Warm weather cycling - face
 

Weather is warming up and low 80's today with higher coming, and getting tired of slathering on UV cream. It's too hot for a normal balacava. Is there any mechanical UV protection that is both comfortable to wear riding and very breateable?

I passed a woman on a bike yesterday wearing what I believe to be a bee keepers helmet with the full face screen. I don't know if she thought that protected her from Covid or not, but she was also riding down the wrong side of the road and totally ignoring both traffic and pedestrians as if it were her given right to. That's the only reason I even looked over at her. The sun was definitely not striking any part of her face or body. Just a thought. It is mechanical and not chemically derived. The sarcasm in me is fighting to get out, but I don't know the lady personally and it wouldn't be right of me to pick on someone that isn't available to defend themselves or their actions. Then there's this guy I nicknamed 'Strawhat' because he rides around town (also with no regard of direction or other people) always wearing a large straw hat (probably to hide his face). :rolleyes:
So there you go. A couple of suggestions to choose from. Good luck

There are balaclava's made for summer motorcycling that breath well. I used to wear them pretty much all the time. Won't protect your nose or most of your face though and that for me is the most important thing. Don't know of anything that would do that other than sunscreen.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be insulting, but ... if putting on sunscreen is too much bother, is an outdoor sport what you really want to pursue? I mean, this sport takes place in the outdoors, so sometimes it is hot, sometimes cold, sometimes wet, sometimes windy, sometimes humid ... there are very few "perfect" weather days, so the pursuit of cycling often involves compromises to comfort and/or convenience.

And, let's not even get into road conditions, other road users (cars, trucks, runners, other cyclists ...), hills, insects, etc.

Maybe you would prefer just riding inside on the trainer where you can control the environment?

I've been wearing a cloth mask my wife sewed up. Between it and sunglasses, there isn't much for the sun to shine on. I'm actually liking wearing the mask, it filters out some of the road dust, white flies, and other bugs that I used to have to eat. Makes it a little more involved to take a drink, but not a show stopper.

When I wrecked last year, they cut my Pearl Izumi sun sleeves off of me. I've been using my older pair of cheapo Nike's I had bought at a big box sporting goods store. They don't work as well. I'll have to order some more before it gets in the 90's here.

Man, I thought I could be snarky LOL :notamused:

I don't put anything on my face, and haven't had any issues with sun exposure, maybe it's my position? I don't even get lines from my sunglasses.

I put sunscreen on the back of my neck, ears, arms and fronts of my thighs, that's it.

Mechanically blocking and highly breathable.. you'd need one of the umbrella baseball caps maybe.
Otherwise, there's tons of stuff out there, eg

https://www.coolibar.com/unisex-hat-drape-upf-50.html

Da Brim :: Products :: Cycling

https://www.coolibar.com/men/mens-sun-hats.html

There are summer face masks for cyclists, just do a Google search and you will find some. When I cycle in Japan, lots of cyclist especially female cyclists use them. They are quite popular and I can see the benefits. For the simplest just use a cotton bandana.

I rode through a termite cloud with a bandanna over my face and my glasses kept fogging up. But otherwise it's a good idea and cowboys have been doing it forever, as well as road bandits.

Maybe the problem is the sunscreen the OPs using. I've been using Aloe Gator for many years. Doesn't take much, one application lasts all day, no skin irritation. I wear Voler or PI sunsleeves, so I only need it on my face, neck, wrists, front of thighs, and top of calves.

FWIW my $0.02 (worth BOTH pennies)
I have ridden with a guy who always has 100% of his skin covered all year (central alley CA summers, so >110F) I asked and he has a skin issue, cancer survivor, or some sensitivity. I looked into it at the time, and you can buy ($$) purpose made coverings from a medical supply store. if you have a Rx, insurance might even help out.

Good luck finding any type of face mask during these times.

Hat with long brim. Goes under your helmet. Sun hoody.

Or, you know, you can move to a place like Seattle and never have to deal with heat again. But we get rain 400 days a year. :o

Any leads to products would be helpful. Caps, back neck aren't issue, it's the cheeks. Concern is that sunscreen is not enough and I forget to add more every 90 minutes. I have looked for summer cava's but all I find are winter ones, whichare fantastic when it's 20 out, but not workable at 90+.
Neck gators wouldn't work either. All I can find is a possible face scarf type of item, but concerned about it being too hot. I may have to create my own. I'm looking into fabrics now but would take the easy way out if can find something. For gardening I've gone back to foreign legion look with drop sides, but that won't work with cycling.

Moon light rider here so no worries for me or answers for you but I have this >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Thank you so much for the Hi Ho link !!!!!! I'm sharing it

Back to topic, the best I could find was this:
https://www.amazon.com/Coolibar-Mens...R2/?th=1&psc=1
But it doesn't look too breathable, and no details on construction. Best guess is it's only UV treated, no fabric details. So again, it's either that or get a swatch of dependable UV, UPF fabric,
and make a bandana. FYI: normal cotton has only 2-5% protection and UV dyes last for about 5 to 10 washes. PITA.
Not trying to work subject to death but road buddy just assumes one or two scrappings/cuttings a year is just the price we pay for riding. I had one last year and a new one is popping up on cheeks, and this is a pain.
My safest lotion is titanium and that leaves me with a white face, almost as white as silver. Wife hates it, so trying to find an alternative.

Post 11. One application lasts all day.

sun protection cap
 

I bought this hat several years ago. It went by a different name then. I can secure the cape nearly closed for full face coverage, pull the tie up on my helmet to use as needed, or remove it and just wear the cap. It is very lightweight and breathable under my helmet.
https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/s...43433?cat=14,4

I see that they sell the cape separately now. Maybe if you are handy, you can sew or tape on some velcro so it can be used on your helmet. I thought of doing that with mine, but haven't gotten to it.
https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/r...8?cat=124,24,6

I spent a lot of time on all-day rides in the sun, I buy those little suncreen sticks that look like deodorant applicators. The small ones can fit in a pocket and it takes 10-15 seconds to reapply. Suncreen in solid sticks seems a bit pricier but since I only do the face with it, I'm okay. I have arm/leg sleeves I use in the summer.

I also have a couple of neck gaiters that I got off amazon or ebay, pretty cheap, and they work well in cooler weather but hard breathing will fog up the glasses. I could never get used to wearing them in anything but cooler weather though.

Same company as the one you chose but slightly different style. Link.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...292492b0af.jpg

Sacramento in the summer??? Leave at 5am! Finish by 9am Stay off the streets during the heat of the day.