Sunday 24 April 2011

Veins = Form

It’s clear that most cyclists suffer from body dysmorphia to some degree. Look no further than the shaving, the shiny embrocations, the self tanning and the long socks to mask those lamp post legs.

For me, as mentioned previously, the prevalence of visible veins has always been a loose barometer of form. It kind of makes sense: fit = lean = sticky out veins. I think this was the theme of my highest scoring essay in Geographies of Food where I talked about banana chips and Lance Armstrong and veins and the perception of well being. Also, maybe it’s just me or maybe it’s the fact that their legs are pasty at the start of the season, but I’m sure the pros legs look less veiny prior to having ridden in to form.

The myth was sort of dispelled in my first race of the season where, despite legs like a roider, the result was no good. Following Tom Southam’s insights, I figure it is probably time to stop obsessing about a look that is desirable to no one but a try hard biker.

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