Its widely known that Beardliness is next to Manliness which is next to Godliness. But the question before us is whether Beardliness should be a staple of Roadliness. Many great explorers have had facial hair as a prerequisite for travel like Marco Polo, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt and B. A. Baracus to name a few. The advantages of road beards include saving dozens of minutes that it would take for 5 guys to shave, added warmth for the cold camping nights in the northern US and sheer awesomeness in appearance. Three weeks is a sufficient amount of time (if not too much time) to grow a road beard, however, there are other factors to consider.1) Anonymity. Keeping my civilian alias of "Steve Rogers" has always been an important factor in being able to live my true life as Captain America. My suit, shield and mask serve not only as driving factors in haute fashion but also help prevent people from being able to match my two alter egos. My nose, mouth and chin are the only visible parts of my body and covering them with a beard would make it too easy for people to match Captain America with Steve Rogers.
2) Class. Would you wear flip flops to the white house? No. When I get out in the heartland, I want to look my best and having an unkempt travel beard is unquestionably not classy.
3) Klingons. Oops, I meant Cling-Ons. While there is a huge difference between an alien warrior race from Star Trek and remnants of Cheetos that you can't get out of your travel beard, it is certain that neither of these similar sounding words are something you want to encounter in your travels.
