Pain in the Eyes While Night Riding
 

Hello everyone! First time here.

I live real near my campus (LSU) and I bike to and from school. Tonight I was studying and when I was done I biked home. It was about 9:00 p.m. and dark. As I was biking, my eyes started to burn really bad. First my left, then my right, then my left again. It was over and over- every 45 seconds or so. Eventually I had to stop and rub my eyes really bad as it was a sharp tinging pain.

Eventually, to finish the rest of the ride home I held my hand in front of my face and felt small things hitting it from time to time. My eyes are fine now, btw.

This brought me to the conclusion that it was bugs hitting my eyes- (I do not wear glasses and was not wearing goggles of any kind). Also, I ride with a blinking light in the front and a red LED light in the back- so maybe that attracted them.

The strange thing is that I've ridden around at night with lights many many times and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened.

Does anyone know what this was? Have you had this happen to you? Do people recommend riding with goggles at night?

If bugs were hitting your eyes, you'd feel them. It almost sounds like something environmental, like maybe they sprayed for mosquitoes or something like that?

Yeah.

Is it common for people to wear goggles?

Whenever you see XC racers, it seems like they always have goggles/shades on.

i wear goggles everywhere for this very reason. definitely pick up a pair.

+1 on glasses -- help deflect the air krill.

Yeah, I got clear lens goggles from the hardware store for when I ride in the wee early hours. Seems to me that the eyes open wider at night to take in everything and the breeze (plus any bugs and/or any area spraying) may irritate the eyes. Most cities are getting more pollution build up than normal and this can give allergy-like symptoms to most people. It does to me with coughing, watery eyes and sneezing. Seems to just have started within the last 2 years. So, yeah wear eye protection.
Ernest

Eye protection of some sort is never a bad idea. You only ever get one pair of eyes, best to protect them.

-R

sounds like bad air quality, that area doesn't exactly have the best.

i have ****ty allergies and take pill every morning. This could be your issue aswell, pollen, ragweed whatever.

air quality is garbage in vegas, especially mid day

I always wear glasses. Bike glasses come in colors that reduce night glare. You don't wear glasses, you know eventually a bug will fly into your eyes. Hope its not a stinging insect. / One of the reasons I always were lycra on a longer ride. / Once a cycling friend had a bee fly up her baggies. It could not get out and she had a bee sting on her upper thigh. Could have been worse, I guess. Can you imagine the spots it could have stung.

i need to get a pair of quality night glasses, right now i just wear wire frames..i have bad eyes 140/220

day time wear the oakleys with ICE iridium lenz

I had a pair of nice Oakleys, was a gift, I couldn't afford one.... One day the %&$^# lens fell out! Can u believe it? Oakleys!

To me, Walmart would work just fine.

I have to wear certain frames, because I always take along, my "Take a Look' style mirror. That mirror does not fit all type of glasses. You can find amazingly low priced wrap around sun/night vision eye wear from Performance. With Rx inserts for well under 100 bucks. /But, I have not had the best of luck with the endurance of Performance glasses.

I ALWAYS wear sunglasses, so when I ride at night, my eyes aren't accustomed to the wind. I got some slim looking safety glasses for night riding. Occasionally, I'll run into a SWORM of bugs, and be very glad I had the glasses.

Thanks, guys.

I'll definitely look into a pair of goggles/glasses.

The amber or clear of these glasses will all do an excellent job of
protecting your eyes from all road/bug debris and wind for cheap!:thumb:

You don't need no stinking expensive cycling glasses to do this job.

http://www.eyesave.com/brands/b281-d...ses/index.aspx