0I’m talking, of course, about the one thing that only cyclists and swimmers would understand: the ceremonial first shave of the season.   FOLLICULAR\u00a0follies Watch any televised race, or for that matter, show up at any amateur road race in the world, and you’re likely to see bronzed, muscular and most oddly (to the layperson at least) smooth legs. \u00a0The big question every cyclist has to answer is “Why? \u00a0What’s the point?” \u00a0I’ll admit I questioned the practice for a long time, but now it is as commonplace as the morning coffee, and so is explaining my smooth legs to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[427,1213,3663,3661,3654,3665,3658,3662,1753,3590,302,3655,3660,2830,3656,272,3664,3657,3659,3666],"wppr_data":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11037,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions\/11037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwind-coaching.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}