Eyes Tearing..
 

I've noticed the last couple of rides I've done this winter my eyes begin to tear when going 15+ mph. I don't recall this happening during the warmer months... BTW, I wear my everyday transition eyeglasses. Any suggestions on how to prevent and/or minimize this from occurring?

I have a condition commonly called "old eye" (although I've also heard it referred to as "dry eye".... but I don't know if that is the same). With my eye being drier... the wind can irritate it and cause it to water/tear. This happens while cycling and can also happen just walking on a cold day.

To resolve this I wear contact lens when I bicycle with nice wrap-around cycling glasses in both sunglass green and I have a clear pair for morning/night/gloomy cycling. This keeps my eye moist and the wind off the contact. Works for me. I also think I get better vision with the contacts.... but have also considered Lasik.

During my twenties my eyes became extremely sensitized to breeze as a consequence of excessive time paragliding, hang gliding and standing on the side of windy hills stairing into the breeze. My eyes have slowly recoverd over the last 15 years, but, are still tear up more easily than others.

All I can recommend is to investigate glasses that provide better wind protection than your standard eyeglasses may. I recently replaced a pair of Addidas sports glasses with some Oakley Radar Ranges and was really surprised with the improvement in wind protection. I really didn't realize how much leakage there was around and past the previous pair. I also use clear, wrap around, sport style safey glasses for rainy weather and night riding. Without them I stand no chance.

Another option I used while living in Wyoming and cycle commuting during the winter was to use alpin or nordic ski goggles and glasses that seal tight to the face, but, which have excellent ventillation. But, those really are only suitable in really cold temperatures and with limit exertion.

Go investigating the various wrap around sport options that you can get a prescription lense for. Find the one that fits your face the closest.

One caveat. With the closer fitting Radar Ranges I'm more likely to suffer fogging issues at stop lights or if I stop at the top of a hill. But, they still clear quickly once I'm moving again.

You might be able to find a google to wear over your glasses. The idea is just to keep your eyes protected from wind, cold, and what not.

Yep, get some cycling glasses. By the way, the oakley race jackets have little vents and do quite a good job at not fogging. I think I'm up to 4 different pair of cycling sunglasses now and each has a slightly different purpose.

The other advantage of cycling glasses is that they tend to block the sun over the top of your glasses, if that makes sense. Normal glasses don't because they sit off your face quite a bit more, and you lean forward when cycling.

Thanks, for the tips!! Sounds like i need to invest in a good pair of wrap-around sun/cycling glasses to block the wind. Thanks again!!

I wear contacts and shooting glasses or my Oakley Antix. Both glasses wrap around nicely, especially the Oakleys, and the shooter glasses I wore one time on a whim when it was sort of dark out. They are a HD yellow tint and work really well. Not as nice as the Oaks but better than my regular glasses, and way better than nothing.

I went riding once without any eye protection on and ended up having to ride for over an hour with one eye closed because of a gnat. Never again!


Edit: Shooter glasses are relatively inexpensive if you aren't looking to drop a lot. Otherwise chainlove.com has been running several nice pairs of Oakleys, also the same ones I wear and would swear by, over the last few weeks. Just an FYI.

Maybe once a year I ride without some eye protection, and without fail, I get a bug, or a bit of road dirt or something in my eye. I have a set of clear glasses, and some oakley sunglasses, whenever something hits the lenses, I say "yeah, not riding without glasses".

Working in the construction industry I end up with a few extra pairs of cheap safety glasses. I picked through them until I found the best out of the bunch and saved one clear pair and one shaded pair for biking. They do a nice job of keeping bugs, dust, and wind out of my eyes.

Thanks,
John S

+1 for shooters or other inexpensive but ANSI approved safety glasses. They work about 2/3 of the year for me. This winter I invested in a pair of Oakley ski goggles as I was having problems with breath fogging my regular riding glasses whenever the wind was at my back.

My eyes became more wind sensitive after getting implants.
Since in reality, I only need reading glasses now, I found some inexpensive, tinted, reading sun glasses.
Straight lens on top and little bifocal inserts on the bottom.
Only problem is they are too dark indoors and if eating out, I can't see my food.
I'm going to look for a non tinted pair one of these days. Or grow 6 foot long arms.