I've never been a hairy man

A tease from a friend and fellow cyclist about me having hair (the "I won't believe it if I don't see it" kind of comment) prompted me to take a picture, which led to a little thinking, which led to this post and gallery.

Let me start by saying that I've never been a hairy man.

Almost no hair on my chest, can't grow a full and bushy beard, had fine head hair and a receding hairline even in high school. And friends who've only known me for a couple of years are used to seeing a cleanly shaven scalp as I've keept it that way since January 2011. Before that I had longer hair on my head but shaved my legs (like any self respecting roadie).

I was 18 in this photo (wish I still had that bike)

As a kid I was a real baby face, it took until I was in my late 20s before I could grow a moustache. And when I did it was a handlebar 'stache.

I remember in my first year of high school: my machine shop teacher took out a micrometer to show the class how to use it and after measuring my hair predicted I would start going bald by the time I was 30. He was right.











That didn't stop me from growing my hair out into a ponytail. Even while being a good corporate employee it was important to not lose my sense of self. Anyone who's worked @ Eightbar knows that being labelled a wild duck was like a badge of honour. I wore that tag proudly.

2001

The ponytail got cut when I turned 50 (my choice). I quit smoking at that time as well, again my choice. That's a tale for another time.

2004, losing the ponytail at 50

Short hair, shaven legs

I struggled with what I felt were bad hair cuts for a bunch of years (one of the reasons I let it grow out in the first place was that fine hair is hard to cut and I didn't like bad haircuts) and decided I'd get my own trimmer and look after it myself. That worked for a few years.


Then one morning, I started using the electric trimmer and after the first pass I took off the #3 to trim around my beard. Let's just say the head looked very trimmed by the end of that day. Not planned but I liked the feel of it, thought it looked ok too and so I decided to keep it that way. One of my favourite photos in recent years is this one that Jenna took in New Zealand. I've used it in a number of places including the contributor page of Pedal Magazine.

Trimmed the way I like it

Well... this spring has me with a head of hair just as we get ready for summer to arrive. I'm looking forward to getting rid of it all when I can (that won't be until after the pin sites are healed) but meanwhile here's the proof for that skeptical and teasing friend. It's not as gray as I thought it might have become since I last saw it. Still as sparse up front though!

Call me unkempt...

I'm looking forward to shedding the hair almost as much as I am the halo vest. Oh... I still can't grow a full beard, what you see on my face is about 2 months growth. Those are still not far off from baby cheeks.

And for the record I'm as eager to get back on a bike as I am to get my smooth dome back (smooth with some new features). I miss riding a lot. Sure hope things are healing well, down to 2 weeks and 2 days until I know how it's really going.