Friday, June 22, 2012

Am I a real cyclist now?!

Last night, as part of my Livestrong Challenge Challenge, I shaved my legs.  It was actually not that difficult, but I do see how women could get tired of doing it after a while.

Before starting the process, I thought it would be a good idea to do some research.  It was a good thing, too, as I probably would have tried to just go right in and start shaving with a razor.  I can see now that that would have been a disaster.

Instead, I bought a cheap hair trimmer at Walmart (Always Low Prices: $13.97!) and began by using that to do the first round.  I decided to do the deed in the garage as there was going to be significant fur flying once I got started.  This was both a positive and a negative.  The positive was that I avoided making a big mess inside my house.  The negative was that I started sweating (it's hot in a garage in Scottsdale in the summer!) which caused the trimmer to want to stick to my skin as I sheared myself.

Anyway, here is a photo of the before:



Don't worry, I was wearing shorts, but do check out that cyclist's tan line!  Notice I put down some newspapers to catch the debris...

I started at the bottom and worked my way up.  Here you can see me with just my calf done:


Pretty sweet, huh?!  I finished that leg and took this nifty side by side shot:



One thing that I noticed after I had removed most of the hair: I have some pretty messed up legs!  I've got scars, veins, wierd discolorations and all kinds of other stuff going on on my legs that is not pretty!  The hair does a pretty good job of camoflaging these oddities. 

Anyway, after the shearing, I had a bit of a mess, but thanks to the newspapers, it was a simple matter of wadding things up and dropping it in the recycling bin (perhaps I should have put them in the trash, but I want to be a friend to the earth!)  Here's the debris:



After that it was into the shower for the detail work.  Well, actually, I had to take Jordan to drum lessons and then into the shower, but close enough.

I basically broke things down as follows: left calf, left knee, left thigh, right calf, right knee, right thigh.  The calves were super easy, just shave against the grain and make sure you get it all by feeling for stubble with your hand.  The knees were the hardest part because of their knobbiness.  I had to be pretty careful here and actually suffered my only cut on my left knee.  The thighs are easy to shave, but hard to make sure you got it all.

After I finished the process, I put on a little moisturizer (that's what the Internet said to do, and Cheryl agreed!) and viola! shaved legs, ready to impress everyone on Team Fatty!

And here they are for your viewing pleasure:


(Bonus points for anyone who can tell me where this photo was taken!)

I've learned several things since I joined the shaved leg crew:
  • Your legs get cold when they don't have any hair on them
  • The bed sheets and your clothes feel a lot different with shaved legs
  • Your legs don't look as tan without a cover of dark hair on them
Will I keep them shaved?  Maybe for a bit, but it seems a little odd to have shaved legs while riding a Surly Long Haul Trucker; it just doesn't fit!  Will I do it again?  We'll see; only time will tell...

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