Scott Martin

Male hair removal is hot.

I know this because I work for a health-education publishing company, and we follow these things. In fact, we're developing a pamphlet on this very topic. (Some of my proposed titles: "Hairy Decision," "A Close Shave," "Follicle Follies.")

Businesses are eager to, um, take a slice of this emerging market. Philips promotes its Norelco electric shavers online with artsy black-and-white videos -- dubbed "manalogues" -- telling men why they should shave their backs, their chests, even their groins. "Trim the hedges," the manly spokesmodel says, as if hair down there were an overgrown azalea.

The site also mentions leg-shaving, but curiously only for swimmers (understandable) and rugby players (not so much). Possibly more happens in those scrums than meets the eye.

Clearly marketers are missing the fuzz boat by omitting cyclists. Or maybe they realize that male roadies already have this hair-removal thing figured out. (Women, of course, are way ahead of us.)

Most guy cyclists know you don't need fancy shavers, lasers or waxing techniques. Just lather up your gams in the shower and swipe away with the old disposable Bic. Once a week is fine, unless you share a bed. Then you might want to shave more often to avoid complaints of stubble -- and a nagging backache from sleeping on the couch.

The bigger challenge is psychological: Explaining why you shave body parts that society says are supposed to be hairy on men.

Best to avoid the main reason -- vanity -- and go with a macho one: "When you crash on a death-defying mountain descent and suffer agonizing road rash that the doc cleans with a wire brush, the lack of leg hair reduces the chance of deadly infection."

That's way better than "My hedges needed trimming."

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