Why do Cyclists Shave Their Legs?

Smooth, but definitely not sexy. Are those my shaved legs? Yes, yes they are. So why do cyclists shave their legs? Well before I address that let me say that I do not consider myself a cyclist. More like a thirty-something riding a bike trying not to get fat. I don't think I could label myself a cyclist until I've completed some major (or at least significant) event (i.e. the ULCER). Yes I have a great road bike; yes I wear spandex and enjoy it; yes I've put over 2000 miles on my bike; but until I finish this race, I'm afraid I'm nothing more than a wanna-be.

Back to the issue at hand. Are cyclists that shave their legs fancy boys? No, but this guy isn't helping. Ask any hard-core cyclist why he shaves his legs, and you'll get a slurry of creative answers. The most common are:

Aerodynamics: Smoother legs have less drag and resistance. Good grief, are you kidding? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. There's zero evidence for this claim. It's like saying that Screech would be more attractive if he shaved his beard. If there is any truth to this, it is psychological. You think you are faster, therefore you are faster.

Road Rash: Less hair makes it easier to bandage, manage infection etc. While there is truth to this, if you are crashing so often that you really have to do this, then maybe you should try a new sport, like ribbon twirling. I've crashed once in 2000 miles - the bandaids weren't that bad to deal with.

So having listed those first two, if either of these is the response you get from a cyclist, then they are just gay. Ok, maybe not gay, but too arrogant too admit that this isn't the real reason they shaved their legs.

Massage: Hair gets in the way of a good, deep tissue massage after a long ride. Ok, sounds pretty legitimate - but seriously, of all the leg shaving boys out there, how many of them are really good enough, or ride enough to warrant having massages after every ride or having their own massage therapist? Come on. Pro Cyclists, yes - everyone else, keep searching for your real answer.

Vanity: Real serious cyclists (that just disqualified me right there) develop some pretty serious legs. Shaving make sure that everyone else knows it.

To Impress Other Cyclists: Woolly Mammoth man feels a bit awkward when he shows up to ride with all the sleek, cleanly-shaven "real" cyclists. They all look at him like he's some weekend warrior with excess fur, rather than a pure cyclist like themselves.

Tradition: I like this one. It is simple, there's no effort to justify or make some long story about why you have smooth legs. It is simply a tradition among cyclists.

So why did I abandon the Magnum PI look? I suppose it's a combination of some of these answers. Vanity? No. Don't have the legs to be proud of. To impress other cyclists? Yeah, a bit. I'm going to be riding this century ride in a couple weeks - I want to be taken seriously. Don't want to be like woolly mammoth man after all. Tradition? Yes, but again - by my own confession I'm not actually a real cyclist yet. I think the main reason I did it is to celebrate an achievement. The achievement being my participation in the ULCER next week. This is one of the biggest things I've ever attempted, and definitely the longest and hardest I've ever trained for something (maybe excluding wrestling in high school).

So I shaved my legs. I gotta say I kinda like it. It feels totally different when I slide into bed, when I'm in the pool, when I jump into my jeans, when I slide down a coconut tree. Girly? Absolutely. Metro sexual? Yeah maybe. Sexy? Hasn't done much for me so far, so no. An odd way to celebrate something I'd say. But there's just so much pressure to fit in these days...

FAIL

LOL - The fate of those orphans is looking bleak...

Let's hear it for Sport Beans

Rob and I rode out to the marina at Saltair yesterday. It was a really great ride. At the marina, there wasn't too much to see besides water, sailboats, the dingy Saltair building, and two bus loads of Chinese tourists. But there were spiders. Oh yes, spiders. I was rather amazed actually. There were THOUSANDS of these big fat spiders hanging out in webs on the rocks that separate the pier from the water. These pictures (click to enlarge) don't do it justice. Blame Rob, or Rob's cell phone, or both; or just blame it on the rain, yeah, yeah. But it was a bit creepy to see so many. I've never seen anything like that in Utah. It was more like something you'd see in the forests of the South or something.

I was quite surprised actually by how well it went. A few weeks back we did that 56 miler (see previous post), which was pretty tough. There was lots of climbing. It took us nearly 4 hours to complete, and I felt wasted afterwards. This route yesterday was totally flat, and 64 miles long. We did it in 3:28. So we rode much faster. That was the surprising part. We went 8 miles longer, but did it 30 minutes faster. Plus I felt way better after. Here's what I think made the difference:

• No hills. I ALWAYS train up on the benches, where there are tons of hills. My average speed up on the hills is 16-16.5 mph. Our average yesterday was 18.5 mph (including a bunch of stop lights). Which for me was pretty decent. I've never ridden a completely flat route before, so it was really cool to kind of gauge how we would do in the ULCER, given that it is a completely flat route as well. I would be very pleased, yea and verily, even ecstatic if I could keep 18.5 mph for the ULCER. That would have me finishing in 6 hours, plus stops. So around 7 hours.
  
• Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I took 2 Tylenol before the ride, and 2 Advil during. Then 2 more Tylenol after. It really made a big difference on the aches.
• Cliff Bars, Sport Beans, and PowerAde. Water is good, and critical for hydration, but isn't enough. It doesn't replace electrolytes and carbs that you burn while riding. I found these Sport Beans at Target the night before, and decided to give them a try. I must say I did enjoy them. They tasted good and seemed to provide the energy they touted. Oh sweet sport bean fruit punch goodness! I feel great today. I'm learning that eating is a huge part of these long rides. You constantly need to be drinking and munching on something.

So the count down is on. I have two weeks from Saturday for the race. Next week we are doing a 75 miler, which will be our last big one before the race. I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing. I think it's going to go great.

Flaming Gorge

Last Thursday-Saturday we took the young men out to Flaming Gorge for our high adventure camp. It was lots of fun. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of everything we did. In fact, most of the pictures were the boys' morning beauty shots.

We went boating, swimming, boulder tipping, cliff jumping, played capture the flag, and went river rafting. The boys had a great time.

Sam

I just love this little man. He makes me happy. I can't wait to get home every day to spend a little time with him. It's awesome how a new baby blesses your home. He's really changed the dynamic of our family. We quite often call him "Serious Sam" because he's always got this look on his face.
This is the face he makes when he wakes up. He furrows his brow and does a pucker. We've learned that this is his, "I'm busy making a poo (or mustard squirt if you prefer)" face.

Flip Flop Prank

Samuel Spencer Tycksen

Sam was born Wednesday July 9th at 5:20 am. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 9 oz. 21.5 inches long. I'll post more later and include some details. For now, everyone is happy and healthy. We're just super glad to have him here and home.

Welcome to the world little man!

#$^&*!% DOG!

So it's just after 5am. I've been up for over an hour because the dog just on the other side of my back yard fence won't shut up. It's been barking non stop for what seems like forever. I'm rather frustrated. Good sleep for me is really hard to come by. It's a weekend - I went to bed early - actually fell asleep early - and now I'm awake thanks to this stupid dog. I don't know if the people are out of town or what. I don't think this dog has ever done this before. But I'm really upset. So what do I do? I'd like to hook up my hose and climb over the fence and spray it in the mouth, maybe the eye. But my hose isn't long enough (no, that's not an innuendo of any sort). I'd also like to shoot it with my BB gun, but I don't have one anymore. I do have some gasoline - and some matches. I could make a molotov cocktail, I've never done that before. I could put some poison in a raw t-bone stake and toss it over. I have plenty of duct tape. There's endless possibilities there. It would be nice to tape his muzzle shut, and then tape him to the wall.

Man I'm tired. If you have any suggestions on how to deal with this, please send them my way. In the mean time, I'm going to go throw some rocks at it.

Oof.

Rob and I rode 56 miles this morning to celebrate the 4th of July. It was hard. Harder than I thought it would be. I've done tons of 20s, 30s, and a few 40s. But this was hard. The last 5 miles my legs felt like they were full of lead. Here is the route we took:


View Larger Map

We started and ended at 9th East and Fort Union approximately. You can see the rest on the map. We call this route Le Tour de Salt Lake. More like the Tour of Kick my Butt. I really discovered a lot about my body on this ride.

1st, I'm not quite ready for the century. This was only half of what I will have to do in a month. I do find a bit of peace of mind knowing that we had several tough climbs on this route, and the century is dead flat. Hopefully that will make a difference.

2nd, I need to be popping ibuprofen or something during the ride cause my back, neck and knees really started aching.

If there are any experienced riders out there who want to offer any advice for a first time century rider/trainee, I'm all ears.

Duck Tales

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