gios

I try to get my rides in before 10:00am and 4:00pm to prevent sun burn, but I still got a patch of itchy skin near where my neck & shoulder meet (left side) - more of a pre-burn. I'll try wearing a buff headwear to cover up the neck more. I used to burn behind the neck (red neck) until I started wearing a handkerchief flapped behind my helmet tucked under a skull cap type deal. Sort of like the French Foreign Legion caps.



This video talks about age and the ability to absorb vitamin D...

around 13:28:vitamin D and aging.. ability for your skin to produce D3 drops two fold when in your 70s / 80s

2ering

It's a tough act trying to balance Vitamin D/sun exposure while minimizing skin cancer concerns. I'm 71 and two weeks ago I had some blood tests which showed my Vit D level was less than half of normal levels so I am on a 16 week regimen to boost it. The same week I saw my dermatologist and he had to burn off some actinic keratoses on my face, so there's just no winning.

canklecat

After my thyroid cancer and failure I had to take large doses of D and calcium to compensate for dangerously low levels and osteopenia. Took awhile for me to cooperate with recommendations from my primary and endocrinologist, but when the pandemic hit, along with reports of connections to our immune system, I finally took the full doses rather than just the small amounts in multivitamins. It finally got my levels within low normal range.

Interestingly, as I've gotten older I sunburn less. I used to burn after only 15 minutes in sun. Now I barely tan after an hour or so in full midday sun. And I stopped using sunscreen a couple of years ago, just as an experiment. Works for me so I no longer worry about it. There are studies that cast some doubt on the presumed connections between sun and skin cancer, and whether sunscreen protects from skin cancer in the first place.

Iride01 

I use sunsleeves. Some are much better than others. Even on very hot days they are comfortable for me if I can stay fast. I avoid routes that have hills that slow me down to 10 maybe 12 mph. They get hot quick the slower you go if temps are much over 90°F

I've seen more and more using a scarf, towel or handkerchief as you did. I'll probably be doing that too. My neck is one of the last places I have remaining that I slather sunscreen on. I'd be most happy if the scarf will let me not have to spend that time with the sunscreen and washing hands getting ready for a ride. My legs don't seem to get much sun. I'd think it'd reflect off the pavement, but must not. I just get a little sun on that part between my knee and shorts.

I have always used a SweatVac under my helmet. When you don't have much hair on your head, the sun leaves a strange looking pattern on a scalp <grin>

rsbob 

I really like Trader Joe’s spray-on sunscreen which is top rated by Consumer Reports. I spray it on my balding noggin, neck, arms and legs. It is almost ridiculously easy to put on. Then I use Neutrogena SPF 50 in a bottle my face. Haven’t had a burn in decades. I live in shorts in the summer and spend most of my daylight hours outdoors gardening, hiking and cycling, so I am good for vitamin D until my numbers tell me otherwise

downtube42

I have a sliver of scar tissue on my neck, from a day on the bike. I was living in west Texas at the time, and i missed a bit of skin with the sunscreen.

Now I live in the PNW, and take a daily vitamin D due to the scarcity of sun. Doctor's advice. I argued i got enough vitamin D in Texas to last a lifetime, but she's not buying it.

I'm not as diligent about sunscreen or sun sleeves living here, but on an all day ride on a sunny day, it's one or the other. On a multi day brevet, sun sleeves are great because they double as warmers at night.
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scottfsmith

Heliocare is a pill you can take to lessen the effects of the sun. My wife’s dermatologist recommended it. So far my impression is that it does appear to work.. so I am taking them before a long exposure. It doesn’t replace other protection but when you add it on top of the other things you get a better overall outcome.

Jumpski

I live in a tropical climate, so I limit the sun exposure. My rides are normally over by @1000AM. I am rewarded with an incredible sunrise daily - take care!

toyotus

Does taking Vit D supplements helps?

Iride01 

Helps with what? It's not a miracle pill.

Don't know that science can tell us definitively about using supplements. I do take a D3 along with vitamin C. Particularly during the winter. Too much vitamin D3 supplement can be bad though. It's one of those vitamins supplements that too much is worse than too little.