Aborted Ride
 

:o

I was feeling much better today and was eager to ride, after having missed out Friday and Monday. But, today was still colder than I've ever ridden in (it was -5 F at my house) so I wore ski goggles, which several have recommended here.

I'm peddling along and doing ok but the goggles fog up. I give it time as riding at higher speeds can clear that up. Well, they just got foggier as the hot air from my baclava got in there. So I tried tightening the strap and riding some more. No good. I tried loosening them up and no good. I went home, hopped in my car and came to work dejected.

I've always wondered what all the hullabalou was here on the issue of fogging up glasses/goggles. Now I know!:eek: I usually just wear normal sunglasses, with a clear lense in the winter. They will fog up at intersections but clear once I ride. I've never had a problem. But, this was ridiculous! I couldn't see!:eek:

As it turns out, I was overdressed again anyhow. I also wore my winter coat. I will try that with just a tee under it next time. I've got to experiment with this.

I've basically given up on goggles or other glasses for cold temps. I have to wear prescription glasses which i use CatCrap on but I don't try to get any more coverage than that. I've also found that using a balaclava over your nose is the surest way to steam the glasses. This morning I pulled the balaclava below my mouth and did not have any issues. My cheeks were a little cold at first but soon warmed up once I got working.
Keep you core and head warm and your face seems to take car of itself. I guess if the temps were lower than Cleveland sees or you were out in it for hours you may need more protection but for temps around 0 you face will survive.
Craig

That's what I should have done. I had put on vaseline already on my nose and cheeks--so I don't think I could have gotten frostbite for a 40 min ride.

Stuff like this is how we learn. I've never had much luck with goggles either, I just stick with my good ole yellow shooting glasses. I've been growing my beard out over the last few weeks...it's getting white enough by itself, but with a little ice added and the this darn cold wind giving my cheeks and nose a nice red hue, I'm thinking that perhaps I should start wearing a santa cap too! ;)

Goggles have never worked out for me as well. Hence the reason I am reluctant to drop a pretty penny on a pair of clear ski goggles. Yes, I've tried safety glasses and find those slightly more annoying.

I've taken to keeping my balaclava off mouth also, so for the real cold days, I tuck a sock in to the sides of it to cover my nose and cheeks, while still keeping my mouth exposed, dosn't steam the ol' glasses at all that way.

I dunno what to suggest chip. I've had great luck with goggles myself, but other people that I ride with seem to chronically fog them up.

Maybe I have no circulation in my face.

One thing that may help is keeping the foam of the goggles directly against your face, if you sandwich part of the baclava in between it can let moisture from your breath in. But as I said, some guys are just chronic goggle foggers.

I'm thinking of getting some clear plastic film, like a transparency, but thicker, cutting it and duct taping it to my helmet to make a clear visor, like hockey and motorcycle helmets have. Just hope it doesn't distort my vision or flap around too much.

I actually had a brain fart one day and decided to apply some snorkling/diving logic to the problem...and drenched the inside of my goggles with water before putting them on. Bad idea. :eek:

iyossarian -- take a look around a hardware store or big box store for a replacement face shield like you would use in a shop. The plastic is fairly strong and already curved. I'm guessing with just a little cutting and maybe some velocro you could attach it to your helmet. That was my plan before my wife bought me some pretty cool goggles. The goggles fog sometimes, but I'm still refining my technique on their use. I haven't yet found the cat crap stuff to try it out.

I've only found it on amazon, and it does work pretty well. But if you haven't tried dish soap, I'd say try that first, just clean your goggles, dry them off, and then rub just enough to coat both sides of the lens on, works really well as long as it's not snowing heavy.

Good idea. I was thinking more along the lines of McGuyvering something out of what I had at the office, but an actual face shield might work better.

Here's what you need: The All-Weather Helmet

That visor thing looks pretty cool, but I'm still not sure I trust it not to fog if I've got a balaclava over my nose. Plus, they show someone wearing glasses underneath it, and those glasses are going to fog anyway, probably worse without the wind on them.

I too have almost given up on eye protection. I've tried the dish detergent, but it only does so much. The more you leave on the lenses, the less they fog, but the blurrier things are from the detergent. Wiping the lenses clear, OTOH, seems to remove a lot of the benefit. Also, my wife informs me that the opthomologist told her that dish detergent was bad for them; she didn't remember why. I haven't tried the Cat Crap yet, although I've found that page on the manufacturer's site.

When I'm wearing a balaclava or especially my HeadSock (as I have a lot recently), my eyes don't seem too bad even completely uncovered. Maybe it's the warm air coming up my face from around the nose area. I also wonder if more air comes up over my face rather than down towards my throat because having a full beard blocks it from going down, and that would also explain the lens fogging problem. So anyway, mostly now I just give up and go without eye cover. I generally wear prescription lenses, but my eyesight is not so bad that I can't see to drive (a bike, IMO), and they don't seem too sensitive to the sunlight either, once they are adjusted. Of course, it's easier to do this in clear weather than in snow!

I got back on the saddle today, and enjoyed it after yesteday's debacle. Sure, it was +8 F instead of -4 and that helped. But, ditching the goggles was huge:) and I did great with my HH winter coat. Opened up the pit zips about a third the way into my ride and didn't overheat. Nice big zippers--opened with my mitten covered hands! Polypro long john pants helped, too, in place of those nylon wind pants.

I really thought my winter coat would be overkill but it wasn't . It's more of a shell than an insulator to begin with. I think using this ski coat of mine will get me down to about -5 to -10 F.

I forgot a comb so I don't look as good as I feel. But, as Kramer says, I'm loving every minute of it! I still feel the cold air in my lungs--and that's a good feeling.:D

Regarding eyewear--I wore my usual shades with clear lenses. They don't fog if I'm moving over about 10 mph. At intersections, either I let them fog or I lower my baclava to uncover my mouth.

Fogged lenses would clear but in really cold temps, the fogs freezes and becomes frost. Frost doesn't clear unless you wipe it away (warming it up is impossible while riding). I've had the same problem skiing in really cold temps where I've had to have two layers covering my mouth and nose. On the bike, if I cover my nose at all, my glasses fog. I only get a little fog at the corners if I leave my nose exposed and cover my mouth. This works good enough for me. I rode a quarter mile without glasses on when it was 5F and my eyes were extremely dried out in that short period. I've had luck with dish detergent at 15F (I was able to cover my nose) but it failed miserably at 10 degrees colder.

I'm thinking the best solution would be a scarf or neck gaiter that could be easily moved up and down to cover your mouth and nose on downhills or flat areas where you are moving quickly but not working too hard and then expose your mouth and nose while climbing to reduce fogging. This is eaiser said than done though because when it's cold enough to need this sort of setup, I'm wearing big mittens which leave me just enough dexterity to brake and shift. Our winters aren't long or consistent enough to give me enough practice either.