Once... but it was for charity, and they got to keep all the money... My wife had to bid stupid coins or one of her fiends/friends was going to get me... I understand my beard set the dress off...
I cycle with several guys who clearly shave their legs. My chiropractor is a professional fitness pitchman (former Mr. America I believe) and appears to shave his entire body for photos and competitions. I tried to razz one of the guys I work out with about this issue once, but it didn't end well. Touchy touchy. Man up about it at least is what I say. There are different grades of shaving, but thongs are DEFINITELY for the gals only. Is there at least a consensus on that?
Thongs should only be for the most attractive people...not just men or women. Years ago, I actually heard the best viewpoint from my grandmother: we were preparing lunch while the TV was on...it was some segment about how thongs and g-strings were being more of a fad for beachware. My grandmother has surprised me about how honest she can be about facts of life: anyway, she was royally disgusted with the segment because both the guys and gals in that segment had no business wearing thongs or g-strings. With guys, I can only figure that some will shave for competitve sports (like swimming). I actually rewatched Rocky I and IV this weekend. I noticed that Carl Weathers shaved his chest for Rocky IV...unless it would be for charity, I can't see ever shaving anything but my face or stray hairs on my neck, etc.
I can't be the only competitive cyclist here.... Shave your legs = less dirt and fewer pebbles in your road rash when you crash and go sliding across the pavement
And better aerodynamics (not significantly, though) and better cooling (can be very significant!), not to mention better looks. I'm not a cyclist, but my friend Jenn Atkinson is... The cooling advantage is surprising. The hairs act as an insulating blanket with a significant effect on thermal resistance in hot weather. (It's similar to keeping a heatsink clean to increase its efficiency.)
Not really...humans are mammals and have kept body hair for a reason. Our skin is comprised of a significant number of sweat glands: the majority of which is eccrine and secretes an odorless saline solution just for cooling...having some hair follicles helps keep sweat wicked yet present for staying cool. This is quite different from long haired mammals like dogs: who do not have eccrine sweat glands under their fur and can only cool down by panting/sweating on their paws. I would say the only benefit for athletes is aerodynamics...the other component for shaving preferences is more attraction/ personal preference. It would be interesting to see how many women don't shave their legs vs men who do. All the women I've dated have shaved their legs (some more frequently then others). I think the bigger cultural differences might be shaving armpits or eh-hum groin.
No consensus! Personally, I like girls and I like looking at girls. But half the population likes looking at guys. So thongs are for whoever likes wearing them. Just like shoes, shirts, or hats. I disagree again! I don't like looking at unattractive people. So I don't want to see them in thongs. But if they want to wear them, they have a perfect right to. I also don't like tattoos or nose rings. Nose rings really creep me out. Does that give me a right to tell people they shouldn't wear them? Of course it does not! Hey, folks! Other people don't exist for your pleasure! As long as they are not doing you harm or taking what belongs to you, you've got no right to tell them what they cannot or should not do.
No, you're not. But I haven't shaved my legs yet. I'm thinking about it everytime in the shower, but then never do it. But I also had the luck to avoid all the crashes in the Pro Cat 4 peloton.... I had many close calls and was touched and pushed by falling bodies around me but kept it somehow upright. Since you live in Chicago, what cat are you racing and what team are you on?
Concur. No...I don't wear butt floss. Yes. There are many people my daughter's age that are probably glad that I don't, but I'm a live and let live kinda guy. Occasionally my schedule allows me to take a leisurely ride along the Gulf coast beaches. Sometimes....my work schedule demands that I drive the same route. I routinely thank GOD that bathing suit optional beaches haven't really taken hold here in America, but that has much more to do with our lack of sophistication and traffic management than my seeing something that I can't "un-see". I can't say that I'm offended by the retirees that roam the beaches here whether they have thongs nose rings or tats. Shave my legs? Naaaah. Not unless some cell phone queen center punches me and they have to shave it or them in the hospital. Waxing??!! Never. I discovered during my last kidney stone that I have a fairly high tolerance for pain. It aint that high!!!
I used to shave my legs when I was racing bikes in Germany back in 1974-1978. I read an article that you actually get BETTER aerodynamics with hair on your legs since they act like tiny air foils....after a couple of accidents though I went back to shaving them.
Also less chance of infection and ingrown hairs as the wounds heal. Plus, smooth skin is far easier to...umm...massage, both for the...uh...giver and the receiver. I plead the fifth here - I'm just quoting theory.
Ummmm... so... you're ah saying you have better balance on two wheels when you are wearing hardwood floors... or are you saying after you shave you pay better attention to staying up on two wheels...
When I lived in Mexico I sometimes watched a TV program from Spain called The Grand Goose Game (it sounds better in Spanish, where I don't believe it has the same kinky suggestion that it does in English. El gran juego de la oca.) Contestants had to do scary or creepy things. One punishment sometimes meted our to men if they landed on the punishment square was to have their legs waxed. The stuff really looked more like tar than wax. They'd paint it on the guy's legs (or one leg, I don't remember if it was one leg or both... this was over a decade ago) and when it was properly set, they'd rip it off. Other times they'd make people eat disgusting things. But mostly it was just difficult tasks.