Painful 1st Cold weather ride

Hello everyone- I ventured out to do my first "cold" ride yesterday:cool:. In Atlanta that would be about 55-60 degrees yesterday and a bit windy. I had on my arm warmers, no leg warmers under my shorts- it was a bit chilly for the first 4.5 miles but bearable. At the last part of the ride which I have now dubbed "Hamburger Hill", I hee hawed my way to the top breathing through my mouth, sucking in air.I can't drink water while riding so that made it a bit more difficult.

At mile 5 I noticed a very painful earache beginning that was almost dizzying. :(
My jaw was beginning to hurt as well. I don't know if I was too tense on the last hill climb by clenching my jaw and not relaxing my shoulders enough, but the pain in my ear made the thought of an additional 5 miles intolerable. Any ideas or tips on cause or prevention? Anyone experienced this?:confused:

i used to get a lot of earaches and jaw aches from cold. it helps to wear a hat. They make little caps that fit nicely under bike helmets.

Below 60F it's usually best to wear leg warmers. Any part of you that you can keep warm, is a part that your body doesn't need to warm by robbing heat from other places.

It starts with the core, really - a thermal base layer or warmer LS jersey might be in order, too.

And remember that most helmets are made with great big holes for ventilation, which is great for hot weather I guess but gets your head real cold in chilly weather. (And is pointless most of the year where I live :rolleyes: ) I wear something on my head like a Buff under my helmet almost year-round, and like to keep my ears covered a lot too.

A headband is good for "in-between" weather. I have a microfiber one for summer and a fleece one for winter. When it gets to cold, I wear a microfiber hat with ear flaps under my helmet.

DH bought his microfiber hat-liner last winter and now also wears it year-round to absorb sweat!

I got my headband out the other day to walk in, what a difference! I get earaches from the wind too. When it gets colder I put on my thin skull hat that fits under my helmet. I thought at first it was uselessly thin, but boy, if I put it on my head, other than my arms needing sleeves, I'm fine!

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Originally Posted by denny

At mile 5 I noticed a very painful earache beginning that was almost dizzying. :(
My jaw was beginning to hurt as well. I don't know if I was too tense on the last hill climb by clenching my jaw and not relaxing my shoulders enough, but the pain in my ear made the thought of an additional 5 miles intolerable. Any ideas or tips on cause or prevention? Anyone experienced this?:confused:

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I'd suggest you get either a buff to wear under your helmet, or this Smartwool helmet liner:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_12950.html
I have one of these and it's very thin merino wool (washable) and it's soft and covers your ears. It fits nicely under your helmet and tucks away small once the temps warm up and you need to remove it. It'll keep your head and ears nice and snuggly from the 40's-60's degrees.

I know it's not a particularly cold place in Atlanta, but...you wore just shorts at 55F?? I'd be freezing! :eek: Maybe you need one pair of long biking tights with chamois for your cold season of riding.

I agree with the other posts. Definitely get a beanie to fit under the helmet.

My first cold ride was 46 degrees (60 going home). I bought a great jacket that keeps out the wind. I wore w sleeveless runners tank (it has support) and a thermal shirt over that. I had on running/yoga pants. Tomorrow, I will be wearing thermal pants underneath. I need to invest in running tights.

You might also want to look into gloves. They make thin ones.

I believe it is best to layer up then be unprepared. You can always take off the gloves, beanie, earwarmer headband or extra shirt. ;)

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

I'd suggest you get either a buff to wear under your helmet, or this Smartwool helmet liner:
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_12950.html
I have one of these and it's very thin merino wool (washable) and it's soft and covers your ears. It fits nicely under your helmet and tucks away small once the temps warm up and you need to remove it. It'll keep your head and ears nice and snuggly from the 40's-60's degrees.

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This is what I wear too!

I also have a microfleece beanie/hat for under my helmet, but only wear it when it is really cold, otherwise I get too hot. I have a great, thin wicking headband that covers my ears well - it takes away the ear pain for me...
What is a buff?:confused:

There's a whole thread on chilly ears somewhere in the not-too-distant past.

I'm pretty hard core when it comes to cold... but I cover my ears *early.* I hate pain! Also, when I put on my snug-as-a-bug hat, it *traps* heat that I swear ends up going out to other places.

In my opinion, relaxing is more important than people realize. WHen I try to think like I"m in yoga and "open my chest," then there's better circulation to everywhere. This morning I was even more disorganized than usual and running late, and was afraid I hadn't layered up enough, but the internal heater kicked in so at about 40 degrees I was still toasty without having to ride fast.

My first cold ride this year was in about 35 degrees and it was raining the last half of the ride. I wore tights, an underarmour shirt, and a hat. After about fifteen minutes I got the worst headache, actually it was like the bridge of my nose and under my eyes. It was so weird. I had to stop and put my hands on my face to warm it up and then I was fine.

It happened again the next day, but not as bad. I guess I just wasn't used to the cold because I went from riding in 70 degrees one day to 35 the next. It was a quick adjustment, but I got used to it. Maybe after a few more days of riding in the cold it won't happen anymore, but wearing a hat is a good idea.

I always wear a bandana over my ears to keep the wind out. I get earaches in wind, so I wear something on my head and ears almost year round. In the Atlanta area, not only is it cold but humid. I always layer my clothing and if you get too hot, you can take something off and stuff it in your pocket. I have therma silk beanies and balaclavas and also glove liners. Sometimes I have to adjust my helmet in the winter with added layers to keep from getting a headache. I usually wear fleece lined bib tights in cold weather with a wicking undershirt and long sleeve jersey with jacket. I had booties to cover my shoes, but I have seen people buy heavy wool socks and cut out the bottom to allow the cleat to click into the pedal. Full finger gloves are a must for really cold days. Be sure to stop and drink water when its cold. You need as much water on cold days as you do on hot days when you are sweating. And sometimes we just have those days where our ears are in our shoulders no matter what we do!

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Originally Posted by Madride

My first cold ride this year was in about 35 degrees and it was raining the last half of the ride. I wore tights, an underarmour shirt, and a hat. After about fifteen minutes I got the worst headache, actually it was like the bridge of my nose and under my eyes. It was so weird. I had to stop and put my hands on my face to warm it up and then I was fine.

It happened again the next day, but not as bad. I guess I just wasn't used to the cold because I went from riding in 70 degrees one day to 35 the next. It was a quick adjustment, but I got used to it. Maybe after a few more days of riding in the cold it won't happen anymore, but wearing a hat is a good idea.

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I used to get that bridge of nose pain when I wore my regular prescription glasses in cold biking. The nose rest of the glasses frame would get too cold and hurt me. Then I got fit-over sunglasses that I wear over my presc. glasses. They are goggle like, all plastic, and now my glasses don't hurt anymore on the bridge of my nose.

I suffer from exercise-induced asthma - keep your neck warm!!
You'll be surprised how much difference just keeping your neck and feet warm will make -
Turtle fur for the neck and sandals (that's right sandals) with several layers of wool.

http://www.turtlefur.com/tforiginals.php

http://www.bicycleapparel.com/sandals.html

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

They are google like, all plastic,

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You mean, like you can surf the net while riding?? Cool!

:D sorry, my favourite misspelling

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Originally Posted by lph

You mean, like you can surf the net while riding?? Cool!

:D sorry, my favourite misspelling

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Oops, it was a typo, I didn't mean it that way!! :eek: :D

(going back to correct it....)

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Originally Posted by BleeckerSt_Girl

I used to get that bridge of nose pain when I wore my regular prescription glasses in cold biking. The nose rest of the glasses frame would get too cold and hurt me. Then I got fit-over sunglasses that I wear over my presc. glasses. They are goggle like, all plastic, and now my glasses don't hurt anymore on the bridge of my nose.

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What do you wear if it is cold enough to fog your glasses, but too dark for sunglasses? My commute yesterday was frustrating because I kept getting fogged up.

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Originally Posted by GeoCam

What do you wear if it is cold enough to fog your glasses, but too dark for sunglasses? My commute yesterday was frustrating because I kept getting fogged up.

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My sunglasses look dark to others, but when you look trhough them they are more of a golden amber color. They make everything look sort of sunny like a golden sunset. I've never found them to be too dark yet, even on a dark rainy day.
But if you are riding at dusk I guess you should look for some clear protective goggles of some sort. Things have come a long way from the old "shop goggles". I've heard some people rave about gardening protective goggles for mowing the lawn...saying they were really sleek and comfortable. Maybe ski goggles come in clear too?
That's all I can think of...

My only caveat here is if you use goggles during the sunlight hours, it's really important that you have some sort of UV protection--either in the goggles or in your sunglasses that you wear under your goggles. I'm not sure that inexpensive goggles provide any protection.

The reason why it's so important is that sunglasses without such protection allow your pupils to open, and if the glasses/goggles don't filter the UV rays, your eyes can suffer MORE damage than if you were wearing clear lenses. At least with clear lenses, your pupils stay more closed (to let less light in).

This gets even more important when there is snow on the ground that reflects extra light.

And one other thing, an old cashmere cardigan is a wonderful layer on really cold days. If it has moth holes, it's even better!

+1 to Tulip's remarks....
make sure the sunglasses have UV protection.
If you can find a beatup cashmere sweater cheap somewhere....NAB IT! I have some cashmere gloves I use as glove liners....mmmmmmmm :p:p:p

Thanks. I think I will try something like what Lisa wears and only worry about clear if I then find out it looks too dark.

Re: cashmere - I had a great thrift store trip yesterday: got 1 pair of Merrell mocs, 1 cashmere turtleneck, 1 merino wool turtleneck, and a lovely cashmere twin set. Total spent - $16!!!!

So jealous. I can always find merino, but never cashmere.