The Mask of the Labored Breath

Over the past few weeks I collected several examples of masks to use while bicycling. While all are a pain in the face to wear, I recommend wearing something mask like when around other riders, in an urban area, or anywhere you might get within aerosol-exchanging distance of someone. Whatever that distance may be. I'd rather be out riding with a mask than sitting home sick or under stricter executive orders.

From top to bottom below is a home made mask made by my friend Kate, a three season ear warmer, a Buff neck tube, and a CopperFit neck tube.  Dog toy for scale...

Top to bottom: Kate mask, ear warmer, Buff tube, CopperFit tube.
Oh, and dog toy

As far as being able to breathe, the Kate mask was the only one I didn't pull off in a gasping panic as I climbed the acid test of being able to breathe, the northbound initial steep pitch of Sierra Pinon as you hang a right from Paseo del Sur. If I hit that hill hard, I'm at max heart rate for my age. The Kate Special (I discussed that here) has several losely woven layers so air can get in and out and it did not get sucked onto my face. But like most masks that lash around your head or ears, can be a bit of a struggle to take on and off such as while hitting the water bottles.

The ear warmer worked next best. Its also a rather porous interweave and also fits tightly so I did not tend to suck it into my mouth when breathing hard. Plus, it already was in my collection of three season stuff and is less obvious around my neck when riding.

The Buff tube, recommended by the Mad Dog down in Albuquerque, was OK too but fit loosely and I tended to find myself inhaling it and having to tighten it on hard climbs so it didn't pull into my mouth when taking deep breaths. I found that at REI.

The Copperfit was a little snugger than the Buff but also a tighter weave and a little harder to breathe through and I ended up sucking it into my mouth on Le Climb. Again, better for catching droplets but not for catching your breath. Got that at a local CVS Pharmacy. Comparing the Buff to the Copperfit is interesting in relation to the recently publicized Duke study, which suggests not all masks and tube are created equal. That said, the study has probably been overhyped by clueless people in the press.

All the stuff worked reasonably well under most conditions. The advantage of all the tubelike stuff is its easy to pull up and down on your face when taking a drink of water or needing to pull it up over the nose when you encounter other humans out in the hinterlands. The other advantage of masks is that on fast descents or flats, you don't have to worry about inhaling an insect and having to stop or slow down to hork it out.

Plenty of options out there. Find out what works for you, as I suspect we will be dealing with masks for a while.