Top 5 Reasons Cyclists Shave Their Legs

As a male cyclist, I've been shaving my legs for nearly 20 years. In the winter, I don't take the time to shave. Nearly every winter, I decide leg shaving is too much bother and that I'm not going to shave when spring rolls around. Every year though it hasn't taken many warm days of riding before I can't wait to shave the thick hair off my legs.

This year I haven't shaved yet. I haven't had a chance to ride much and we haven't had many days warm enough for riding in shorts. The few warm days I've ridden have made me ready to shave my legs.

Over the years, I've been asked many times why male cyclist shave their legs. A lot of people think it's because of aerodynamics. Although shaving helps swimmers, I've read it makes very little difference if any in speed for cyclists.

Here are what I think are the top 5 reasons to shave.

• Crashes. If you crash, it's easier to clean up the road rash and doesn't hurt as much taking off bandages. I say at least for mountain biking, if you never crash you aren't riding fast enough or riding technical enough trails. Even if you just ride on the road, if you ride enough you're bound to go down.


• Tradition. Road cyclists have been shaving their legs for decades. If you you show up for a serious group ride with unshaven legs, other riders will shun you. Nobody will want to be riding close to you. They will think you aren't experienced riding in a pack. This means you'll likely cause a crash. Even mountain bikers should be using group road rides for training. Pro mountain bikers spend about 70% of their time training on the road.


• Psychological Advantage. I generally end up shaving my legs about the time I start getting fast on the bike. Having my legs shaved makes me feel even faster. Other riders I know have said the same thing. Thinking you're faster can make the difference between being dropped or dropping someone else.


• It Feels Better. I've found that when it's warm and I haven't shaved my legs, I get more bugs hanging out and biting me. I also don't like the feel of the wind on my hairy legs when descending at 50 mph. After a mountain bike race with mud bogs and and stream crossings, it's no fun standing in the parking lot with only a little water and trying to clean mud off hairy legs.


• Massages. I don't get massages very often but they certainly help with recovery. I've been told massage therapists can give smooth legs a better massage. I do know getting a massage with shaved legs feels better.

Are there any other reasons for cyclists to shave their legs that should have made the top 5? Or are there reasons for cyclists not to shave?

I've thought about writing about leg shaving a couple times over the last year but I finally took the time to do it because of a group writing project at ProBlogger. I'm don't expect to make my living blogging any time soon. I know what my writing abilities are or rather my lack of writing abilities. There's a reason I develop software instead. I like ProBlogger for technical information such as how search engines work and how web traffic is driven by some of the new social websites.

Here are some other posts from the group writing project that are fitness and health related. Actually most of them have to do with weight loss. I've totally fallen off the wagon with losing weight for the B7 Challenge with all the stress at work. I haven't even done my 3 mile time trial that should have been done last week.

• The Top 5 Things That Make Me Run


• Top 5 Things I Am Doing to Lose 100+ Lbs


• 5 Reasons Why You Are Fat


• Top 5 Diet Food Obsessions


• Top 5 gym free exercises


• Five Keys To Optimal Health


• The Top 5 Reasons to Start Your Weight Loss Plan Today


• Top 5 Ways To Use Your Senses To Achieve Your Fitness Goals


• Top 5 Ways to Improve Your Rock Climbing Skills


• Top 5 Ways to Get (and Stay) Fit!!


• Top Five Methods to Check How Physically Fit You Are


• The 5 things that Helped me Finish the Ironman

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