Snotty Rides and Chilly Cilia: The Endless Snorkle

I've begun to realize that cold weather riding is mostly about snot. It affects nearly every moment of my ride, probably yours as well if you're out there riding in the cold. I know that good riding is about flow. I think about the movement of my legs and my posture on a regular basis (when I'm not daydreaming about the distant memory of what the warming sun feels like). I work hard to regulate the temperature of my extremities by riding with a steady rhythm, keeping the blood flowing. But the true flow issue is really about snot. And if it's not. Well, it is. Snot, that is. It's snot. And it's relentless.

I've looked this issue up on the internet and I think I've got a handle on things, but it hasn't made my nose run any less. (And, yes, I trust the internet about this. The internet is my friend.) Nose drip is the one constant that's continued unabated throughout every fall and winter I've ever ridden and I'm sure it will continue on through the spring until the temperatures eventually rise above seventy or so.

I'm either sucking it down or blowing it out nearly every second along my route. In part, what's happening is that the cilia are chilly and they stop wiggling inside the sinus cavity. So it's about chilly cilia. They stop moving the fluids that naturally build up in the nose. It's a constant, so when the cilia stop doing their job that fluid still has to go somewhere, either in or out.

Here's the other side of the issue. At normal temps, one source says, the nose produces four cups of gunk and mucus a day. Four cups. (You're not eating anything right now, are you? Definite appetite killer of a topic, isn't it?) I swear I raise that to the multi-gallon level while riding outside for an hour or two. When the nose gets cold the blood vessels dilate to bring in warming blood to that area. This also makes the nose produce more of that goo. The overproduction, along with the chilly cilia, makes for a factory (or ollifactory) with too many products to go to market. The excess commodities are either swallowed or expelled. Your choice.

Notice I haven't included photos with this post. You can thank me with a hearty handshake on our next ride together. Or not.

Snot. Full of protein, apparently. Keep that in mind when you're trying to decide which direction you want to send it. Happy riding. Go with the flow.