Shaving

I do not necessarily like the task of shaving my face but I do like a good shave. In fact it was in the act of preparing to shave that I cut the tips of my fingers the other day - not a good start to my shave.

My wife of course loves a good shave but will tolerate me for a day or several if I stave off shaving on my days away from work (where I'm required to be clean shaven).

Legs are altogether another manner. Cyclist as a lot tend to shave their legs - most racers and a good percentage of recreational cyclists. I personally opt to shave infrequently at best their as well. At best during the racing season I do it once a week, sometimes though slipping to 2 weeks between. Off season it's catch as catch can.

I was listening to the Vuelta a Espana broadcast on Universal Sports the other day and one of the commentators mentioned that the race leader (Valverde) had actually shaved that day (he typically looks like he sports a couple days worth of beard); and it got me thinking.

With the time trial coming up perhaps he's shaving now and then purposely letting it grow so as to gain an advantage in his otherwise sub-par TT skills. By letting his hair grow just a little over the next few days he is gaining a tiny bit of grow to promote a better airflow (much like the boundary layer devices on aircraft) which pull down the air closer to the skin. This would smooth the airflow rather than have it leave in a turbulent manner, thus reducing drag and allowing the racer to go faster.

We shall see if my hypothesis is correct after Saturday's ever important TT - does he keep the Golden Jersey?