In the colder air, I find my lungs hurt after a longer ride. I usually try to wear a cover over my mouth to counter-act this, but then my breathing is restricted. What, if anything, do you use?

I too have this problem in the winter. I tend to start coughing after being out in the cold and doing any exercise. I plan to bike this winter for the first time, and was wondering how to deal with this too. I don't have an answer for you, but hopefully someone out there does!

Try chewing gum. It helps keep your throat wet from the saliva.
Also try breathing from both your nose and mouth while wearing a balaklava.

Wear a scarf.

A scarf or balaclava will do the trick. I have a very light balaclava that cost about $10, it keeps me breathing easy, and keeps my head and neck warm, down to at least 10F (I haven't had the chance to try it in colder weather).

Does good ole Nashbar sell em?

Here's one:
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=
Here's another, not a balaclava but might suit for this and be more versatile
https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

One of the best things I bought was a round fleece neckgaiter. Fits nice around your neck but can extend to cover your mouth and nose if it gets a bit cold. I find on a ride that my face gets too hot with a balaclava (however you spell it) thus having this round scarf is great because I bring it up when I'm cold and bring it back down when I'm hot. Just takes two second to move it up or down. This will last me too about -10 to -15. Anything below -15 especially with a windchill, I'll wear the balaclava.

Furthermore, for those days where you need to inzip the front of your jacket for heat regulation it keeps your throat nice and warm.

MEC has one: https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...=1096652087044

One more thing, try breathing through your nose and exhaling through the mouth. This will help.

I have excercise enduced asthma. So this is a big concern.

I think one thing to remember is in the colder temperatures you should not push yourself as hard as you would in more "enjoyable" temps. Your body is working much harder to maintain its temperature and provide energy to your muscles for your activity.

I too use a belaclava. I have 2 differnet types. One is fleece the other is nitted. The nitted breathes much better than the fleece. But also lets a bit more air pass through.

A baklava? I've eaten them but never worn one. Is it fun?

A friend of mine recommends taking a bottle of warm to hot water and sipping from it regularly, I haven't used this method yet but she says it works very well for her.

That's an interesting thought that I may try. Instead of hot water though, I'll probably use some herb tea or my favorite, chamomille. Jeez, I hope this doesn't make it back to the FG forum.

I find that after a few weeks of exercising in the cold, my lungs get used to it. I cant seem to wear anything over my mouth, it makes it too hard to breath...

balaklava
balaclava
belaclava
baklava

lol.. nope, Im not sure either..

~S

This is a problem I could never solve. Anything I put on my face to warm the air seemed to constrict my breathing too much.

So I moved to California...

I experienced my first problem with this today - it was low 40s outside maybe...very cool air.

I ride about a mile to school...and I wore an extra coat...overall the ride was very stressful. (Usually very easy) The extra weight added stress (couple pounds), and breathing was harder and less effective. It was hard to recover from hills and so I was hurting for about a half hour after the 10 minute ride...well, more fatigued than anything.

I'll be taking a car to school either for the rest of the season (unless we have good warm days), or I'll be looking into some of the things mentioned here. I was actually going to be posting about this topic too if this wasn't here.

What's in it for me if I keep your secret, Mike?

I have a pile of old bikes you can have. Some old Schwinn 3-speeds, an old Stella I'm going to restore (but probably too tall for you)

A peugot UO-8 that needs a new fork and BB that might fit you

Mmmm Baklava...

Heat exchanger facemask or balaklava is the best solution I've found. Balaklavas or scarfs get damp and icy, plus they really can't warm the air up much. A heat exchanger uses the warmth you just blew out to heat up the air you're sucking in. Usually, I get colds as soon as winter comes, from breathing hard in cold air, but last winter I rode with the heat exchanger and never got a cold. Check it out at:

https://www.psolar.com/

If a person wears glasses, will the air escape to fog/frost them up?

Baklava......yum. I guess you could say they are both for the face!

Get a polar bottle for carrying warm liquids with you in the winter. Otherwise, you'll find a hot bottle of water ice cold after 30 minutes.

There was one winter that I kept up my jogging, and it seemed like I was sick all the time.

That heat exchanger thing looks pretty cool. Does it really work? And it doesn't get all wet around the mouth? It's hard to believe.