General Cycling Discussion - Sun Protection

Anyone ever run across a sun mask for cyclists? I'm thinking of something like they wore in the old Western movies where the bad guys would cover the lower part of their faces with bandanas before knocking off the bank. These are popular with fishermen, but they don't look like they would be lightweight and cool enough a biker. Plus, they flat don't look good. Here's a link to one by Patagonia: http://www.rei.com/product/779362
Coolmax makes a product that covers the back of the neck as well as the ears. Looks like a physical barrier to cover your nose, cheeks and lips would cut down on the messy, high-dollar sunscreen.

It may be less messy than sun block but I live where it gets hot and there is little chance I would be comfortable in a sun mask. My lightweight Balaclava is a cooker if it gets much above 60 degrees.

I'd rig a long visor on my helmet. That thing looks like you'd be cooked like a lobster.

It looks like it might make breathing a little more difficult.

I wear one of those things all winter long ... they're called "neck gaiters". No way I'm wearing one all summer long too!!!

you won't be able to wear it all summer.

I won this gift basket at a charity ride I did (my first century! yay :D). The gift basket was from banana boat... so I got something like 15 bottles of sunscreen.

There was this kids bottle there... some dri-block stuff. It's advertised that it goes on and stays dry rather than slimey, so sand won't stick to your skin. The stuff is pretty neat. I use it when I'm landscaping. I will get a very VERY fine coat of dust/dirt stuck to my skin if i'm working and sweating all day, but it's hardly noticeable. It doesn't feel like you're wearing any sunscreen at all.

You might want to check that stuff out if you need the protection. SPF 30.

Check out something like this:

http://www.sunprecautions.com/product.asp?itemno=3810K09+OS+WHT&CAT=ac&SUBCAT=0ac

http://www.sunprecautions.com/images/3810K09B.jpg

http://www.sunprecautions.com/images/3810K09M.jpg

Excellent question. I haven't tried the solumbra cap on the bike, maybe I should. For normal yard work and being outside, the side drapes get very hot fast.

Notes on the solumbra cycle shirt:
1. color is muted yellow instead of bright yellow, more like the light sun on the solumbra logo,
2. no arm pit zips and it could really use them.
3. Main zipper is only a partial zipper, it would be must better if full zip.
4. wrinkles horribly

Anyone ever run across a sun mask for cyclists? I'm thinking of something like they wore in the old Western movies where the bad guys would cover the lower part of their faces with bandanas before knocking off the bank. These are popular with fishermen, but they don't look like they would be lightweight and cool enough a biker. Plus, they flat don't look good.

People who worry about looks over function IMO are to busy standing in their own way to accomplsh
much at all. If ya need sun protection ya need sun protection so get over it. Screw what it looks like.

Preface: This response is based on the assumption that you are looking for a means of physically protecting yourself from the sun because: you are sensitive to or allergic to commercial sunscreens, or you have skin so fair you seem to burn no matter what you do, or you have a familial history of skin cancer and are trying to be extra-cautious. All three apply to me, so I hope my advice is somewhat helpful.

I've become very much an expert in skin protection over the years. My Celtic background has given me skin so pale it's practically translucent (I've been known to get sunburns through my jersey!) and considering how poorly I handle hot weather, normal waterproof sunscreens (Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic, Nivea, etc.) are a nightmare. They block perspiration, and I seem to be allergic to most of them anyway, at least on my face. And in Europe (where I live) decent sunscreen is almost as expensive as liquid gold.

I've adopted a combination sunscreen approach: on my face, neck, chest(!) and ears I use L'Oreal Solar Expertise SPF 50 sunscreen. It's the most lightweight, non-allergenic sunscreen I've ever used; the cost is approx. 20 USD a bottle, but one bottle will last a whole season, which is excellent value for your money. It is also quite sweatproof, although it still does sting a bit if some runs into your eyes. Not nearly as much as Coppertone, though.

On my legs and arms I use generic store-brand SPF 40 or above sunscreen, which seems to work just fine.

The idea of having a physical barrier against the sun seems to be quite impractical. It would be extremely hot, and I can imagine it would be rank with odour after a week due to absorbing all of that sweat.

Anyway, I'd recommend forking out on a quality sunscreen for your face. Considering how long a bottle will last, the cost is pretty minimal on a per-use basis.

Cheers,

Ginger

I'd rig a long visor on my helmet.

Hoping to escape the sun, I had been using a carbon fiber visor on my helmet. This past weekend, riding with the sun at my back and the wind fierce against me, I decided, just as an experiment, to take the visor off. At once my speed increased and my effort dropped. I was really surprised how much difference the removal of the visor made. Such a little thing, and responsible for so much drag!

So now I'm in the same boat as the OP, wondering what to do. Fair-skinned and skin-cancer-prone (three surgeries already), I can't afford to give up any sun protection at all. But I fantasize about face masks, or a new, aerodynamically innocuous visor.

Wearing a mask over your face in South Carolina is illegal.

I happen to have known an aloe vera processor. Before he passed away, he gave me some of his very concentrated aloe vera gel. Since then I could not find any better. He gave me several plants and told me to break off the leaf and squeeze out the gel and apply it to the skin. These plants are now in my yard.

But I did use it after a ride. It works.

i can't imagine what it's like to burn in 10 - 15 minutes. That's crazy. I'll be out in intense sun ten hours a day 5 days a week without protection, and MIGHT get a burn on my lips.