All set for some winter riding, 40 to 60 miles every other day.
Except I seem to really get knocked down after a cold ride because of lung irritation, and the resulting coughing and phlegm.
I've searched high and low, items are either expensive, or just don't work. The WSJ had an article a few years ago but all three companies are closed.
I just bought some cone style surgical masks. After a little modification I will try one on a walk tonight.
Any suggestions?

some riders wear a mesh fabric balaclava. don't know if that really warms the air. for me that would only slow down the air. good luck with the surgical masks. what temps are you riding in? where are you?

I suppose you can also knock back a smidge on your mileage & maybe just ride for an hour at a time

Honestly, it is possible that your cough from cold air exposure COULD be a symptom of exercise-induced asthma or some other lung problem. (Of course, also possible you have a perfectly normal, healthy respiratory system).

Disclaimer - I am NOT a doctor or any other medical professional - but I am an asthma patient. Before I was diagnosed a few years back, I would often have a coughing spell after being out in the cold, even without significant exertion (just normal things like shopping, etc). After riding, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, I was resigned to the tight chest with exposure, followed sometimes but not always by lung-expelling coughing jags afterwards - I thought it just "went with the territory" so to speak.

After I realized that those symptoms, along with some other things I experienced, were possible asthma symptoms, and I was diagnosed by a pulmonologist and started on treatment with Singulair and Symbicort, I almost never have any significant cough from cold exposure - maybe one or two little coughs due to a dry throat, but that's about it. I actually had the very same symptoms with exposure to irritants like pollen, smog/air pollution, and mold, and all of those things no longer bother me the way they did before I started treatment.

The way I deal with the runny nose, which is pretty unavoidable, is to take a daytime-formula decongestant before a ride. It is not the end-all/be-all, but it does help somewhat - reduces but doesn't eliminate it. After all, a runny nose is a normal, defense mechanism by the body to protect the cells of the respiratory lining from damage caused by cold, irritants.

So, my first suggestion is to consider asking your doctor is asthma or some other respiratory condition is a possibility.

Otherwise - it's back to what you are trying - find something that warms and humidifies the air around your mouth and nose - scarf, mask, hood, whatever - not a perfect solution I know, but all I can suggest.

Best of luck to you, and congrats on your rides - 40-60 every other day is a laudable achievement in winter conditions.

Here's one:
Airtrim | andningsfilter, värmeväxlare, sportfilter, racingfilter, astmafilter, airtrim, surahammar, vapro, vapro produktutveckling ab
And another. Smaller, but more silly-looking:
LUNGPLUS en munburen fukt- och v?rmev?xlare f?r idrott och astma (asthma)
They do cost a bit, but aren't hideously expensive.

20 to 35 Fri
Southern Wisconsin
Could be EIA or some variant.
Will also revisit full balaclava with mesh mouth.

DaveQ24 brought up a good point. You may have a condition that requires some form of pharmaceutical treatment. My 18 year old son is a h.s. senior and plays ice hockey. Since his h.s. freshman year, every year just as the season gets underway he's developed a chronic cough that lasts the whole high school hockey season, day and night except when he's sleeping...and then subsides about a week after the season ends. Every year we've taken him to his primary care physician, and been referred to pulmonary specialists. No one could figure out precisely what's causing the cough. Pulmonary tests all showed normal lung function. But obviously it's 'sometime' to do with the ice rink and/or a combination of things at the rink (their home rink is maintained particularly cold at 16-20 degrees F). None of the prescription meds did anything. But finally...this year, with the advice of one of the specialists...we decided to battle it BEFORE it happened instead of waiting to see IF it happened. And our weapon is simple, over-the-counter Zyrtec. We began a week before the season began with one pill a day, every day in the morning. We're well into the h.s. hockey season now and the cough has not returned.

Sorry for the long story, but something like this may be worth trying. Good luck.

Dan

The air in indoor skating rinks can be very polluted. Zambonis are major culprits, but there might be other causes as well.

Our rink uses an electric Zamboni. But...I concur on the other pollutant possibilities.

Dan