2 questions

terry2708

Forgive me as I know the shaving thing has been discussed before but……. I was in France for Le Ronde Picarde this weekend and want to know why so many men think that shaving their legs is clever?? It looks stupid and adds no speed, all the brits (and many other nations) seemed very proud that they had cyclist legs and wore shorts walking around town to "show them off". Weird, vey weird!

Also, Why go to France to ride a race (and Le Ronde Picarde is a race, not a sportive) and ride the short flat 130km if there is a 185km route??

danlikesbikes

Answer (1) if you follow this link it will tell you your wrong

http://road.cc/content/news/129913-vide ... ys-science

Answer (2) some people are not able to ride the longer distance but the shorter one may be just just with their reach & if the longer one was their only option they might not sign up and ride the longer one but pick another short distance ride.

littlerascal

terry2708 wrote:

Forgive me as I know the shaving thing has been discussed before but……. I was in France for Le Ronde Picarde this weekend and want to know why so many men think that shaving their legs is clever?? It looks stupid and adds no speed, all the brits (and many other nations) seemed very proud that they had cyclist legs and wore shorts walking around town to "show them off". Weird, vey weird!

Also, Why go to France to ride a race (and Le Ronde Picarde is a race, not a sportive) and ride the short flat 130km if there is a 185km route??

I think if your cycling, shaved legs do look better than hairy.

I am tempted to do it not because i think it will make me faster but generally because i think it will look better

chris_bass

the shaving legs thing has been done to death, use the search and you will have more answers than you will ever need on both sides of the argument (whilst you are there search for helmets, red lights and waving it'll save time in the long run).

as for the second one, some people might like shorter distances, you don't often see usain bolt running the 10,000 meters but i've heard he is quite good at 200 meters and less.

Jules Winnfield

For me there is nothing worse than a MAMIL with legs resembling Chewbacca.

marcusjb

Jules Winnfield wrote:

For me there is nothing worse than a MAMIL with legs resembling Chewbacca.

Other than someone daring to only ride 130km when there is a 185km option. Dispicable. :evil:

borisface

Don't be a t o s s e r racing cyclists have shaved their legs since the year dot. Looks great. The Ronde Picardie is a effing sportive NOT a race.

bernithebiker

madasahattersley wrote:

terry2708 wrote:

Also, Why go to France to ride a race (and Le Ronde Picarde is a race, not a sportive) and ride the short flat 130km if there is a 185km route??

R U trolling? The reason there are 2 different route lengths to choose from is because it's a sportive, not a race. Trust me if you entered a race in France you would be pulled out within an hour (or considerably less) of starting.

Once again, don't forget that in France, many sportives ARE ridden as races.

You are timed, you need a medical certificate or licence to compete, and the front pelotons give it everything they have with breakaways, sprints, etc. The top times are also very fast.

I rode one of the largest in France in May, the Pierre le Bigaut in Brittany, 7000 riders. I was 80th with an average speed over 120km of 38.5km/h.

As for leg shaving, it just looks a lot better than super hairy legs, end of.

As for distances, I would probably choose the 130 over the 185 as I prefer to ride faster for less time.