I rode today. Did you?

Nice first ride in the COLD.

 

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on February 19, 2015 at 3:35am

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.

Permalink Reply by David Beazley on February 19, 2015 at 4:39am

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. 

Permalink Reply by kpnick on February 19, 2015 at 4:53am

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!

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 19, 2015 at 4:58am

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.

Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on February 19, 2015 at 4:59am

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. 

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on February 19, 2015 at 5:08am

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. 

Permalink Reply by Ryan Stahlman on February 19, 2015 at 5:16am

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

Permalink Reply by David of the North (David606xx) on February 19, 2015 at 7:07am

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...

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 19, 2015 at 7:31am

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 20, 2015 at 7:17am

Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on February 20, 2015 at 7:52am

Gene--looks like some other planet!  Maybe that's what happened--we have been transported to a parallel universe where it stays cold all of the time.

Permalink Reply by Gene Tenner on February 20, 2015 at 8:01am

How do you know I did not just come back from Mars?

The lakefront for a few blocks south of Fullerton have these volcano shapes, like the one in the top photo. They make it easy to imagine being on another planet.

Lisa Curcio 4.1mi said:

Gene--looks like some other planet!  Maybe that's what happened--we have been transported to a parallel universe where it stays cold all of the time.

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