The sportive cyclist's dilemma - Should I shave my legs?

For many (male) sportive riders on their first organised club ride or at their first sportive, one of the most surprising aspects is that a large number of the riders have shaved legs.

Most non-cyclists assume that shaving your legs is something cyclists do to improve their performance - removing a tiny fraction of their body weight and making the legs more aero-dynamic and less likely to stay hot and sweaty.

In fact the reason for cyclists shaving their legs is much more mundane. Competitive cycling is a relatively dangerous sport (obviously not compared with free solo rock climbing or free diving) and crashes do happen with alarming regularity. So if your legs get mangled and you pick up a bad case of "road rash" (the cycling term for scrapes and grazing) then if you have lots of leg hair in the way then the healing process takes a lot longer as the hairs get in the way of the scars. Not only does it slow down the healing but it also makes your legs a lot more itchy as they heal.

Quite a lot of amateur cyclists don't bother shaving their legs until they have had a bad crash and after that point convert to leg shaving and keep doing it for the rest of their lives.

Personally I didn't bother until two days before riding the 2011 Etape du Tour Acte I, in which I decided I would stand out from the other riders with my hairy legs. In the back of my mind I also thought it was inevitable I would crash on the descent of the Galibier if I didn't shave my legs (illogical, I know).

What I hadn't realised is how long it takes to shave one's legs and what a complete pain it is. I thought it would take about 30 minutes but in a tiny little shower in the smallest bathroom in north Italy it took about one and half hours. Was it worth it? Not particularly as I didn't crash. And almost everyone else in the last pen of the Etape had hairy legs, apart from the female competitors.

I haven't shaved my legs since (only 10 weeks ago, I admit) but mainly because my wife thinks they look wierd when shaved. Apparently some women really like it and encourage their boyfriends/husbands to shave their legs. So perhaps that should be one of the factors in making up your mind?