Manscaping – should I shave if I’m a cycling dude?

My all time favourite subject!!

If I’m riding behind a dude, the first thing I notice is his butt. 8 out of 10 he needs a new pair of knicks, EW! Which means my line of vision drops to his calves. Lets call it ‘recovery’ for argument sakes. There is nothing more wonderful than a clean shaven set of sculpted calves to de-bleach that previous nasty vision. Agreed gals? So guys, make it pleasant for us okay? Shave those guns and keep them nice! Having searched the webz I have found some popular theories…

Theories on hair free guns

1. For more aerodynamics

2. Easing healing of road rash

3. Makes massage more pleasant

4. More attractive appearance

5. Tradition

6. Ticks are easy to spot

7. Easy sunscreen application

8. Less road grime

 

Wax or shave?

Don’t wax!!! It’s more painful than childbirth!!! Shaving is the go. Once a week. Sit on the side of your bathtub, use a good shave foam (not that gel). BOOM! Done. Pain free!!

Exfoliate

Exfoliating is a very important part of life! I feel a bit amiss if you have overlooked this part of your grooming process!! It doesn’t matter how young or old you are as it benefits all ages, both sexes.

You know how you look at your car and think “Boy, my car looks really dull and dusty, even though I just  washed it!” (using several buckets of tank water and non-biodegrabable detergent of course! And on your front lawn!) But this point is not important, only to Coach Steve, hence my bringing it up. Anyway, getting back on track, what do you do when you think this? You pull out your  ‘cut’n’polish’ kit and give the duco a really good going over, right? A good buff and polish? When completed, you stand back and stare at it in amazement! It’s like brand new again isn’t it?! Mirror finish!!!

Here is where the power of exfoliation enters. By exfoliating your skin, it removes all the nasty dead skin and strips away the dull and dusty! After a good moisturising, you stand back and look at yourself and think “Mmmm! I have baby skin again! So soft and subtle!”  Exfoliate is the king. Do this every 3rd day. Stops ingrown hairs and keeps your legs as smooth as.*

Moisturise

Please remember to moisturise upon completion. Moisturise DAILY.

*NOTE: There are different TYPES of exfoliating creams. Some are for body. Some for face. Choose wisely! You wouldn’t take to your car with an orbital sander now would you?  🙂

Play safe, ride hard and keep yourself noice, and go out and show them who’s boss!

Inspiring Cyclists

Jon

JD, Bra, Bro, Jonny. Jon is my big brother. He is 18 months older than me and rocks my world. He is a pretty amazing dude. And a cyclist. He is a cyclist dude. Initially, he bought a mountain bike to ride to work, soon his rides turned into mountain biking, long distance riding and the purchase of more bikes, including a road bike! He loves to ride socially, having an endless list of riders interested in both mountain and road riding. Jon has CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease) so riding his bike is easier than walking for him. His mates call him “Chook Legs”. Harsh, but true. He literally has hardly any muscle in his left calf. But this doesn’t stop him. He is super fit and simply outstanding on his bike…well…actually, he can’t do a ‘standing climb’ on his bike due to balance, ankle angle and other issues. So any climbing required he does in the saddle. My brother bought me my first bike 4 years ago. A mountain bike. He encouraged me to ride, ride, ride. He passed on one of his bikes to dad.

Dad

Keithie, Old Fella, Papa, Dad. This 71 year old man also has CMT. If he didn’t have a bike he would be using walking sticks or in a wheel chair. He gets on his MTB (mountain bike) and rides, rides, rides. He rides up the mountain (South Boundary Road) at least 2 times a week. Sits on a log and eats his breakfast which he has carted in his back pack. Watches the world go by and listens to the sound of the bush. He rides to his Doctor, his podiatrist, the shops, everywhere. Dad has taken me on 3 x 570km CQ bike rides. Does he ride into camp first? YES. Does he pull me along for the last 30ks? YES. Does this same man rock my world also? YES. Do I pfaff? YES.

Steve

Coach, Stephen, Smurf. This man is remarkable. Jon introduced him to me. He is a rather fascinating man! He stirred me about my pfaffing at the gym. He told me that if I drove to the gym then it was like killing a kitten. I stopped driving. I started riding to the gym. He told me that bike riding was better than the gym. I started riding my bike more. I wanted to get up Mt Coot-tha. He showed me how. He showed me how to ride my bike ‘technically’. He grouped me with other riders, encouraging me and supporting me. He took me on rides and showed me ‘stuff’. He is my inspiration. He has showed me how much fun it is to ride a bike. I’m privileged to have him as my friend. My coach.

There are many many more inspiring bike riders that I will share with you later. I’ll throw some names out: (gals I cycle with first) Max, Jen, Julie and Ann.

I have ridden 1,214.6km year-to-date both solo and with friends because of these people.

Later!

Black Beauty

Sounds like a beautiful black glossy horse with a star on her forehead doesn’t it? Well, this is a different type of steed. She is a bicycle. She is black with magenta trim (‘pink bits’)! Born in New Zealand in the Avanti Factory, and bred from the Questa 2 clan, she boasts Carbon frame + Fork with Shimano 105 20-Speed gearing and Shimano R501 Wheelset. Born November 22 2012 weighing 8.9kg, measuring M-55cm. She has settled in quite nicely, having spent only 2 days at LifeCycle getting ready for her new home. I am a very proud mother. In the 7 days that I have had her I have ridden 146km. We have River Looped, climbed Mt Coot-tha and ridden out to Nudgee Beach. She is a little beauty!!!

Special Note: Black Beauty was purchased for me by my sister-in-law (Yvonne), my brother (Jon) and my father (Keith). Without these amazing people my life on my dream bicycle would be non-existant! Thank you, I love you guys! ❤

Why “Bonked out Cherry Plum”?

This blog name came to me because I remember a friend telling me she was ‘bonking’.

I immediately thought to myself…woah!…that’s pretty rude! She quickly explained to me that this was bike rider’s lingo for :

bonk v. to run out of energy or grow exhausted on a ride.

Cherry plum?
cherry plum v. mum (Australia rhyming slang)

There is a pretty good chance people won’t find my post. My husband thinks it’s a pretty silly blog name. We discussed this for hours.

But I think that if someone stumbles across it then it’s mean’t to be. You found me didn’t you?