reccomendations for sun protection?
 

I already use "mass quantities" of sunscreen for sun protection.

What do you all recommend, clothing-wise?

Sometimes I like to just throw on clothes and ride. I don't want dink around with slathering on a couple ounces of sunscreen. I still want to keep the sun exposure down, without having to be on a trainer inside!

I was thinking of a lightweight, long sleeved, moisture wicking t-shirt, but don't know the SPFs of shirts like that. I would think as the shirts became wet from sweat, any sun protection they give would go down and maybe I'd have to wear a couple of shirts.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

And of course I would like to stay cool as possible. . .

Dont wear cotton as the sweat wont evaporate. Long sleeve soccer shirts are cheaper than cycling jerseys and allow the sweat to evaporate, keeping you cool.

my grandpa has some "sun-shirt" things. I think they are made of nylon and are fairly light and cool, ill ask him about it.

Ride a recumbant with a full-fairing. :)

I've always maintained that "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" (column article by Mary Schmich and later popularised in song by Bahz Luhrmann) fits the sport of cycling quite well. I mean... just listen to/read the beginning of the lyrics...

http://supak.com/sunscreen.htm

If it's a quick ride, you'll be OK if you get home by about 7am (or at least that's my policy). Anything longer than that you'll need sunscreen. Also be aware that your face is, for some reason, particularly susceptible to sunburn when you're riding (or at least, that seems to be the case with me). I think it results from reflection off the road, or the ocean in my case.

I really think sunscreen is about your only option there.

Sunblock is actually a much better choice than sunscreen if you're going to use something. Sunscreen has been shown to be fairly ineffective at blocking UVA (the rays which cause cancer and aging, which is what I assume you're worried about more than burning/tanning)

Depends which sunscreen it is. Banana Boat is actually pretty good. Heck, if I'm still alive after all the hours I've spent in the Queensland sun, it must be doing something right.

I am currently using Coppertone Sport (spf 30). It is rated to protect from UVA and UVB rays.

I just hate putting a tone of the stuff on just to ride down to the store. Going to the store takes about 10 minutes and (for me) takes about 30 min to get home.

I usually wear heavy t-shirts to ride in that are yellow or orange in color. I just worry about what is passing through the shirts during longer rides. I want as much protection as possible, but wish to be cool as well. It is hopeless?

I was thinking of ordering a jacket from these folks:

www.solarveil.com

As they look to be very well ventilated, but, like shadecloth, block the sun and the company claims that it blocks both UVA and UVB and the cloth is supposed to wick and dry well.

My dermatologist said to get protection from both types of UV use a sunscreen that contains Parsol 1789, and titanium oxide.

SPF ratings are based on how well the sunscreen protects against UVB, not UVA. It was originally thought that they would protect equally well against both. It turns out that although they do protect against UVA, it's not to nearly the same extent as UVB. The best way to stop UVA is a physical blocker, such is zinc oxide or, as AndrewP mentioned, titanium dioxide. So yes, Chris, your Banana Boat is protecting you against aging and melanoma, but not as much as the SPF would lead you to believe. Same goes for you, foehn; it may be rated for UVA and UVB, but the SPF is for the UVB protection, not UVA.

get yourself some "rashies". those are the shirts that go between you and a wetsuit. surfers where them because it's hard to get sunscreen/block to stay on when your out in the water all day. they work great at keeping the sun off you, you keep cool cause it wicks and they are designed to get wet so sweating in them is just perfect. just don't put them in the drier after washing them as they will retain your scent. line dry only, which isn't a big deal as they dry in 15 - 20 min anyway.

btw they don't work well at keeping you warm so don't expect them to. they are for hot weather only. wind also goes right through them. great when it's hot. crap when it's cold. they don't even work well as a base layer even though they wick really well they are not designed to hold heat.

cheers
kat

You can also look for ones that contain avobenzene.