I was born and raised in So Cal, so anything under 70 degrees we were searching for a jacket. Even with all the smog, I never had any breathing problems. Moved to Northern California to do my Grad work. The area was cold and moist most of the year, so I ended up getting bronchitis, which cleared up. Later I moved to Sacramento area where the allergens overwhelmed my system, so even though I don't have allergies, I still got a stuffy nose. I don't know if this has any impact on the following, but just throwing out the info.

Some time ago I was riding and turned into the wind, which was cold. Felt a sharp pain in the middle of my chest and was afraid I was having a heart attack, but when I turned my head so I wasn't getting the cold air forced down my throat the pain went away. Saw a doctor and he said it was Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA). It's not much of a problem when it's warm, but now that the air temp is in the 30's and 40's, especially when it's breezy, my chest, throat, neck, shoulders, and arms hurt, and I'm completely winded, even when it's only a good cross-wind. I wear a balaclava and even put a folded up bandana over my mouth so that I have 5 layers I'm breathing through. I wear a thermal jersey, regular jersey, jacket, and wind vest, but when the cold air comes through it's like I just sprinted 100 yards and I'm all winded. I take a pill for asthma and have a rescue inhaler, but on bad days nothing works.

Just wondering if there's anybody else out there who suffers through this who has any info I should look into? I went from being a front to mid-pack rider to being the Tail End Charley, so while I'm still able to ride, I feel bad about making the group wait for me again (they don't mind, but I do.).

Thanks in advance for any help.