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How to keep face warm in 30 Degrees

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Road Cycling
Published
18 March 2006
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20 March 2006
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chris c
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  1. I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

  2. Nonsense. 30C is fine. Oh. You meant 30F. That's fine too. I'll
    ride at any temp, provided the roads are good. I'll run at any temp
    provided the wind chill is above -25C (about -13F).

    If your face is cold, check out the local (?) downhill ski stores.
    They make face masks out of the same stuff that scuba suits are made
    of. Supposed to work wonders (I've never had the need for such gear -
    if it's cold enough to need that stuff for skiing, it's too cold to
    ski).

    You could also check out the face masks that motocross riders wear -
    solid plastic ought to block the wind.

    Jeff

  3. Jeff Pegguru said:

    Nonsense. 30C is fine. Oh. You meant 30F. That's fine too. I'll
    ride at any temp, provided the roads are good. I'll run at any temp
    provided the wind chill is above -25C (about -13F).

    Quoted message said:

    If your face is cold, check out the local (?) downhill ski stores.
    They make face masks out of the same stuff that scuba suits are made
    of. Supposed to work wonders (I've never had the need for such gear
    - if it's cold enough to need that stuff for skiing, it's too cold
    to ski).

    Quoted message said:

    You could also check out the face masks that motocross riders wear -
    solid plastic ought to block the wind.

    I think you aren't working hard enough. In cold weather perspiring is
    a major problem. Just the same, I have seen it damn cold on rides,
    more like -10C (14F):

    http://www.trentobike.org/Countries/Switzerland/Tour_Reports/Ice_Princess_1963/
    http://tinyurl.com/lb5sn
    http://tinyurl.com/nefnd

    Jobst Brandt

  4. "chris c" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    A buff

    See

    http://www.buffwear.co.uk/

    A truly versatile bit of stuff. I wear mine round my nack & pulled up over
    my mouth & cheeks and it works a treat.

    Cheers, helen s

  5. chris c said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    Well 30F (-1C) is not particularly cold. I just ride though I do have a
    beard 🙂 I have always had the feeling that face coverings would
    probably make things worse in that they might trap moisture and add to
    the cooling effect.

    Ear coverings once you are below about -10 C are more important

  6. "[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:
    chris c said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    Well 30F (-1C) is not particularly cold. I just ride though I do have a
    beard 🙂 I have always had the feeling that face coverings would
    probably make things worse in that they might trap moisture and add to
    the cooling effect.

    Ear coverings once you are below about -10 C are more important

    That's almost exactly what I was going to write (including the bit
    about the beard). ;-)>

    Part of the problem might be overdressing the REST of the body. If
    you bundle up and put on layers at 30 degrees, you're going to be
    absolutely toasty everywhere else, which is going to make your face
    feel frigid in comparison. I'm infamous for under-dressing in the
    cold... generally down to 45 (7.2C) I just wear shorts and a short
    sleeve jersey. Below that and I add a thin nylon shell (the kind you
    could roll up and stuff in a jersey pocket) and long-finger gloves.

    Dressed like this, about the only thing that gets uncomfortably cold
    when I'm riding at 30 degrees is my ears, and sometimes my thumbs (I
    got them a little TOO cold early in the season and now they like to
    complain). I find that after the first few minutes that the cold air
    feels good on my face. YMMV.

    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $795 ti frame

  7. I'm fine with a balaclava down to about 15F. If it's colder than that,
    I actually wear a wool sock hat under the balaclava. I don't walk in
    any 7/11s like this though:-)
    Jim Gagnepain
    http://home.comcast.net/~oil_free_and_happy/

  8. Mark Hickey said:

    "[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

    Quoted message said:
    chris c said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    I do ride in California cold by my main problem is cold wind making my
    eyes tear up with attending salt.

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:


    Well 30F (-1C) is not particularly cold. I just ride though I do have a
    beard 🙂 I have always had the feeling that face coverings would
    probably make things worse in that they might trap moisture and add to
    the cooling effect.

    Ear coverings once you are below about -10 C are more important

    Face coverings like ski masks do help until it gets way below freezing
    and then you could ice up the mouthpiece but you would have to be
    blowing out pretty hard and cold too. More than likely you would get
    pulled over by a cop wondering which bank you were headed for.

    Quoted message said:

    That's almost exactly what I was going to write (including the bit
    about the beard). ;-)>

    They get frosty and white and you look like Santa??

    Quoted message said:


    Part of the problem might be overdressing the REST of the body. If
    you bundle up and put on layers at 30 degrees, you're going to be
    absolutely toasty everywhere else, which is going to make your face
    feel frigid in comparison. I'm infamous for under-dressing in the
    cold... generally down to 45 (7.2C) I just wear shorts and a short
    sleeve jersey. Below that and I add a thin nylon shell (the kind you
    could roll up and stuff in a jersey pocket) and long-finger gloves.

    Hard stuff, you are. In 50 degrees I start with gloves, 2 t-shirts, 2
    sweats on top of that, and at least some head covering. For 2 miles I
    shiver then I start to almost sweat and throw things in the back pack.
    Not too professional looking but on the way back when the temperature
    drops like a rock I can put it all on. The gloves stay on since I have
    always had cold hands. Laser protection goggles from
    Edmundscientific.com may look dorky but they do help with the UV and the
    watery eyes. I spent about 4 hours out chancing the rain and had to
    completely peel going up 1,000 ' plus, but coming back down I put most
    of it back down so I didn't freeze and kept most of it on for the 12
    mile ride home from the 'hills' since it had dropped 10 degrees while I
    was sweating up the hill and didn't notice. Froze my ears on the
    downhill at my max so far of 39 MPH.

    Quoted message said:


    Dressed like this, about the only thing that gets uncomfortably cold
    when I'm riding at 30 degrees is my ears, and sometimes my thumbs (I
    got them a little TOO cold early in the season and now they like to
    complain). I find that after the first few minutes that the cold air
    feels good on my face. YMMV.

    Dressed lightly, what if you bonk or flat way up on Skyline Blvd.? I
    know where you live and I would be riding up there if I still lived
    there. A sudden cold front and bonk or even a near bonk could be if not
    deadly, then pretty miserable. I used to ride up there for the snow so
    freezing is not all that far fetched, although I was way younger then.
    Bill Baka

    Quoted message said:


    Mark Hickey
    Habanero Cycles
    http://www.habcycles.com
    Home of the $795 ti frame

  9. Sat, 18 Mar 2006 04:13:08 GMT, chris c <[email hidden]>
    skrev:

    Quoted message said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a
    barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    I have been commuting to work all winter. Early mornings and late nights.
    In very cold weather (-10 C) the frost bites my cheeks. A little scarf to
    mask my face (wild west bank robber fashion) helps a lot. It will also
    preheat the air that I breathe, keep the nostril hair from freezing and
    keep the icetabs out of my beard. The need for it is temporary -fx.
    downhill and not uphill - but it is easily taken off or on while riding.

    Ivar of Denmark

  10. I have found that applying a skin lotion of any type to my face makes
    it feel much warmer in a cold wind. I used to cover my face but no
    more.

  11. Bill Baka said:

    my main problem is cold wind making my eyes tear up with attending salt.

    Goggles may help ... though they're a bit unsightly. For example:
    http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3081228

  12. tom said:
    Bill Baka said:

    my main problem is cold wind making my eyes tear up with attending salt.

    Goggles may help ... though they're a bit unsightly. For example:
    http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3081228


    Yeah,
    I tried some swim goggles (once) but they were way too dorky looking
    although my eyes did not water. Edmund has some that block anything past
    Blue and from infrared (heat) up to about Yellow so color perception
    would be shot. If someone would make some that would look more like old
    time aviator goggles and block UV, IR, act as sunglasses (photo chromic)
    and be polarized they would probably sell like hot cakes. I saw an old
    military set that had 2 polarized lenses, one fixed and one that could
    be rotated and locked. At 90/90 100% of all light was blocked but they
    sure made neat variable sunglasses. I think this is a neglected
    technology that many of us cyclists, even Harley riders would spend more
    than a few Wal-mart bucks on. I hate riding 4 hours in bright summer
    light and then coming in and tripping over my wife or other stuff until
    my indoor sight returns.
    Bill Baka

  13. email hidden said:

    I have found that applying a skin lotion of any type to my face makes
    it feel much warmer in a cold wind. I used to cover my face but no
    more.

    That's a good tip; you could apply a little vaseline to your face to
    cut down on the chance of wind burn. I've been wearing a neck gator
    pulled over my mouth just under my nose when the conditions call for
    it; if you don't wear glasses you could pull it over your nose up to
    the bottom of your eyes. And I wear the balaclava over the gator to
    keep my head warm.

  14. chris c said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    My coldest ride in to work is about 3F.

    Interestingly enough, I used to put on my balaclava (which
    works great for for me) when temps got down to about 20F,
    however this year I felt pretty good riding in without
    the balaclava until perhaps about 10F.

    You definitely acclimate!

    Besides the balaclava, someone gave me a polartec hat that
    has a little face shield built into it. It's not a ski
    mask, just a normal cap with a flap that goes down over
    your face, or you can leave it up inside the hat when not
    needed.

    Looks sort of like you're wearing a fake beard, but it
    works well.

    SMH

  15. Stephen Harding said:

    My coldest ride in to work is about 3F.

    Quoted message said:

    Interestingly enough, I used to put on my balaclava (which
    works great for for me) when temps got down to about 20F,
    however this year I felt pretty good riding in without
    the balaclava until perhaps about 10F.

    When astounded, it was once common to hear said "well I'll eat my hat"
    and that's how the spelling probably got changed to "baklava" so don't
    confuse the two.

    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/baklava
    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/balaclava

    Jobst Brandt

  16. "chris c" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    I am fine in the cold weather except for my face. I layer and use a barrier
    jacket by Pearl (awesome stuff). The only thing is my face. I wear a
    balaclava, but it doesn't help much when it is a little windy. It's the
    exposed parts. The head is fine so i don't need a helmet cover. I know ,
    don't ride in these temps, right?

    Unless you're unusually susceptible to frostbite, my advice would be to just
    tough it out. It feels cold the first few miles, but eventually you develop
    an equilibrium.

  17. Quoted message said:
    Stephen Harding said:

    My coldest ride in to work is about 3F.

    Quoted message said:

    Interestingly enough, I used to put on my balaclava (which
    works great for for me) when temps got down to about 20F,
    however this year I felt pretty good riding in without
    the balaclava until perhaps about 10F.

    When astounded, it was once common to hear said "well I'll eat my hat"
    and that's how the spelling probably got changed to "baklava" so don't
    confuse the two.

    I tried baklava last winter, and ended up with birds in my beard. While
    musical, they were pests in the office - always dive-bombing my morning
    bagels. The worst was when a client refused to pay the going rate for
    SAN-based dual-pathed bullet-proof storage with a confirmed copy in
    another city for disaster recovery purposes, and the birds all started
    saying "Cheap! Cheap!." Everyone thought it was me.

    So I've been using a knit "neck tube" this year, along with a
    thinsulate toque under the helmet. I can pull the tube up over my nose
    if needed. Warm as a sesame bagel, and doesn't restrict my vision like
    baklava/balaclava does.

    - Brian Huntley

    PS: Jasper Fforde's books deal indirectly with an alternate history of
    the Crimean War (Lord Cardigan, Balaclavas, etc) and are highly
    recommended as a good read. Terry Pratchett's "Weird Regiment" deals
    with the issue of articles of clothing named after famous military
    officers (Wellington, Cardigan, Sgt. Shirt, etc etc). Both authors'
    work is very funny, but sadly bicycle free.

  18. tom said:
    Bill Baka said:

    my main problem is cold wind making my eyes tear up with attending salt.

    Goggles may help ... though they're a bit unsightly. For example:
    http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3081228

    Ski goggles are made for the purpose -- I only find them helpful at
    below 15F or so.

    I wear a balaclava, but in very cold weather, with goggles, I wear a
    strip of stretch fleece (like a headband) around my head, with the top
    just under the goggles and the bottom just covering my upper lip. With
    the balaclava covering my chin up to my lower lip, no skin is exposed at
    all. I don't like breathing through cloth, so I never cover my mouth, I
    used to with a synthetic bandanna, but it tended to fog my glasses and
    it felt nasty.

  19. Peter Cole said:
    tom said:
    Bill Baka said:

    my main problem is cold wind making my eyes tear up with attending
    salt.

    Goggles may help ... though they're a bit unsightly. For example:
    http://www.scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3081228]

    Those would be great if I could get a tinted pair for the day and clear
    for the night (no UV at night anyway). I do like to keep the IR out
    since around here it routinely goes over 105 and my eyes get hot, the
    retinas, and it is uncomfortable. Polarized keeps down the sky glare and
    also kills 90% of sun reflections off of car windows and chrome.
    Bill

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    Ski goggles are made for the purpose -- I only find them helpful at
    below 15F or so.

    I wear a balaclava, but in very cold weather, with goggles, I wear a
    strip of stretch fleece (like a headband) around my head, with the top
    just under the goggles and the bottom just covering my upper lip. With
    the balaclava covering my chin up to my lower lip, no skin is exposed at
    all. I don't like breathing through cloth, so I never cover my mouth, I
    used to with a synthetic bandanna, but it tended to fog my glasses and
    it felt nasty.

  20. Quoted message said:
    Stephen Harding said:

    Interestingly enough, I used to put on my balaclava (which
    works great for for me) when temps got down to about 20F,
    however this year I felt pretty good riding in without
    the balaclava until perhaps about 10F.

    When astounded, it was once common to hear said "well I'll eat my hat"
    and that's how the spelling probably got changed to "baklava" so don't
    confuse the two.

    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/baklava
    http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/balaclava

    Or possibly "I did a balaclava into that pace line" as in
    a mindless, doomed charge as in "Charge of the Light Brigade"
    at Balaclava.

    There's a company we have interactions with called "Celatro".

    Always calling it "Celantro" instead.

    SMH

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