# George's legs..........



## bonkmiester (Sep 23, 2005)

what's with George's legs ......... eww


----------



## jaybag (Jan 24, 2002)

Part of his brain sliding down his leg.


----------



## Guest (Jul 2, 2006)

jaybag said:


> Part of his brain sliding down his leg.


LOL! 

I dunno - serious varicose viens.


----------



## carb850 (Oct 7, 2005)

bonkmiester said:


> what's with George's legs ......... eww


I thought that was a photoshopped pic at first. But then I found this link.

http://www.whileseated.org/photo/002625.shtml


----------



## Dwayne Barry (Feb 16, 2003)

bonkmiester said:


> what's with George's legs ......... eww


They've been that way ever since I can remember. Seriously nasty. Maybe some sort of genetic karma, good genes for aerobic capacity, bad genes for varicose veins.


----------



## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

yeah, if you see the pic of him on the cover of Velonews's tour special, you see the same thing. When I first saw it, I thought, "WTF?"

Check it out at local races; a few guys are like that, though I've never seen one in person as bad as GH


----------



## slowdave (Nov 29, 2005)

How does he shave that? it could be a blood bath


----------



## Guest (Jul 3, 2006)

That pic is from thepaceline.com


----------



## BenWA (Aug 11, 2004)

slowdave said:


> How does he shave that? it could be a blood bath


ew, that just sends shivers up my spine just picturing/thinking about.


----------



## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

bonkmiester said:


> what's with George's legs ......... eww


With as much money as he has you'd think he'd get it fixed. It's a pretty easy outpatient surgery. There is a guy that does a local training ride that has just one leg that's twice as bad as that.


----------



## Chase15.5 (Feb 17, 2005)

slowdave said:


> How does he shave that? it could be a blood bath


he's gotta wax it. a blade on those....bad news:blush2:


----------



## Dave Riley (Sep 22, 2005)

*Varicose Veins*

I have FAR worse vaicose veins than that...seriously. Rarely wear shorts in the summer because I'm sick of answering peoples questions (e.g. "Don't they hurt ?", etc). For me it's genetic...got them from Mom. My Doc says to leave them alone unless they bother me...never have to date...just a serious cosmetic flaw. I'm Almost 54 but have had these beginning around age 20. Wish I could ride like GH. He's my new hero.


----------



## wang_chung (Jul 7, 2005)

*That looks nasty*

Gives me the goosebumps.


----------



## epic (Apr 16, 2005)

I think Sean Yates' were worse, but haven't seen any pictures of him in a while.


----------



## heliskyr (Feb 21, 2005)

That's BAD!!! That's gotta cause problems down the road....


----------



## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

epic said:


> I think Sean Yates' were worse, but haven't seen any pictures of him in a while.


96 TDF


----------



## cheddarlove (Oct 17, 2005)

If I was drafting a wheel and saw those legs, I would peel off!


----------



## sako (Dec 28, 2005)

When he wins this TDF he'll be getting a lot of visual exposure - not good publicity for those who are thinking of taking up cycling.


----------



## cityeast (Sep 16, 2004)

*LIke a bad car accident...*



bonkmiester said:


> what's with George's legs ......... eww


So grotesque but somehow I just can't look away.....


----------



## Bryn (Jul 9, 2005)

sako said:


> When he wins this TDF he'll be getting a lot of visual exposure - not good publicity for those who are thinking of taking up cycling.


HUH! Why?


----------



## Trevor! (Feb 28, 2004)

Um I am not too sure if it has something to do with very low fat percentages but I have seen pictures like this a lot from the pro peleton - do these veins appear because of the athletes/riders low fat percentages????


----------



## terzo rene (Mar 23, 2002)

Trevor! said:


> Um I am not too sure if it has something to do with very low fat percentages but I have seen pictures like this a lot from the pro peleton - do these veins appear because of the athletes/riders low fat percentages????


 Being able to see all the vessels is due to low fat percentage, but low fat doesn't make them look like intestines. :-O


----------



## OnTheRivet (Sep 3, 2004)

Trevor! said:


> Um I am not too sure if it has something to do with very low fat percentages but I have seen pictures like this a lot from the pro peleton - do these veins appear because of the athletes/riders low fat percentages????



_Varicose veins are enlarged and/or stretched veins which protrude in a rope-like manner underneath the skin. Normal veins, by virtue of one way valves, channel oxygen depleted blood back to the heart and lungs to become oxygen rich. When a valve becomes defective blood is permitted to flow both forwards toward the heart and backwards toward the feet. This abnormal backward flow of blood causes the veins to enlarge resulting in the development of varicose veins_


----------



## iliveonnitro (Feb 19, 2006)

OnTheRivet said:


> _Varicose veins are enlarged and/or stretched veins which protrude in a rope-like manner underneath the skin. Normal veins, by virtue of one way valves, channel oxygen depleted blood back to the heart and lungs to become oxygen rich. When a valve becomes defective blood is permitted to flow both forwards toward the heart and backwards toward the feet. This abnormal backward flow of blood causes the veins to enlarge resulting in the development of varicose veins_


So it isn't the EPO???

I wonder if that makes one leg stronger than the other...


----------



## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

OnTheRivet said:


> With as much money as he has you'd think he'd get it fixed. It's a pretty easy outpatient surgery. There is a guy that does a local training ride that has just one leg that's twice as bad as that.


Why? Why mess with success? It doesn't seem to slow George down!


----------



## rocco (Apr 30, 2005)

wipeout said:


> Why? Why mess with success? It doesn't seem to slow George down!



How will he ever win the swimsuit competition? ...I heard the winner wears a gold lamae jersey.


----------



## jeff262 (Dec 19, 2005)

*I've got em too...*

The back of my right calf is very similar to George's. Normally they aren't too bad, but after I start ridding or running hard they really start to pop up. The only good thing about it is that I feel less like a freak show exhibit now that many people have seen them on George. I talked to the Docs about treating them once years ago and they said not to bother as they would likely come back.


----------



## Trevor! (Feb 28, 2004)

OnTheRivet said:


> _Varicose veins are enlarged and/or stretched veins which protrude in a rope-like manner underneath the skin. Normal veins, by virtue of one way valves, channel oxygen depleted blood back to the heart and lungs to become oxygen rich. When a valve becomes defective blood is permitted to flow both forwards toward the heart and backwards toward the feet. This abnormal backward flow of blood causes the veins to enlarge resulting in the development of varicose veins_


Thanks for explaining that. I had little/no idea


----------



## kyler2001 (Sep 8, 2005)

OnTheRivet said:


> _Varicose veins are enlarged and/or stretched veins which protrude in a rope-like manner underneath the skin. Normal veins, by virtue of one way valves, channel oxygen depleted blood back to the heart and lungs to become oxygen rich. When a valve becomes defective blood is permitted to flow both forwards toward the heart and backwards toward the feet. This abnormal backward flow of blood causes the veins to enlarge resulting in the development of varicose veins_


My question(s) would be...Would George, as well as others in this forum, have had varicose veins even if they did not start cycling (i.e. is it something genetic)? Or, does cycling bring a higher risk to every rider to have them? I ask this because I've never seen a person who was not a cyclist with them to that degree. I've heard of overwieght people having them in their thighs and such...


----------



## epic (Apr 16, 2005)

sako said:


> When he wins this TDF he'll be getting a lot of visual exposure - not good publicity for those who are thinking of taking up cycling.


I think there is some truth in that. I remember once there was a woman in my office who decided that she could not take up cycling because she didn't want to mess up the looks of her legs. She did spinning class instead...


----------

