Hair britches

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So at what point on the body do the pros stop shaving? Do they stop
exactly at the shorts cutoff point so that in the shower it looks like
they're still wearing cycling shorts, albeit of hair?

I'm assuming they go all the way up to the leg to facilitate massage. But
what if you have a hairy butt? Seriously, I'm not ashamed of being a
regular hairy guy--but if my legs are all sleek, that butt's gonna stick
out like a bad topiary in a zen garden--the temptation would be too much.

:P

Go for the full back, sack & crack jobbie at a waxing salon to complete the
smooth look ;-)

Chers, helen s

wafflycat said:

full back, sack & crack jobbie

Lovely phrasing! ROFL!

When Humans (most of us) lost our main coats of fur during
evolution, we retained a thin scattering of hair on our bodies. This
serves an important purpose by helping to wick perspiration out from the
skin and give it a much larger area from which to evaporate. Skin that
has been shaved smooth will allow more sweat to build up and some of the
cooling effect of evaporation will be lost. In the Winter, under
clothes, an opposite effect takes place, with the hair providing a thin
insulating barrier of trapped air over the skin. Mother Nature knew
best about this, when she gave most people this body hair. Try it out,
by shaving one half your body. Then go for a run in the hot sun and see
the difference.

Bike riding tends to blow perspiration away more rapidly due to the
higher speed than with running. Everyone on a bike in hot weather needs
to drink a lot of water, as it often evaporates so fast, it isn't
apparent how much is being lost. However, a hairy person would probably
need to drink even more water, to offset the more efficient evaporation.
Racers pushing themselves to the peak of their capacities, especially in
hill climbs, could use some body hair more than any other riders. If
they spend so much effort tweaking the weight and shape of their bikes,
to cause just a little less drag, the concept of body hair as a cooling
aid should be considered.

Steve McDonald

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

... if my legs are all sleek, that butt's gonna stick
out like a bad topiary in a zen garden

My nominee for "mental image of the year" on r.b.m.

"Steve McDonald" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When Humans (most of us) lost our main coats of fur during
evolution, we retained a thin scattering of hair on our bodies. This
serves an important purpose by helping to wick perspiration out from the
skin and give it a much larger area from which to evaporate. Skin that
has been shaved smooth will allow more sweat to build up and some of the
cooling effect of evaporation will be lost. In the Winter, under
clothes, an opposite effect takes place, with the hair providing a thin
insulating barrier of trapped air over the skin. Mother Nature knew
best about this, when she gave most people this body hair. Try it out,
by shaving one half your body. Then go for a run in the hot sun and see
the difference.

Bike riding tends to blow perspiration away more rapidly due to the
higher speed than with running. Everyone on a bike in hot weather needs
to drink a lot of water, as it often evaporates so fast, it isn't
apparent how much is being lost. However, a hairy person would probably
need to drink even more water, to offset the more efficient evaporation.
Racers pushing themselves to the peak of their capacities, especially in
hill climbs, could use some body hair more than any other riders. If
they spend so much effort tweaking the weight and shape of their bikes,
to cause just a little less drag, the concept of body hair as a cooling
aid should be considered.

Steve McDonald

I think that you are missing a the two biggest reasons that racers shave, it
is easier to treat road rash on an area that has no hair and it is much
easier to massage legs without hair.

From the "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance" department:

On Thu, 4 Aug 2005 17:17:36 -0700, [email hidden] (Steve

McDonald) said:

When Humans (most of us) lost our main coats of fur during
evolution, we retained a thin scattering of hair on our bodies. This
serves an important purpose by helping to wick perspiration out from the
skin and give it a much larger area from which to evaporate. Skin that
has been shaved smooth will allow more sweat to build up and some of the
cooling effect of evaporation will be lost.

Definitely useful for keeping the hair cool. Now if only mammalian
hair was an efficient heat pipe, this effect might even help cool the
rest of the body!

Email address works as is.

Frank Drackman said:

"Steve McDonald" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When Humans (most of us) lost our main coats of fur during
evolution, we retained a thin scattering of hair on our bodies. This
serves an important purpose by helping to wick perspiration out from the
skin and give it a much larger area from which to evaporate. Skin that
has been shaved smooth will allow more sweat to build up and some of the
cooling effect of evaporation will be lost. In the Winter, under
clothes, an opposite effect takes place, with the hair providing a thin
insulating barrier of trapped air over the skin. Mother Nature knew
best about this, when she gave most people this body hair. Try it out,
by shaving one half your body. Then go for a run in the hot sun and see
the difference.

Bike riding tends to blow perspiration away more rapidly due to the
higher speed than with running. Everyone on a bike in hot weather needs
to drink a lot of water, as it often evaporates so fast, it isn't
apparent how much is being lost. However, a hairy person would probably
need to drink even more water, to offset the more efficient evaporation.
Racers pushing themselves to the peak of their capacities, especially in
hill climbs, could use some body hair more than any other riders. If
they spend so much effort tweaking the weight and shape of their bikes,
to cause just a little less drag, the concept of body hair as a cooling
aid should be considered.

Steve McDonald

I think that you are missing a the two biggest reasons that racers shave, it
is easier to treat road rash on an area that has no hair and it is much
easier to massage legs without hair.

Cyclists need all the reasons they can get to justify shaving the legs.

Shaved legs give a 0.03345 second advantage in a 40k time trial
All the Pros do it
It gets the girls' attention
You'll get razzed if you show up on a group ride with hairy legs
"I'm going 'Pro' RSN..."
"I accidently slipped and fell in the tub after my sister used NAIR"
"I'm actually a collegiate swimmer and we shave everything!"
Lance does it!
....and now we have the redoubtable: Need to drink a lot less water!

It's all good. ;-D

jj

"Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

... if my legs are all sleek, that butt's gonna stick
out like a bad topiary in a zen garden

My nominee for "mental image of the year" on r.b.m.

wafflycat advised:

Quoted message said:

Go for the full back, sack & crack jobbie at a waxing salon to complete the
smooth look ;-)

Chers, helen s

Elegant phrasing but when I used it in calling three salons advertising
body waxing I was hung up on twice and warned to stop making harassing
phone calls once. <g>

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Brian Wax said:

"Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

... if my legs are all sleek, that butt's gonna stick out like a bad
topiary in a zen garden

My nominee for "mental image of the year" on r.b.m.

Hi Sheldon!!

:P

In article <[email hidden]>,

maxo said:

Brian Wax said:

"Mike Kruger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"maxo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> ... if my legs are all sleek, that butt's gonna stick out like a bad
> topiary in a zen garden

My nominee for "mental image of the year" on r.b.m.

Hi Sheldon!!

:P

ROTFLMAO!

Thanks. Made my day!

HAND

maxo said:

So at what point on the body do the pros stop shaving? Do they stop
exactly at the shorts cutoff point so that in the shower it looks like
they're still wearing cycling shorts, albeit of hair?

Dunno about pros, but a couple of serious racers I ride with
say they leave the 'nads and surrounding inner thigh trimmed
only, to prevent itching in skin contact areas, but otherwise
do the entire front and sides of the legs all the way up.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Frank Drackman said:

"Steve McDonald" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[...practical heating and cooling effects of retaining body hair...]

I think that you are missing a the two biggest reasons that racers shave, it
is easier to treat road rash on an area that has no hair and it is much
easier to massage legs without hair.

False. The reason racers shave is to show off their leg muscles.
They give lots of other rationalizations for it (some of which they may
actually believe), but that's the only one that doesn't dissolve away
under serious scrutiny.

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/9.7.html

--
Chris BeHanna
'03 Specialized Allez Elite 27
'04 Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc

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"Chris BeHanna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Frank Drackman said:

"Steve McDonald" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[...practical heating and cooling effects of retaining body hair...]

I think that you are missing a the two biggest reasons that racers shave,
it
is easier to treat road rash on an area that has no hair and it is much
easier to massage legs without hair.

False. The reason racers shave is to show off their leg muscles.
They give lots of other rationalizations for it (some of which they may
actually believe), but that's the only one that doesn't dissolve away
under serious scrutiny.

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/9.7.html

--

I think that you meant to say " in Jobst's opinion, and I agree with him, is
that the above statement is untrue." You then provided a link to his
opinion, not a fact. If you read his opinion, you would have noticed that
he says

"In any case, where a wound needs stiches the skin will be
shaved around the opening anyway for the reson that hair inclusions
are as bad as dirt inclusions."

"Don't put tape on a hairy leg or arm. Shave it first. Every medic
kit should have a Bic razor or better anyway."

I think that you will find that it is much easier to shave an area before it
has trauma. If you don't believe it, I would be more than willing to setup
an controlled experiment on your body. We can shave your left side leg as a
control and then make you crash on your right side. We can then shave over
the road rash from the crash and you can decide which way you liked better..

Frank Drackman said:

I think that you will find that it is much easier to shave an area before
it has trauma. If you don't believe it, I would be more than willing to
setup an controlled experiment on your body. We can shave your left side
leg as a control and then make you crash on your right side. We can then
shave over the road rash from the crash and you can decide which way you
liked better..

Shouldn't you shave your head, shoulders, and not wear facial hair
either--just in case?! :P

I agree with the vanity reason being the strongest reason to
shave--cyclists legs are bloody beautiful--there's no shame in showing off
what you got. Heck, baby oil them too, go ALL the way. 😄 I tried it once,
felt like I was sleeping with somebody when the legs touched, much too
arousing so never again.

So I'm not a "shaver", but I'm guilty of a little "manscaping". Not
totally metrosexual, but I take the legs and chest hair down about half to
keep from looking too much like Leif Erikson in rustic mode.

"Chris BeHanna" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

False. The reason racers shave is to show off their leg muscles.
They give lots of other rationalizations for it (some of which they may
actually believe), but that's the only one that doesn't dissolve away
under serious scrutiny.

No, you are false. As the masseuse to son who is a keen competitive cyclist,
smooth skin makes massaging of legs much, much easier. It also really,
really does make the treatment of roadrash a lot easier too. It may be not
so in your case, but personal experience here knows otherwise.

Cheers, helen s

"Frank Drackman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think that you meant to say " in Jobst's opinion, and I agree with him,
is that the above statement is untrue." You then provided a link to his
opinion, not a fact. If you read his opinion, you would have noticed that
he says

"In any case, where a wound needs stiches the skin will be
shaved around the opening anyway for the reson that hair inclusions
are as bad as dirt inclusions."

"Don't put tape on a hairy leg or arm. Shave it first. Every medic
kit should have a Bic razor or better anyway."

I think that you will find that it is much easier to shave an area before
it has trauma. If you don't believe it, I would be more than willing to
setup an controlled experiment on your body. We can shave your left side
leg as a control and then make you crash on your right side. We can then
shave over the road rash from the crash and you can decide which way you
liked better..

Quite. I love it... shaving is all down to vanity apparently.... BUT...
shave before treating a wound... Shave before putting a tape on a hairy
leg...

Massaging has nothing to do with improving performance but has a lot to do
with easing tired muscles post race... it really, really makes massage much
easier to do. Having massaged both hairy & smooth legs, I know smooth ones
*are* much easier to do.

Cheers, helen s

Quoted message said:

Massaging has nothing to do with improving performance but has a lot to do
with easing tired muscles post race... it really, really makes massage
much easier to do. Having massaged both hairy & smooth legs, I know smooth
ones *are* much easier to do.

Cheers, helen s

But if message helps "easing tired muscles post race" doesn't that help you
to feel better sooner, which might quite likely enhance performance?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"wafflycat" <waffles*A*T*v21net*D*O*T*co*D*O*T*uk> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Frank Drackman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I think that you meant to say " in Jobst's opinion, and I agree with him,
is that the above statement is untrue." You then provided a link to his
opinion, not a fact. If you read his opinion, you would have noticed
that he says

"In any case, where a wound needs stiches the skin will be
shaved around the opening anyway for the reson that hair inclusions
are as bad as dirt inclusions."

"Don't put tape on a hairy leg or arm. Shave it first. Every medic
kit should have a Bic razor or better anyway."

I think that you will find that it is much easier to shave an area before
it has trauma. If you don't believe it, I would be more than willing to
setup an controlled experiment on your body. We can shave your left side
leg as a control and then make you crash on your right side. We can then
shave over the road rash from the crash and you can decide which way you
liked better..

Quite. I love it... shaving is all down to vanity apparently.... BUT...
shave before treating a wound... Shave before putting a tape on a hairy
leg...

Massaging has nothing to do with improving performance but has a lot to do
with easing tired muscles post race... it really, really makes massage
much easier to do. Having massaged both hairy & smooth legs, I know smooth
ones *are* much easier to do.

Cheers, helen s

"wafflycat" <waffles*A*T*v21net*D*O*T*co*D*O*T*uk> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Massaging has nothing to do with improving performance but has a lot to
do

with easing tired muscles post race...

I am confused about the above statement. If you didn't think that massage
helped future performance, why would you do it? My view is that it helps
with recovery so that I have better performance the next day.

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