glasses or contacts?

[nuthatch]

I guess what I'm trying to say is that for up close work it hurts my eyes to wear any kind of corrective lens. I'm always taking glasses off to read or work on the computer. It's almost like I need bifocals, except the reading part of the bifocal would have zero prescription. Is this possible?

Sounds like presbyopia to me! The bifocal part of the glasses is actually magnifying, like it would be if you were farsighted instead of nearsighted. When those little focus muscles in your eyes first start going bad, just removing your nearsightedness correction is enough to see what's close to you. As presbyopia progresses, you need that magnification to focus. Those over-the-counter reading glasses and the biofocal part of prescription glasses have progressive factors of "plus" correction. Where's the optician in this group that can explain this right?

P.S. I second the recommendation for regular old safety glasses when you're riding in the gloom. The coverage is great and they usually have that foamy strip over the forehead that keeps your face from freezing when it's cold - only real goggles would be better in the cold.