Soooooo 4/5 roadies that I passed going the other direction were wearing dark sunglasses.

Yet, it was so cloudy you couldn't tell where the sun was in the sky.


Will this make me faster?

Glare on overcast days is teh sux. For some reason it hurts my eyes more than bright sun. I wear shades pretty much all the time, though now I use photochromic lenses.

I always ride faster when I'm not trying to get rocks, bugs, etc. out of my eyes.

amber lenses. this is what they are for.

I use the orange one things. It's great. The world looks funny after taking them off.

I usually wear these, they keep the bugs out and reduce glare.

This has been a learning experience.

I believe cloudy days actually are more harmful for us, something along the lines of UV rays bouncing back at us from the clouds.

I wear my sunglasses at night.

OK, Blade.

Just about the only time I don't wear sunglasses is when I ride.

Wear them all the time. Cloudy days more so. Don't be fooled into thinking you don't need them because cloudy days during vacation in the bahamas as an example will still get you tanned. And getting bugs and rocks in your eyes will kill you.
I even wear them during rain as certain colours yield better contrast in the right conditions.
Love my Oakley Radars.

What izz ziis 'zunglassus'?

+1

Same here. I always thought it was the clouds scattering the UV, or maybe bouncing it back?

If I am outside after sunrise and before sunset, I have sunglasses perched on my nose. My eyes just can't take the strain. It's even worse on the bike, with the wind.

I think that's the deal, though I don't remember the physics of it all. Same reason snowblindness exists (and also sucks immensely).

And here I thought my friend whose eyes couldn't "take the strain" was just staring at girls all day.

Perhaps it has to do with your pupils being more dilated on a cloudy day than on a sunny one, making it easier for UV rays to enter the eye?

I've got very light blue eyes, almost translucent/transparent and the sun kills me. I am in sunglasses almost every day of the year except very overcast rainly days. But even for those days on the bike I wear glasses wether it be red amber or clear lenses. I switch the lenses for conditions, I hate when I pick a lens that's too dark and I do not understand sunglasses at night, indoors, or very dark on a rainy day.

Definitely.

Next question.

Huh?

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the COLD. I find myself blinking back serious tears when going down hill even moderately fast. Sunglasses do help.

Thinking about it some more it might have something to do with the wavelengths of UV rays. 99% of the UV radiation that reaches the earths surface is UVA which has a wavelength of 400 nm - 320 nm. My guess is whatever wavelength is not generally absorbed by the surface of the earth and goes back to the sky may not be strong enough or the right wavelength to break through the clouds. So it bounces back to the earth where it eventually enters our eyes and kills us. That's just my guess.

So I can
So I can

I like to wear my sunglasses all the time so long as they aren't impairing my vision.

It's only when the sun sets completely behind the tree/building line that I'll switch over to my regular glasses.

I'm considering purchasing some goggles of some kind to keep my eyes from tearing up too much since the days are getting colder.