As summer approaches I decided to trim my beard from ~5 cm to 1 cm. The main reason is that now I won’t have to do anything with it (except for minor trimming) until the end of summer, which is great for several reasons. Also, as I’m useless in summer heat, I figured it might help me stay a bit cooler/slightly less over heated.
My wife likes it as she doesn’t have to make out with my facial hair rather than me. And it does have some benefits when it comes to eating egg and caviar sandwiches… Also, when in the pool today I made the (maybe not very scientifically full-proof) discovery that my swim splits improved with 3 sec/100m with the shortened beard.
However, I look like a dork without my beard. My kids (whom I apparently have managed to raise properly) urged me to grow it back immediately. Accordingly, even if it will slow me down by several minutes on a half IM (slower swim, increased bike drag and general over heating), I have decided to grow the beard back (and never trim it short again) and that I rather look good in last place than like an idiot on the podium.
Fully bearded cyclist (and reformed triathlete) here. Recent research suggests that while leg and arm hair causes drag, beards do not have the same drag effect. Grow that bad boy back out. I look back at pics of me from 5+ years ago, pre-beard and I look like a child.
I’ve seen some great wind tunnel testing by GCN (or some other cycling channel) on YouTube where they concluded that a beard doesn’t matter for cycling drag. And I know that swimming drag has been debated on this forum, without any real conclusions.
But I’ll stick to my 3 sec/100m finding and have that as an excuse if someone beats me by a narrow margin.
Since I’ve grown a beard, my mother stopped asking whether I ate enough lately.
That’s worth a few seconds.
I went back to just my goatee when it started getting warmer…the difference in heat retention (for me) was insane. Not fond of shaving every other day (never have been) but at least I’m not getting heatstroke every time I run now. 
I went back to just my goatee when it started getting warmer…the difference in heat retention (for me) was insane. Not fond of shaving every other day (never have been) but at least I’m not getting heatstroke every time I run now.
I think I’d actually quit running rather than go baby face.
On the other hand, I live in Sweden and the beard makes for good insulation against the cold about nine months of the year.
I went back to just my goatee when it started getting warmer…the difference in heat retention (for me) was insane. Not fond of shaving every other day (never have been) but at least I’m not getting heatstroke every time I run now.
I think I’d actually quit running rather than go** baby face**.
https://www.thesportster.com/most-unlikable-babyfaces-wwe-history-ranked/
https://www.thesportster.com/wcw-most-unlikable-babyfaces-ranked/
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2955457-ranking-the-10-best-babyfaces-in-wwe-and-aew-right-now
I went back to just my goatee when it started getting warmer…the difference in heat retention (for me) was insane. Not fond of shaving every other day (never have been) but at least I’m not getting heatstroke every time I run now.
I think I’d actually quit running rather than go** baby face**.
https://www.thesportster.com/most-unlikable-babyfaces-wwe-history-ranked/
https://www.thesportster.com/wcw-most-unlikable-babyfaces-ranked/
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2955457-ranking-the-10-best-babyfaces-in-wwe-and-aew-right-now
😂 I wasn’t aware of that meaning of the word (had to look it up), but I don’t think it changes my previous statement…
I grew a beard during my first quarantine in 2020. I keep it short as it looks too grey when it is long. I really like not having to shave everyday, just a weekly quick trim. Great for insulation in winter. As a BOP, having a beard probably means the difference between coming 112th and coming 113th.
Beard boys rule.
There’s a law in Montana that you can’t have a full beard unless you’re over the age of 35 because people will assume you are wise and powerful.
My dad grew a beard to look dangerous to keep me and my wild-ass brother under control with fear. He shaved it once, my brother laughed at him and said he looked like a retarded goldfish, and he grew it right back.
Not sure I can weigh up the relative merits of racing triathlon with vs without a beard, having never done the latter. Over 300 tris in 37 years with a beard for me.
You guys are all inspiring me: shaved for the last time today, growing the beard back. I’m probably insane for doing it in the middle of summer, but life is short. 
I grew a beard during my first quarantine in 2020. I keep it short as it looks too grey when it is long. I really like not having to shave everyday, just a weekly quick trim. Great for insulation in winter. As a BOP, having a beard probably means the difference between coming 112th and coming 113th.
Beard boys rule.
Grey beard is awesome. So you actually have two reasons for letting it grow long (awesomeness and more awesomeness).
I think it’s more work to keep a beard looking ‘decent’ year round, rather than just shaving in summer. handy to have the facial hair in the cold winter months.
just gets annoying in summer for me. the gf always finds it hard to get used to it when it comes off late spring, but she comes around. come fall, it’ll be back, but i’m not keen on just letting it get all ragged in winter, so there’s some work there too.