The Chainlink

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

Views: 138510

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Not sure why I was so cold..colder than I ever remember being during the vortex. Usually clark has little wind but last night was rough. Amazing your balaclava froze.

Went out for a 90minute ride at 5am under the stars.   Yep, it was a bit frigid, but not as frigid as the polar vortex last year (or as much as the fear-mongering on the weather report).   Front headlight battery gave up the fight after about an hour. I always knew it was a good idea to also ride with a helmet light--this is the first time I've needed to use it as a backup. 

In other news, I've finally licked my ski goggle fogging problem---Aquaphor.  Yep, put some of that on your face around the eyes, because it's not a matter of "if" the goggle will become unusable, but when.  And when you have to finally take it off, that Aquaphor will take some of the sting out of the air. Plus, it leaves your skin feeling pretty good to boot.   If there's one thing I've learned as a parent, pretty much all problems can be solved with Aquaphor.  Yep.  I digress.

Anyways, get out there and ride!

Licking you ski goggle solved your fogging problem? I want to know more about that..

David Beazley said:

Went out for a 90minute ride at 5am under the stars.   Yep, it was a bit frigid, but not as frigid as the polar vortex last year (or as much as the fear-mongering on the weather report).   Front headlight battery gave up the fight after about an hour. I always knew it was a good idea to also ride with a helmet light--this is the first time I've needed to use it as a backup. 

In other news, I've finally licked my ski goggle fogging problem---Aquaphor.  Yep, put some of that on your face around the eyes, because it's not a matter of "if" the goggle will become unusable, but when.  And when you have to finally take it off, that Aquaphor will take some of the sting out of the air. Plus, it leaves your skin feeling pretty good to boot.   If there's one thing I've learned as a parent, pretty much all problems can be solved with Aquaphor.  Yep.  I digress.

Anyways, get out there and ride!

Dressed like I was going to go skiing, but was totally fine (in fact...warm?!) riding this AM. My ski goggles got a bit foggy & switched to my glasses the last half mile.

Don't have Aquaphor--but any other suggestions for a foggy goggle fix??

Lots of swimmers swear by Cat Crap. It's available from places like CampMor and REI, so I presume it's supposed to work at low temps as well as high humidity.

I only wear a pair of untreated Tifosi glasses, and leave my nose exposed. No frostbite so far (rode this morning), and no particular problems with fogging.

Regarding ski goggles, I've tried all manner of remedies ranging from "Cat Crap" to using the more expensive goggles with the little fans in them.   On the whole, I don't think the problem of fogging in extremely low temperatures can ever be truly fixed. Instead, I've moved more into a phase of acceptance with it--that's just what ski goggles like to do. It's the natural order of things.  So, you have to try and work with it.

Down to about 0F, goggles really aren't needed--I can just wear my normal eyeglasses with a facemask.   Below that, ski goggles are more about buying time and a bit of luck.   For example, maybe the goggles will get me through the first 45 minutes of a ride and then I'll have to give them up due to icing or something.   The aforementioned Aquaphor is insurance for that last few miles--if you have to ditch the goggles, at least you can take a bit of the sting off the exposed skin ;-)

Honestly, I wonder if ski goggles are really meant for low temperatures anyways.  As a former skier, I got to thinking about how many times have I actually gone skiing when it was -8F outside?  Off the top of my head, I think it only happened once and I recall it being a rather miserable experience of bitter cold and immense goggle fogging.  

I've seen some hacks with people modifying respirators and other things to try and redirect the breath away from the goggles.   I have no idea if any of those work or not.  The number of days where it's so cold as to warrant something like that are pretty low to begin with. 

Great tips, Skip & David! Thanks!

Also, David, I was really on the fence about riding this morning but after reading your post I went for it!

This is dead on, David. I broke mine out for the first time today. I had some minor fogging in the top middle, but was otherwwise fine. i take my glasses off and put a piece of foam tape at the bridge to lift the goggles off a bit to allow some air in to circulate ... if you picture the nerd with the tape in the middle of his glasses, you would have me.

David Beazley said:

Regarding ski goggles, I've tried all manner of remedies ranging from "Cat Crap" to using the more expensive goggles with the little fans in them.   On the whole, I don't think the problem of fogging in extremely low temperatures can ever be truly fixed. Instead, I've moved more into a phase of acceptance with it--that's just what ski goggles like to do. It's the natural order of things.  So, you have to try and work with it.

Down to about 0F, goggles really aren't needed--I can just wear my normal eyeglasses with a facemask.   Below that, ski goggles are more about buying time and a bit of luck.   For example, maybe the goggles will get me through the first 45 minutes of a ride and then I'll have to give them up due to icing or something.

I didn't ride today due to schedule conflicts, but have ridden most every other day this year. This year has been much easier for me, even with the 0 degree and lower days. The best decisions that have made it easier are the following: Winter boots rather than cycling shoes & the double layer military surplus wool mittens that were recommended on another thread. These have kept my extremities surprisingly warm at all times on my 45 minute commute. They work so well, I've barely noticed that the temperatures have dropped so much the last couple days. 

Army Surplus for the win! Swords into Plowshares!

Ryan Stahlman said:

I didn't ride today due to schedule conflicts, but have ridden most every other day this year. This year has been much easier for me, even with the 0 degree and lower days. The best decisions that have made it easier are the following: Winter boots rather than cycling shoes & the double layer military surplus wool mittens that were recommended on another thread. These have kept my extremities surprisingly warm at all times on my 45 minute commute. They work so well, I've barely noticed that the temperatures have dropped so much the last couple days. 

That's right, I think I got them on your recommendation David. Best $5 i've spent all year.

On the Swords to Plowshares theme--Last year I switched from double-paned ski goggles to single-paned tactical goggles from Smith Optics. They fog up a little more often than double-paned, but I've got full peripheral vision which is nice in traffic.

http://www.smithoptics.com/Root/Men%27s/Goggles/Tactical/Boogie-Reg...

RSS

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service