Contact Lenses and Biking

Do you wear glasses?  I find on a windy day - or if I go really fast  - mine can get dry and ya - it has that feeling like it might pop out.  So far I've been lucky (on the bike) and haven't lost one (the swim is another story!).  I find the glasses help a great deal.

Do you wear sunglasses/bike glasses when biking? The wind blowing on your face can cause them to dry out and pop out. Also are you sure they fit correctly? An improper fit can make it much easier for the contacts to come loose. Did you get water in your eyes during the swim at the tri? There are a lot of factors that can go into this but my guess is they got to dried out from one cause or another and then dropped out. Has happened to me on occassion as well.

I've never lost a contact while swimming, biking, or running.  Maybe check with your Optometrist (sp?) to find out if a different pair might fit you better?

I wear sunglasses when I bike.  They are not biking specific just fairly inexpensive wrap around sunglasses. 

I have never lost a contact swimming, either in a tri or training.

Sunglasses definitely help, but it can still happen when wearing them... I had a lens pop out last weekend during a race.  It stuck to the inside of my sunglass lens and I pulled over and popped the contact back in because my eyesight is so terrible I didn't feel I should race one-eyed (for safety etc).  I feel your pain!

As for why this happens - I feel like my eyes are driest and contacts are stickiest right after a swim.  Blinking seems to lift them off the eye. 

I was thinking of trying a lubricating eye drop in T1 but I hate to take that extra time.  I mentioned the problem to my new optometrist and he immediately said that he felt the brand I have been using (CIBA Focus dailies) stick too hard to the eye and are prone to being blinked out.  I'm trying out a new brand of daily lens now - Proclear 1 days.  So far so good... but I haven't had any long rides with them yet.  Hard to see how one type of daily lens could be that much better than another but I'll give them a try.

I would also be interested if anyone has any other solutions...

Good luck.

It happens to me when my lenses get really dry.  It helps to put some drops (like Natural Tears) in before you ride and wear sunglasses.  I sometimes carry one of the little vials with me if my eyes are feeling particularly dry and can put a few in when I stop.

Wow, never happened to me before.  I've never even considered it could happen, but now I'll squeeze an extra set into my seat bag just in case. 

I would ask your optometrist to try a different brand of daily disposables. It may be a drying factor or the fit of the lens, but it should never just pop out. If you continue to have trouble look up Dr. Roberti O.D. He should be able to fix the issue. I would also suggest LASIK.

My contact came off my eye at the end of my 25-mile bike ride during the Waco Tri this past weekend.  I wear hard contacts which are pretty expensive ($100/each) so I was happy that the contact just slipped off my pupil but was still in the corner of my eye.  Yes, I was wearing sunglasses.  Luckily it didn't hurt but my vision was definitely a bit skewed as I made the last couple turns into T2.  Finished the run with skewed vision and fixed it after I crossed the finish.  It had never happened to me before so I was pretty surprised.  No idea why it happened.