Very odd sunburn on the road . . .
 

As a concession to my wife's request, and common sense, I have been wearing a bike helmet more than I used to. At the same time my hair has gotten a lot thinner. I have started to notice a really funny tan pattern on my head from the vents in the helmet. Tried to wear a ball cap under my helmet, won't really work. Put on my thin toboggan under the helmet, great in the winter but brutally hot in the Florida sun this time of year.

Just curious if anyone else has an easy solution, other than just having a helmet tan?

(Although I guess if this is my biggest problem today then it's a pretty good day!)

bike shops/performance/nashbar sell thin doo-rags.
fits easily under helmet.
looks cool as hell worn by itself.

Just an old-fashioned cotton bandanna works for me, and is getting more and more important. Soaks up sweat, too. Yes, it is a good day.

I use one of these a lot of the time: http://www.amazon.com/SPEG-UV-Pro-Cy.../dp/B00AWU9AZO

I won't lie and say it's cooler than wearing nothing, but it's the thinnest one I've found and if you wear it all the time you'll get used to it. It does have a cooling effect when it's wet, but that doesn't last too long here in Nevada. YMMV in Florida.

Looks like a winner, just ordered one. Thanks!

I second the "its a pretty good day" comment, but I imagine there are thin breatheable beanies that work well, I know I see other riders sans hair using them in the summer, so they must work.

As a Canadian however, your toboggan statement was rather odd, never seen that word used for anything other than this.....so it made for a strange picture in my head after reading your sentence....

please don't buy the white one!

http://www.expressandstar.com/wpmvc/...7108.thumb.jpg

doorag much cooler looking!

http://bikerdoorags.com/images/Product/OldGlory.jpg

Yes, that would be odd :), guess "beanie" would make more sense but we've always referred to them as toboggans. Of course, most Floridians would have no idea of what the flat thing with the kids on it would be used for here in the deep south . . .

it's funny how words can take on very diff meanings in diff cultures using the same language.

re this sun thingee, I have tried on sun arm blocker sleeves, and the pair that I got with a set of bike clothes once are much hotter than other brands that I have tried on in stores, so hopefully this specific one recommended here will work well. As the fellow stated, it is still going to be better than getting a sunburn on your head, and being careful of that is pretty darn important nowadays.

Replacing the little helmet stinky pads with a bandana is one of the best thing I've done for biking.

- Protects from the sun
- No bugs in hair
- Soak up sweat better than helmet pads
- Easy to clean in the shower, doubles as hand towel.
- Hides bad hair somewhat
- Easy to soak up in water on hot days
- Doesn't smell as bad as helmet pads
- Lasts longer than helmet pads
- Harder to lose than helmet pads
- Dries faster than helmet pads (it's cotton, but very thin)
- Gives that badass biker look
- Can be used for other purpose if need be.

Toupe? Hair Club For Men? ;)

traditional cotton cycle cap , under helmet.

Grew up in the midwest and went to school in Mississippi. First winter down there everyone was calling it a toboggan. I actually pulled up a pick of a wooden sled like you did, pointed to it, and said thats a toboggan. Its really cool how identifying words change thru regional use.
At the same time, just because you wear a hat while on a toboggan, that shouldnt make the hat a toboggan any more than it would make the gloves you wear toboggans.
But hey, when in Rome, so i quickly accepted the local term.

I use sunscreen lotion, put a bit on my finger tips and dab it on, then rub it in. Much of that is absorbed by the remaining hair, which just makes the hair greasy, but I put up with that.

I have several friends that wear some form of cap under their helmet, I never asked where they got it.

Maybe a welders skull cap? In a former occupation, I often had to wear a full face respirator over my face, then a hard hat over the top. There are rubber straps on the respirator that would pull on my hair. I often wore a welders skull cap over the hair to keep the rubber straps off the hair. If you drive past a welders supply shop some day, stop and go in and ask about skull caps.

Combover

I've been using HeadSweats since my hair started thinning a lot. I realized it was necessary when I ended up with a polka-dot scalp on a week-long bike tour. HeadSweats also do a great job soaking up sweat and keeping it out of your eyes. They are easy to wash or rinse out and dry quickly.

I hadn't considered wearing one of these - but I think I should. Not why I am posting though. I love the beanie toboggan discussion. Does anyone (not Canadian) know what a toque is? I worked in Illinois quite a bit and got a kick out of the toque / stocking cap / toboggan discussion.

When I, as a semi-standard USA-ian, hear "toque", I think either one of those tall, pleated chefs-hats or what we around here normally call a ski-hat with one of those poof-balls on top and a side order of poutine.

you mean a "tuk" ya hoser! like this, eh?

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/images/pics/strangebrew.jpg

[QUOTE=djb;18662260]it's funny how words can take on very diff meanings in diff cultures using the same language.QUOTE]

Around here we use the word "fixing" when we're getting ready to do something. As I'm fixing to go to the store do you need anything? Some people say "finah" for the same thing. Most words I can figure out how they originated but not that one. I'm repairing to go to the store? Just doesn't cut it.

This thread is interesting to me and although I'm not there yet, I'm getting closer to where it will be more relevant.

Bandana for me. Discovered them at the end of my first long tour when I passed an old acquaintance sitting on the footpath selling bandanas for a cancer charity. That was in 1997, and I still have and wear the one I bought from him. I also have a bit of a collection of the Canteen bandanas, having picked up a four or five at various times when I have seen them on sale (Canteen is the teen cancer charity here in Australia).

If I forget to bring a bandana on a ride, sunscreen is my next best bet.

[QUOTE=texaspandj;18664986]immediately that Bob Dylan song comes to mind, "I'm fixing to die, fixing to die"

re toques, heck I've been wearing one for the last few days again, winter is giving us a last kick at the can, right now at 9:40am its still -7c and tonight will be a balmy -9c....hopefully in a day or two it will be over finally.
In a while I'm getting on my bike to go to work, I need the real bike excerise (opposed to my bike on a trainer) and I'll be wearing a balaclava, with a really thin toque on top of that and a fleece neckup too.

re words, I grew up with British grandparents, I have family living in the UK, I live in the French part of Canada and speak French, in other words, I have lots of experience with diff uses of words, but that toboggan, that was a first for me.

I wear a rigid broad brimmed hat because I don't like the sun beating down on me. I'd like to switch to a helmet, but I also want sun protection. What do other riders do for their ears? Sunblock?

yup, 60 spf , works a treat.

Yup on the sunscreen.

Hat instead of helmet? Nope. I use sunscreen on my thin spot under the helmet.