Do you breathe through your mouth when riding?
Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
When you inhale air through your nose, it passes through your nasal cavity and sinuses to reach your lungs.
In this process, the relatively cool outside air helps lower the temperature of your eyes and head.
Especially when climbing uphill without wind, inhaling air through your nose significantly contributes to lowering head temperature.
Nasal cavity: A deeper and wider airway than it appears, where air passes when you breathe
Sinuses: Four pairs of air spaces (frontal sinus, ethmoid sinus, maxillary sinus, sphenoid sinus) located in the facial bones around the nose
Inhaling through your nose also produces nitrogen, which is absorbed into the blood along with oxygen. This expands blood vessels and improves blood flow, lowering your heart rate.
If you practice breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth for a few days or weeks, you'll be able to breathe in through your nose even in Zone 3.
Breathing only through your mouth can dry out your throat, leading to excessive thirst. This is not ideal.
Even in cold winter, breathing through your nose is possible, and a benefit of winter is that it prevents runny noses.
Especially for those with allergies or a blocked nostril, try lowering the riding intensity and breathing in only through your nose. You'll notice an improvement in your breathing quality. ^^
