There is something supremely Fantastic about a precisely manicured set of sunglasses, particularly when they’re not being used for their intended purpose. Certainly, there are times when circumstance offer no alternative but to actually look through them, but for the most part, it’s a bit pedestrian to use sunglasses for seeing through.
I’ve been obsessed with sunglasses since I was a kid; photos of the Smallest Frank Imaginable feature sunglasses in close proximity, usually perched atop my head of wavy brown hair and rarely anywhere near my eyes. As an athlete, sunglasses have never been far adrift, whether in skiing or cycling, and – in all seriousness – for good reason: eyes are fragile things that should be protected.
Nevertheless, whenever any kind of effort is required, I quickly find myself moving the eyeglasses away from my eyes in an almost claustrophobic panic, and it wasn’t until my most recent ride up Haleakala in my 30th year of sport that the reason for this occurred to me. As athletes, we are hugely dependent on our vision to gauge our effort.
Flying by V-Meter only, our vision offers a constant feedback loop to how near the Man with the Hammer has wandered, and how sharp his blow might be. As we approach sustained effort at or above aerobic threshold, one of the early signs of Diminishing V Returns is the flushing of blood from our cheeks followed closely by the tunneling of our vision. Color is desaturated, then the sides box in a bit, then things get a bit narrow and blurry, and after that the deterioration is not normally recalled in any degree of clarity.
It struck me like a bolt from Merckx’s Crankset: when my vision starts to go, I tear away my sunglasses in order to gauge my effort without the abstraction of the lens. So long as I ride within myself, the shades happily cover my eyes; when I am at my limit, they come off and pop onto the helmet. I used to blame claustrophobia, now I realize it is a matter of gaining an unobstructed view on the V-Meter.
Vive la Vie Velominatus.
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
Frank, I was intrigued to see you in the Volcano Climb sticking your shades into your helmet with one hand. I don't think I've ever tried this & I'm not sure if it is due to being extremely careful with mine or that I've tried it and have needed two. Hmm, maybe your shades & helmet are better mates? Or, maybe you have a lot more practice at it. I tend to leave mine on unless it's getting too dark, no matter how blurry the V-meter is getting.
Yup, a long-time lover of sunglasses here as well. I spent a lot of hard-earned lawn mowing money on cool sunglasses as a kid. I'm still pissed about the degenerate from my high school who broke into cars on my block and stole things when I as in 11th grade. The fucker got my Oakley Subzeros and I'm still angry about it. I'm sure his path hasn't improved much, but that's cold comfort.
Is that Chris Horner flashing the V-sign?
@Ron
If you're talking about the photo of me and Frank, the sign o Merckx flasher is @urbanwhitetrash.
@seemunkee
Brilliant. I just ordered a pair of these to try out. Thank you.
Rule #12 is also relevant to cycling glasses. Now is the perfect time to add to the collection by replacing the LA signature M frame Pros and anything with Livestrong yellow. Bargains available on ebay sometime soon.
Eyes are too precious not to be protected at all times. I've been hit in the face by insects that feel the size of a hummingbird often enough to be grateful for decent specs. Clear for dark, different shades of lens for daylight, MTB in trees and iridium for the odd sunny day and cycling holiday abroad. Oakley hydrophobic works well at shedding rain water and minimising misting although vented lens also help there.
I never got into caps as sweat soaked cotton against the head never appealed. I must give them a try again though. Maybe it's an age thing? Maybe the V community influence? I suspect the latter as I've been 'old' for longer than I care to remember.
If you are prepared to allow the frame to stretch a little placing the glasses into the helmet vents one handed is pretty straightforward.
I always wear glasses...I just hate the idea of a fly in the eye at 35kph to be rapidly followed by an endo...
I also have to remove them on climbs...I have yet to find a set that will not fog up as I blow steam out of every gasket I have, currently I am using a set of non cycling bolle's simply because none of the crappy cycling glasses I have ever bought (mostly very cheap) have been any good whatsoever.
I cannot stand the look of Oakelys, like many pros there are just some faces that don't go with the jawbones look and make you look like a fuckwit...
Lusting after and saving for a pair of these Rudy Project ones with photochromic lenses
@seemunkee
Do pros wear stick on magnifiers?
Do they look fantastic?
I have to wear glasses at all times. This is a combination of correction and safety. Interestingly, I did a gran fondo start last year before sunrise, so I was obligated to use my everyday specs for a short period of time. In keeping with The Rules, I very carefully inserted my Jawbones In My Vents, and brought along a case for the specs.
I've never gotten contacts to correct as well as specs, and I gave then up some decades ago. I now need progressives, but stick with single vision cycling eyewear. The Jawbones set me back $500USD, but I do like them. And even though I'm old now, I think they increase the pro panache level. Can't see the cyclometer on the bars though, so I have to do the flippy-up thing if I need to check something. And I've discovered that I hardly ever really do. Best feature of the Garmin 705 is the moving map, and I can set the course display big enough so I can see if Im on or off it.
I refuse to wear inserts though. Sure, this puts a drain on the quid-pile, but so be it.
scaler - That was a joke, but he does look a bit like Horner, no?
I'm definitely looking forward to the day when I can justify/afford prescription shades with a few different lenses. They ain't cheap, even with some health insurance outlay put towards them. The only time I ever put contacts in is when I cycle and play soccer, otherwise it's eyeglasses.
I have M-Frames and they are pretty nice but I think Radars are the nicest cycling-specific shades I've worn. Maybe I like mine an extra little bit because I found them in a bush while walking the dog at the local upper-crust uni. I call them my Kool Moe Dee shades because they have the Pitch lenses that are far too big on my face/head. Not all of us are using HGH like Mr. Bonds so my head isn't growing much these days.
If anyone wants to trade some Pitch lenses for the Path lenses I'm in. They're slightly mirrored and in a grey tone. Nice, but designed for the bigger lads.
This article is reasonably related to this thread:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/01/bikes-and-tech/the-torqued-wrench/the-torqued-wrench-i-dont-believe-you_270826
"[Cycling g]ear transcends its physical features; in a sport like cycling, where man and machine are so thoroughly intertwined, the way a product makes you feel is just as important as its actual functionality."
Kinda like my Jawbones. I've actually had eyewear I like better, but these make me feel like a Badass.
Maybe one of the Keepers can send Caley an invitiation to join us here. I sense he seeks the path of Merckxian enlightenment.
@JohnB
The universe was kind enough to take care of this for me earlier in the year when I crashed wearing the Livestrong Radars the VMH bought me a couple of years back & scratched the fuck out of the lens. I can still use them with the clear lens I have but given the insurance company let me replace them with custom V-coloured Jawbones with one set of Photochromatic lenses & one set of light enhancing ones there's very little need for the clear Radar lenses.