West Magazine, November 5 2016

Page 42

PHOTOS: DAVID TAYLOR

Wax on, wax off... Middle-aged man in Lycra Chris McGuire went the extra mile to shave a few seconds off his cycling times - but did it work?

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eady?” asked Lisa, cheerily. “Ready,” I replied. In fact, I was having second thoughts, but it was a bit late to call it off now. And so the first layer of warm wax is applied to my leg. I’m one of that ever-growing group of unfit men who’ve turned to cycling in an attempt to gain control over their wayward waistlines. “I don’t look silly do I?” I asked my girlfriend, the first time I squeezed into cycling kit. Her reply was brutally honest. “You’re standing there head to toe in Lycra so tight I can tell what you had for lunch. And you’re asking me if you look silly?” A friend once described me as a "metrosexual". Apparently, us metrosexuals take more care of themselves than most blokes. I don’t know that I do, though. I wash, frequently, but I hardly ever comb my hair. I think wearing Lycra on a daily basis confirmed it for him. “You’ll be shaving your legs next,” said my friend. What is it with leg hair and cyclists? Really? Some say losing it makes them more aerodynamic. Maybe that rings true for the professionals but for us mere mortals I can’t see it would

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