I can only describe it as feeling like thousands of tiny vibrations, and it increased with speed. It wasn't painful, so I didn't bother to stop and investigate. When I reached my turnaround point at Bastrop State Park, I finally stopped to try to find the root cause. That's when I noticed that my legs looked like a jungle.
I'm a roadie, and a leg shaver. I've also been a bit lazy over the last couple of weeks. The first week I was travelling and not riding, so when the weekend came and I went out for a ride, I thought "my leg hair is still short enough; no need to shave". Then another week went by without riding. When I planned my Saturday ride, I knew I needed to shave, but as the ride approached, I couldn't make time to shave. As a result, on Saturday my legs were the hairiest they've been since I started road cycling.
During the ride I was feeling sensations in my legs that I haven't felt in over 3 years. It felt like sea grass moving with the rhythmic motion of the waves and currents. Or wheat blowing in the wind. It didn't feel good. As I passed other cyclists on Park Road 1C, I knew that they were staring at my legs, mortified by my rebellious, anti-cycling hygiene. I was embarrassed, and wouldn't look them in their Oakley-shaded eyes.
When I made it home, I shaved. Or rather, I clipped. Afterwards the shower floor looked like a small poodle had been groomed there. Luckily, the plumbing was able to handle the hair, and didn't clog. My legs were back to normal.
I know many will debate about the culture of leg shaving in cycling, and I won't be surprised with comments that follow that thread. Having ridden both clean and hairy, I'm going to continue to try to stick with clean. That is, unless I get too lazy again.
P.S. I changed my blog subtitle, my location, and the 'about me' section. I decided against a rename, and the changes that were made are very minor. Thanks for all of your suggestions!
6 comments:
Welcome back from the land of leg forests. Why do we shave our legs? My take. Check it out. http://www.bikecrave.com/monday-crave-that-shaved-leg-feeling/
Glad you're back to your aerodynamic self. I'm not a leg shaver myself but I bet if feels weird if you haven't shaved in a while.
I must admit I am forced to shave my legs (which dont naturally have much hair) so that I am not "out-aeroed" by my boyfriend.......that would be embarrassing
When you first mentioned tingling in your legs I thought maybe sciatica. Glad to hear you quickly and easily solved your problem.
I've had really thick hair on my legs since I was a kid. Even in my triathlon days, I couldn't bring myself to shave my legs, but I have several male friends who do.
I knew that they were staring at my legs, mortified by my rebellious, anti-cycling hygiene.
Me thinks you are too worried about what others think of your leg hair. Here in Fort Worth, many, perhaps most, roadies seem to have leg hair.
If you feel better with smooth legs, go for it, but don't do it because you think it's expected.
@doohickie thanks for the comments. I shave because I like the way it looks. The line about the stares from other cyclists was an attempt at self-deprecating humor.
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