Road Cycling - Do you ride with your mouth open or closed?

Ive been noticing that when I ride with my mouth open, it dries really quick and sometimes dust gets inside. But the plus side is I can breathe alot easier. Anyone chew gum while riding?

I usualy ride with my mouth closed. Unless I am hungry then I open up and catch a little extra protein.

Depends on effort - anywhere from closed, to slightly open, to hanging slack, lips parted - teeth clenched, tongue deliberately projected out, gaping jaw with tongue lolling and gasping.

I was climing a hill open-mouthed and huffing and puffing once and a big fly went right in. I felt really grossed out. Since then I try to breath through my teeth if I can help it.

Depends on effort - anywhere from closed, to slightly open, to hanging slack, lips parted - teeth clenched, tongue deliberately projected out, gaping jaw with tongue lolling and gasping.

beat me to that ^
depends on effort and the amount of bugs there are in the air
hate catching gnats and cicadas that way
have to think consciously 'close yer yapp'
otherwise lotsa tongue lolling

lol a cicadas in ur mouth? i wouldnt want to know how that went

does any of the pros chew gum while racing? ive seen some euro guys do it, i just wanna know if its a personal habit or a adrenaline thing

All depends on how hard I'm riding. And if I'm yelling at dickhead drivers.

lol a cicadas in ur mouth? i wouldnt want to know how that went

does any of the pros chew gum while racing? ive seen some euro guys do it, i just wanna know if its a personal habit or a adrenaline thing

kissing cicadas; not pretty (startle the crap outta ya, more than a pass from anything else :D)

dunno about the gum. I chew gum while I'm cardio kickboxing, seems to keep my mouth from drying out and it helps with my rhythm. I don't chew while bicycling because it's a different rhythm, would interfere with clearing the throat stuff and could be dangerous (wouldn't want to choke on the road and mess up other cyclists, cars, unsuspecting cicadas...).

My mouth opens in proportion to the length and grade of a hill that I'm ascending*. :)

*Extended riding at high speeds also increases the likelihood of orally "venting".

And if I'm yelling at dickhead drivers.

Oh yeah, and that.

I always try to ride with my mouth closed. You see I ride the san gabriel river bed in california and if you don't want to eat any mosiquitos you better keep it closed.

I try for closed...its usualyl partly open.

If I'm riding really fast, its wide open...I'll eat a fly or two now and then...oh well..free swimming pool in my stomach for it to swim in...at least for a little while :p

I know when i ride the trainer i chew gum from the day. I find it helps keep my mind off the task at hand, i havent done it riding outside yet. I mean, pro baseball players chew gum just to not think about the game....it might help

I always try to chew gum when I ride, so most of the time it's mouth closed for me.

lol a cicadas in ur mouth? i wouldnt want to know how that went.

Carry lots of water and swallow hard. :D

Let's see, if I look in the mirror at my nose, I see two little holes. Now, if I open my mouth, it's a pretty big hole.

Hmmm, I think if I need air on a hard ride, I'm going to try opening my mouth. ;)

I believe it's a good practice to keep you mouth closed, this will make you breath harder, hence give you better endurance. Of course, when you get serious like racing, open mouth would help a lot. See TDF video, many racers open their mouth.

I always ride with my mouth open, the other night in prospect park, I was talking to my girlfriend and a huge fly went into my mouth straight into the back of my throat. I was gagging from the 3rd street entrance all the way to the downhill and my bottle was empty.

i usually ride with my mouth sorta open. on really humid days i chew a piece of gum so my mouth doesnt get all dry. on not so humid days i dont find it an issue and i just go with the flow. i never chew gum if im racing or if im doing intervals though no matter the humidity. gum, a lot of effort and a pot hole results in some choking:D

Ive been noticing that when I ride with my mouth open, it dries really quick and sometimes dust gets inside. But the plus side is I can breathe alot easier. Anyone chew gum while riding?
I you's lip balm to keep lips moist {strawberry flavour** :)

The key to keep your mouth moist while keeping it open is to stick your tongue up to the top of the inside of your mouth, like touching the 2 top front teeth or something. It's not exactly comfortable... but people get used to it.

The hairs inside your nose are there to filter out dust, pollen etc. Your mucous membranes warm and moisten the air. Best practice is to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Ive been noticing that when I ride with my mouth open, it dries really quick and sometimes dust gets inside. But the plus side is I can breathe alot easier. Anyone chew gum while riding?


I think the basic difference between somebody that rides with his, or her mouth open depends on how open, or clear the nasal passages are. Both my son Sven and I ride almost all of the time with our mouths open, simply because we either have polyps in our noses, or we have a bent septem (sp?) In other words, our noses simply aren't the best in the world.

Breathing through the nose does a better job of filtering the air (dust, insects etc.) and warms the air before it enters your lungs. If possible to do so, breathing through the nose is the most preferable of the two alternetives.

c.j.monty

I didn't realize how much I breathe through my mouth, until I started eating on my longer rides. If chewing leaves you gasping for breath, or you have all the food stuffed over into one cheek, it's a pretty good bet you ride with your mouth at least partially open. For me, it's necessity. My nose always runs to some extent, especially in cold weather.