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Winter eyewear?

Started by Tree, September 02, 2022, 07:10:18 AM

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handlebar

#15
One morning in 1969, I rode my motorcycle to herd some dairy cattle. My face shield was blindingly scratchy riding into the rising sun. I got hung up in three strands of electrified barbed wire stretched across the dirt road.

I switched to aviator goggles with laminated, tempered glass. They quit selling them, so I was back to plastic on my ebike. After a year I ditched the helmet. For nearly a century after the introduction of the Rover safety bicycle, bicyclists didn't wear helmets because they never seemed to fall on their head. Then bicycling became a sport of zipping through traffic with your head down and forward. Of those rushed away in ambulances, only half as many helmet wearers had head injuries. I'd rather avoid neck and other injuries besides reducing concussions. Where cities set up roads to keep cars from sharing bicycle lanes, injuries went down more than 90%. So the best plan is not to tangle with traffic. Hence my big mirror: situation awareness.

On foot, I've worn the same brown felt Stetson for 40 years. The brim protects my eyes and face from things like sun, wind, and bugs. A few years ago I supplemented it with a heavier white plastic hat for windy and rainy days. In hot weather, the air circulation under the crown helps.

It became my riding hat two years ago. The most dangerous part of bicycling had been looking into a low sun, more to spot oncoming cars than electrified barbed wire. This brim helps a lot. It also deflects cold wind and bugs away from my face. It's highly visible.

I wear a scarf in winter because it would take a bigger brim to keep my neck warm.


John Rose

Quote from: handlebar on December 19, 2023, 05:04:11 PM... The brim lets me see toward a low sun. It deflects cold, bugs, and rain away from my eyes and face. ...
The sun is one of my biggest problems, especially heading west late in a winter afternoon. Before switching to my winter helmet, I was wearing either a ball cap or one of those tennis visors under the regular bike helmet.
I think with the winter helmet I'll gorilla tape a visor made of black craft foam to the front.
RadMini ST 2 / RadExpand 5