Long hair and cycling

[dropout]

Does anyone remember the fantastic road racer, Inga Thompson, who rode for the 7-11 team in the mid-1980's? Her hair was soooo beautiful, and went down to her butt. When she raced she would put in a braid, coil it up and pin it to her jersey.

She was a beautiful girl, and such a good racer riding on a pro team her first year racing, and won an Olympic medal in road race (Los Angeles) her second year. I have some video of her racing her first year in the Coors Classic in Colorado, her long hair was not a handicap for her!!

Other great racing women of that time, Connie Carpenter-Phinney, and Rebecca Twigg (road and track great).

 

[Equus123]

for comfort-sake....if your hair is long enough, its easiest just to pull it back at the base of your head and then tuck it down the back of your shirt!

 

[ptlwp]

My hair is pretty long... down to my hips. I just put it into a simple pony tail for riding. My helmet (Met Ippogriffo; no "pony tail hole" and no problems from the lack of one although it would be interesting to try a Terry such as you mentioned) keeps the stray bits that escape from the pony tail out of my face... and so does the wind!

But I just don't get the thing about not wanting to wash it every day. Not washing it daily seems, well, kinda icky to me. I wouldn't have throught dry hair would be a problem if you use a really good quality shampoo and conditioner.

Mine gets washed at least once a day, often twice, and sometimes three times. It gets savagely blow-dried every time -- maximum heat + maximum air velocity, tip head forward and wave the dryer around until all moisture has evaporated... which takes just over 3 minutes, which with my volumne of hair should give you an idea of how ungently I treat it -- and I haven't had a problem with dryness or split ends or anything since I stopped using supermarket-type shampoo and stuff. Although some "salon exclusive" brands are pretty **** too... so it might take a bit of experimentation to find one you like that is also effective!

I pull it back with a hair band or barrette, and use a good conditioner with a stay in conditioner when I wash, which is almost every day. Seems to work fine for me.

 

[chickonwheels]

Most female cyclists have shorter hair, it seems.....in my case I have very long hair and don't want to cut it. Is anyone else out there with long hair, who can tell me what they do re: washing, keeping it away from your face while riding, etc? Terry has a helmet just for those of us with long hair, for putting the ponytail through, etc

But how about washing? I don't like washing every day, just every other day, too often dries out the hair. What to do?

I have long hair - not super long, but long for a substantial pony tail - and will never cut it short. I race Ironman triathlons, and have had to cope with the triple challenge of what to do with it for the swim under a cap and a run cap. I wear a Giro Pneumo helment and have had no problems with a pony tail - it just goes through a gap in the thing that tightens the inner cage around your skull. Quite a few helmet manufacturers are doing that now. You need to tie the ponytail low (at base of skull). The alternative is to do one single or two braids which are flatter and will usually fit under a regular helmet.

 

[alibat]

I generally don't have a problem cycling with my hair. It is several inches below my shoulders and also very thick. I am now 35 and haven't had short hair for over 20 years, it just doesn't suit me and anyway I prefer long hair. I just tie it back and also sometimes clip it up. I am a bit naughty/stupid depending on which way you look at it as I rarely if ever wear a helmet. I know it's a risk and I wouldn't advise others to do the same but it's my choice (and yes if I end up dead or seriously injured as a result that is my choice too). As a motorcyclist as well I have every confidence in my helmet to protect me (as it has on two previous occasions) but a cycle helmet just doesn't seem to offer anyway near the same level of protection. Anyway, what I am interested in is advice from any of you who also swim. I have yet to find a decent swimming cap which is large enough for my head and hair. Most are far too small.

 

[wackydeirdre]

My hair is pretty long... down to my hips. I just put it into a simple pony tail for riding. My helmet (Met Ippogriffo; no "pony tail hole" and no problems from the lack of one although it would be interesting to try a Terry such as you mentioned) keeps the stray bits that escape from the pony tail out of my face... and so does the wind!

But I just don't get the thing about not wanting to wash it every day. Not washing it daily seems, well, kinda icky to me. I wouldn't have throught dry hair would be a problem if you use a really good quality shampoo and conditioner.

Mine gets washed at least once a day, often twice, and sometimes three times. It gets savagely blow-dried every time -- maximum heat + maximum air velocity, tip head forward and wave the dryer around until all moisture has evaporated... which takes just over 3 minutes, which with my volumne of hair should give you an idea of how ungently I treat it -- and I haven't had a problem with dryness or split ends or anything since I stopped using supermarket-type shampoo and stuff. Although some "salon exclusive" brands are pretty **** too... so it might take a bit of experimentation to find one you like that is also effective!

Take good hair of that hair while you can enjoy it! I had such a huge mop of hair on my head when I was younger there was no end to the various styles I managed to pull off never using a bit of hairspray to keep it in place. Childbirth changes things. My hair is now shoulder length and while people remark on what a mane I've got, reality is I only have a scrawny ponytail - possibly 1/4 of the hair I used to have. My daughters were blessed with inheriting my old head of hair thank goodness! It brings back memories to see their long hair styled differently every day of the week. They are very careful with it though washing it only every other day with quality shampoo and never taking a blow dryer to it. My 14 year old is close to her goal of growing her hair down to her buttox. She wants to cut two feet off when it reaches that length to donate to cancer research.