If you do a lot of cycling, either on the roads or on trails, you probably already do a lot to protect yourself from injury. You might wear bright colors to make yourself stand out to other road users. You should be wearing a bike helmet, as most high speed collisions unfortunately end up with the cyclist receiving severe or fatal head trauma. So it really is of the utmost importance that you have your head protected. What many people fail to do, however, is protect their eyes. There is a huge range of cycling glasses on the market now, and wearing a pair is highly beneficial to riders.
There are several reasons why cycle glasses are a good move. The first is as a protective shield against dirt and dust, and even flying particles of grit thrown up from the road surface by passing vehicles. Any of these pieces of debris can cause an injury to your eyes, or cause you to lose vision or concentration temporarily. Taking to the roads on a two-wheeled vehicle is dangerous enough these days, when you can see where you are going; riding blind is just asking for disaster. The best cycling glasses can help you keep your vision clear on the roads, and they are generally made from tough polycarbonate which is shatterproof.
A second very important aspect to consider, if you clock up hundreds of miles on your bike, is ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and the damage it can do to your eyes. You will find different colors of lens for cycling sun glasses, which are optimized for the type of lighting conditions you are riding in. These colors are designed to optimize vision and contrast, while reducing glare. In addition to this, the lenses will need ultraviolet filters to block out UV-rays. These rays can cause irreparable damage over the long-term, leading to blindness, so do not go on long rides without at least a minimal amount of protection. Ideally, your cycling glasses will filter out UVA and UVB radiation, but some top of the range models will provide added security by shielding you from UVC also.
The final great feature of road cycling glasses is that they wrap around the side of your head, and many styles fit snugly against your face to prevent the wind from blowing against your eyes and drying them out - a serious irritant for contact lens wearers. For this reason, as well as the more critical road safety and eye safety aspects, a pair of cycle glasses should be a part of every cyclist's riding gear.