Proper muddy 3 hours today and I was subject to countless blobs of mud in my eyes. I hate wearing glasses and opt for contacts when riding because of the agro from misting, smearing,and more fiddly stuff to deal with instead of just riding. However today the mud stepped over the line and I need to defend myself!
So I’m bombing along thinking how is this going to work? If I get shades then within minutes they are going to be speckled/blobbed and after half an hour or so it’ll become untenable. I’m absolutely covered in dripping mud (having a great time by the way)and I don’t carry water just energy drink in my bottles. Have I really got to stop and find a clean hanky every time? My eurika moment was to fit a little mister bottle of cleaner in a handy to reach holder and just spray myself in the face!
Opinions from those older and wiser would be much appreciated.

wow, proper stream of consciousness there.

any hoo, just wear glasses and wipe with glove as you ride, easy.

My gloves were sodden and filthy, not going to work.

you’d be surprised

I never bothered with glasses, never found mud a problem, falling into a bush and nearly losing an eye was

Got some oakleys (off here) and they are brilliant

I must own up to having a squeezy bottle helmet mounted squirty system daydream like on a car windscreen, however it fell foul of golden rule No.1: Less is more.

Mucky Nutz Fender bender. Catches everything the front wheel sprays into the path of your eyes. Sorted for Less than a tenner and is pretty discrete 🙂

Mucky Nutz

Got a Neogaurd which normally does the business, today was just a bit ‘special’. Getting the feeling on here that a pint of MTFU is in order and that’s just fine with me. I expected howls of “protect your eyes you fool” etc

One of the Neo Guard Fork jobbies stips a lot of the mud getting in my eyes… I cant get along with glasses…

There is a certain element of MTFU but getting mud in your eyes can be a pain on a ride.

I wear a pair of the old style swappable lens glasses instead of the new cool eye fitting oakley style things and I never have mine steam up as there is sufficient ventilation to allow the hot air to escape.

As for the not wiping them on the gloves thing, you’re doing something wrong if the back of your gloves are so filthy that you can’t wipe your glasses on them.

Mud in the eyes sucks – and very painful if you wear contacts. Good pair of clear spex always does it for me. Yes, they get blobs of mud on, but you can still see better than if the mud was actually on your eyeball. Keep a lens cloth in your pocket and give them a wipe at the end of every section. Works for me.

piece of kitchen towel in the pocket and the jobs a good un

Thing is I’m enjoying training for future events. I like to go fast for several hours without stopping more than is absolutely essential. I hate faff but if I’m going to do some endurance events then I’m going to cop a clod in the eye at some point. The backs of my gloves were covered with mud, snot, sweat, more mud…
My jersey pockets were wet, so kitchen roll would have disintegrated, my entire body was covered in a carapace of solidified mud with dripping mud on top and this was with a rear mudguard and front neo.
It really was a smashing day. However still picking bits of grit out my eyes 4 hours later.

After this, I’m looking for some glasses.

Mucky Nutz bender fender.. works. Use zip ties not velcro it comes with.

Mudguards and glasses – rainx on the glasses helps – bolle safety glasses for me in a variety of tints and clear

Try wearing them just a little bit down your nose, so teh air can get behind them better but they still protect your eyes.

I use an sks shockblade, don’t even need glasses then!

B&Q clear £4.99 yellow £5.99, dont always wear em but its best to I think.

I’ve got some screw fix shades and don’t get much misting but when riding with mates I do have some issues. It’s not so much the mud that bothers me but the dry air which dries out my eyes and causes major discomfort for the next 24hrs

Thanks for the brainstorm guys. Have just bought some glasses with interchangable lenses for £30, so a fairly cheap experiment.

Not a fan of contacts so I use RX type glasses and deql withcthe odd bit of misting hy either keeping on the move or wiping then on a jersey…

neo guard or old bit of inner tube will reduce spray in the face massively also, which is always good.

I’ve tried glasses but like others can’t get along with them. They just steam up and get too dirty too fast. I am scared of things sticking in my eyes if I fall off though.

within minutes they are going to be speckled/blobbed

Spelled my name wrong there. 🙂

Not only is mud in the eye a pain but it’s positively bad for your eyes; the cornea is very easily scratched and takes a long time to heal as the blood supply is poor; a damaged cornea can easily get infected and you really don’t know what is being thrown up from the trail. You certainly don’t want an eye infection.

Nurse in the casualty dept. of Manchester eye hospital tell us that the most common reason for eyeball abrasions is finger nails in domestic disputes.

The simple solutions are often the best: Ride with your eyes closed.

I just wear my prescription glasses when riding (and goggles over the top in DH mode). A bit of tissue in the pocket works wonders.

Mucky Nutz bender fender.. works. Use zip ties not velcro it comes with.

Why?

Try rainx on your glasses/shades

RRP Neo guard and some DHB yelow lens specs from Wiggle treated with rainx… works for me. 😀
Theres some anti misting stuff you can get for motorcyclist visors too…. fogot its name.

Theres some anti misting stuff you can get for motorcyclist visors too…. fogot its name.

Fairy Liquid?

+1 for the Neoguard. I ware glasses and get very little mud on them.

Safety glasses and home made neo guard type thing here. The copy neo guard is by far the best defence from a face full of crap, cutting out about 90% or more of the s*1te the front tyre throws up. Also not too proud to use F&R Crud catchers. I had to laugh at Llandegla today when we got back to the cafe, there were more people who looked like miners than mountain bikers, covered from head to toe in cold /wet crap. Some of them must have doubled their body weight 8)

I use a neoguard and a pair of magic Oakleys with hydrophobic transitions lenses, they work wonderfully well, much better than I ever expected. Before that I was using cheap bolle safety glasses with rainx but these Oakleys are quite a bit better at shedding mud and water.

I wear lenses so I hate mud in my eyes.
Solution is easy.
1. bit of inner tube around forks . I believe you can buy a ready made thing but who in with any brain pays for something you can make?
2. Glasses. I use Oregon chainsaw glasses. They cover better than “cycling” glasses, last longer, ventilate more and are cheaper.
3 Stop every so often and wipe them. Where is the problem. If they are muddy lick them. Or wipe them on you jumper under your outer layer.