Originally Posted by
pgjackson
Right of passage? Huh? I don't shave, so I guess I don't belong. So sad. Seriously, that is the dumbest reason to shave.
You want to be a cyclist, the only thing you have to do is ride your freaking bike. Shaving your legs doesn't make you one thing or the other. Are you really that concerned about how your legs look? Man-up dude. Reminds me of when I had a motorcycle...about 50% of the Harley market is made up of guys who ride maybe three times a month, but like to think of themselves as bad-ass "bikers" and wear black leather.
Reading through your posts and reply's I'd guess, you don't have that much body hair, or it's quite light in nature. If I tried to use only soap on my face when I shaved I'd be a bloody, red mess. As for shaving the arm hair? Yes, I do that too, only with a set of clippers with a 1/16 inch attachment. I've crashed now with both hairy, and non hairy legs. Cleaning up the non-hairy was much easier and more comfortable. Too each his own, but shaved legs work for me.
On a side note, my wife was weirded out at first, but now when she comes to bike races she points out all the weirdo's who don't shave and wear spandex. Nasty.