Laura Trott's hair

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smutchin

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
Dogtrousers said:
Absolutely wherever? Even if this negated its usefulness as a camera? (eg pointing straight down at the track, or something like that)
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That's what they said on the commentary, but I presume there were some stipulations in the rules. In practice, everyone seemed to opt for seatpost mounting, which makes most sense. However, I did notice that some had it low enough that you could see the rear wheel in the shot, while others had it set higher up.
 
BrumJim

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Location
Selly Oak, Birmingham
Since her hair is at the back of her head, it probably helps with the turbulent air coming off the back of the helment.

OTOH, Beryl Burton appears to have sported a short hair style in her riding career, and she certainly didn't hang around.

As someone who has never had long hair (and is unlikely to at my rate of balding), is there an influence of spare time on length of hair? I know I have had requests for dates turned down many-a-time by women citing "washing my hair" as an excuse, but does long hair take that much extra time and hassle to keep it in good condition that amateur or semi-amateur athletes previously haven't had the time/energy to do?
 
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fimm

fimm

Veteran
Location
Edinburgh
OK. As a woman, who has in the past had shoulder length hair, and who now has a "short at the sides and slightly longer on top" style - one that's fairly short for a woman - here are my thoughts/comments.

Really long hair that can be plaited back hard is good because you can keep it all out of the way in a plait. Before I had my current style, I had a jaw-length bob, and that was awful because it was too short to be tied back but long enough to get in the way. So I had it all cut off...

I'm sure the track athletes don't need to be as light as possible - they're not mountain climbers and they do come in a variety of shapes and sizes - so I don't think the weight of hair makes any difference, especially as it is all covered by the helmet.

When I had long hair I used to wash it once a week, and that worked fine for the plaited-back style I used to have. If I wanted to wear it down it did need to be clean, though. Nowadays I wash it every day, but I hardly ever dry it, as it drys fast enough on its own. Having long hair was nice in terms of being able to do "stuff" with it - even now, and I've had short hair for about a decade, I sometimes catch myself looking at a nice hairclip or something in a shop and have to remind myself that I no longer have enough hair to wear such a thing! I feel short hair wins for practicality, though, especially these days when I do a lot more sport than I used to do, I can wash it as often as I like.
 
BrumJim

BrumJim

Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
Location
Selly Oak, Birmingham
On a slightly different tack, and taking a comparison to F1:

If you go into an F1 garage (apparently), you will be struck by the sense of order and cleanliness. Go out into the lorry park at the back, and whilst you may not notice it immediately, the lorries are parked with a precision that is breathtaking. Nothing is out of place, untidy or anything other than sparklingly clean. Whilst it does not make the cars any faster, it is my theory that the "dress smart, think smart" philosophy is at work here to is maximum extreme. If every team member (particularly mechanic) is methodical, careful and does everything with precision, this will encompass the toolboxes and the car. Nothing untoward will happen - all failures will be due to design flaws, rather than mechanic failures.

In Laura Trott's example, her perfectly plaited hair, always neat and tidy, reflects her riding style. Not the ugly arms and legs look of Sarah Hammer, but the apparently effortless application of power that shows nothing is wasted, and the air is not disturbed any more than is absolutely necessary. Just can't imagine that she jumps out of bed, looks at the tangled mass of hair in the mirror, waves a comb somwhere near it, and utters the phrase "That'll do".
 
Bollo

Bollo

Failed Tech Bro
Location
Winch
I took this picture of a French rider (I've never managed to id her) during the 2014 UCI World Championships. Yes, she is sorting her hair while riding rollers no hands. :wub:

full.jpg
 
fimm

fimm

Veteran
Location
Edinburgh
deptfordmarmoset said:
By coincidence I just bumped into an article about girls and sport in which Laura talks about the women's plaited hair. No mention of aerodyamics though. It's at the bottom of this article:https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...re-put-off-sport-because-they-get-embarrassed
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"The signature team GB plaits, she says, are about practicality – to keep flyaway hair from her face: “I do the whole team’s hair,” she laughs. “They all come to me to get it done.” "
It was Becky James' and Katy Marchant's hair I particularly noticed, as it happens. I was wondering if they find that the process of getting your hair all plaited up is part of the mental process of getting ready to race. It is quite relaxing, having your hair done.

(They could, of course, choose to have short hair. My hair doesn't get in my face, because it isn't long enough. But that takes us into discussions of feeling feminine, and how we choose to look/dress/groom ourselves etc etc etc. Do we want to open that can of worms?)
 
coffeejo

coffeejo

Ælfrēd
Location
West Somerset
fimm said:
But that takes us into discussions of feeling feminine, and how we choose to look/dress/groom ourselves etc etc etc. Do we want to open that can of worms?)
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Tell you what, let's ignore that and the "feminist is a funny word" closing line...
 
Rooster1

Rooster1

I was right about that saddle
Laura looked great on BBC TV this morning. Shame she had to bring her boyfriend along.
 
deptfordmarmoset

deptfordmarmoset

Full time tea drinker
Location
Armonmy Way
fimm said:
"The signature team GB plaits, she says, are about practicality – to keep flyaway hair from her face: “I do the whole team’s hair,” she laughs. “They all come to me to get it done.” "
It was Becky James' and Katy Marchant's hair I particularly noticed, as it happens. I was wondering if they find that the process of getting your hair all plaited up is part of the mental process of getting ready to race. It is quite relaxing, having your hair done.

(They could, of course, choose to have short hair. My hair doesn't get in my face, because it isn't long enough. But that takes us into discussions of feeling feminine, and how we choose to look/dress/groom ourselves etc etc etc. Do we want to open that can of worms?)
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For the purposes of this thread, feel good, race well, seem to be all that's needed.
coffeejo said:
Tell you what, let's ignore that and the "feminist is a funny word" closing line...
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My impression is that quite a few young women do not embrace the feminist label, all the while taking for granted many of the things that earlier feminists had to fight for.
 
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