Let me put it this way. Riding with sunglasses (except for the fact they make you look cool; Ivan Rana, without the glasses = blah). They keep the sun + glare out of your eyes. Protect them from dust and other things that fly off the rode (especially if you ride in a group and a tiny rock gets pinched under somebody's tire. Ouch). They also shield your eyes from the wind that can make them teary and screw up your vision. And again they make you look cool. And call them shades =P

The real level of risk for riding without shades for me is the possibility of eye injury from airborne debris. At the very least I am more comfortable riding without having to squint all the time b/c of sun glare or dust being blown around(where it be from the guy in front of me or otherwise).

But for me shades are imparative for another reason - I wear contacts lenses. I couldn't ride an hour without shades. They protect my contacts from the wind which would dry out my contacts in no time. I need close fitting shades that allow some ventilation........of course they also have to look really cool. Last year I wore a pair of Oakey dokey knock-offs that worked great but had questionable optic quality. This year I will sport a new pair of Rudy Project Ekynox. Hope they do the job.

I'm

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put the mettle to the pedal

Damn straight, us contact wearers really have no choice but to wear glasses/shades when riding. But non-contact wearers probably should as well, if only to keep crud out of your eyes, lessen the need for squinting, etc. I bought my Rudy's three years ago, and they are the one non-critical thing I cannot race without. Best investment I made.

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Apparently my first note got cut off at "I'm". What I wanted to say was - I'm in agreement with your wife on this one (it pains me to say that ;).

Also, I believe all of the sunglasses that I researched (Briko, Rudy Project, Oakley) conform to ANSI requirements for UV protection, optic quality, and impact resistance.

For me, my helmet and shades are important equipment, I'm vulnerable without them.

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put the mettle to the pedal

I found the answer the day I got a bug in the eye and it took me 15 minutes to get it out. Now I always wear glasses when riding!

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Come on, aren't there any dissenters here?

This will be the first time that my wife was right and I was wrong in a disagreement ... no, really ...

I guess you could get one of these Louis Garneau Helmet with visor so that you can protect your eyes without losing the face to your wife...

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[pink]I don’t use pink font[/pink]

Sorry big guy- would love to help you out. But over 30 years ago, while riding my banana-seat, stingray bike, I hit a swarm of gnats that completely blinded me. Was not as bad as it could have been, but I still have a scar. I certainly ride my bike without glasses, but I try not to.

Sorry Tom, but I think you'd better get your knife & fork ready for your servings of crow and humble pie this evening!!

There are several good reasons (discovered personally) for wearing your "shades" which have pretty much been pointed out already -- UV protection (like sunscreen for you eyes), debris & insect protection (dust is irritating; and pebbles, bees, dragonflys, etc. are downright painful!), and keeping the eyes from getting dried out & bloodshot (whether wearing contacts or not).

I won't touch on the cool factor since I adhere to the ZZ Top school of shades!

You could always try to put a spin on it. Maybe something like "Well [darling/honey/buttercup etc],while I do respect your opinon about the riding glasses issue - I don't necessarily agree that those concerns apply to me. However I do see some merit in using riding glasses to deflect more air into my helmet and produce a higher degree of cooling effect. Kinda like having extra vents. Not to mention the added stream line/aero effect. That's free speed. Yeah baby - that's what I'll do."

Give her a big kiss and get the hell out of the room fast.

Good Luck.

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put the mettle to the pedal

tom

I agree with all the others as far as the safety aspects of sunwear. ANSI standards for standard sunwear differ quite a bit from "safety" glasses, say for industrial or other work. True "safety" lenses have certain center thicknesses etc, which are much greater then regular Oakley, Rudy's etc.True Safety frames are much more durable the sunglasses as well, that said most of the good name brand sunwear come very close to these safety standards.....some of them may meet them, or exceed them, but we'll probably never know because of the cost and paperwork involved to get a frame or lens design through "the mill"..

Bottom line..listen to the mrs.

It used to be the law in Washington State that you had to wear eye protection on a motorcycle but didn't need a helmut (I don't know if they changed the law since the mid 80's). That's why you say all the guys without helmuts wearing sunglasses.

Another good reason to wear sunglasses is to prevent cataracts which come from overexposure to sunlight. As triathletes, we spend a lot of time in the sun. If you think sunglasses look uncool, have you ever seen what cataract lenses look like?

On the road I always wear 'em. On the mountain bike, I absolutely won't ride without 'em. I'd rather be dead than blind.