How to gear up to ride comfortably and safely in really hot weather?

[RinconRyder]

A few years ago I rode across Death Valley in August in the afternoon and the temperature at Furnace Creek was 129. I can speak from experience. You want to keep everything covered and closed. I live through the experience. Whenever the wind would untuk my long sleeve white t-shirt from underneath my gloves and expose my wrists, the heat was incredibly noticeable. I quickly tucked my t-shirt back in under my gloves and things were good. One of my friends chose not to wear socks that day. Big mistake!

Closed finger gloves are mandatory as well. If you wear "Harley gloves" your fingers under your nails will feel like you stuck 'em in a BBQ.

 

[Docster]

This is a DANGEROUS misconception to be passing around.
The human body MUST have some way to shed heat.
IF you enclose yourself with no ventilation, your body's temperature will continue to rise until you have a heat stroke.

But you don't have to believe me: ASK A DOCTOR.

Just because you saw it on the Internet and it SOUNDS plausible does not mean that it is true.

This is correct . Whenever there is advice or opinion, always go with the science. In the era of the internet it's easy to find legitimate academic/scientific sources for answers or confirmations

 

[Wes P]

Heat issues

With regards to the heat, fluids and treatments, you all are partially correct.. however, you are not putting all of the parts together.
A deeper understanding of the physiology is needed.

I have spent the better part of the last 30 some years lecturing on managing body temperature to Search and Rescue Teams, EMT’s, Paramedics and flight Nurses. I flew as a Reserve Flight Medic in the Southwestern US.

The body functions in a very limited temperature range before there is a deviation away from normal function.

If you have a fever.. even if it is only 100 degrees the body begins to sweat, a cooling mechanism, blood vessels dilate to allow more blood flow to help cool the body.
Conversely, if your core temperature drops only a few degrees, blood vessels close, to keep blood localized. We also begin to shiver as a means to produce muscle activity with the intention to generate heat. The window between warm and cold response by the body is very narrow.

With regards to the body, temperature loss or gain can be as much as 200% faster through a wet medium. Think about falling through the ice, the sudden drop of temperature will conduct heat away from the body at an alarming rate so much so it can render an adult unconscious in a few minutes . This is called Hypothermia.
Hypo… meaning loss, lower Thermia meaning cold in this case ….so loss of heat body core heat is Hypothermia.

In high temperature environments you would suffer from Hyperthermia.
Hyper meaning …more than or higher.. Thermia meaning in this case, hot temperature, so Hyperthermia means an increase in temperature to the body core.

Heat Exhaustion, Heat Stroke are the common maladies with elevated body temperatures. In short the body has lost its ability to cool itself by perspiration. Remember the statement … temperature loss or gain can be faster through a wet medium.. well that is what sweating does.. we don't perspire 70 degrees sweat.. we sweat at whatever body temperature we are at. The wet or moist surface of the skin conducts heat away faster so we can cool faster.

If we lose the ability to sweat, we can not shed the heat effectively so external cooling is required to conduct the heat away. So water mist, wet jackets etc help. However care must be taken to make sure that the wet surface does not exceed the normal temperature of the body otherwise it will cause the skin / body to gain in temperature and that would be a bad thing. You will end up spending up the process for Heat Stroke..

Always keep the skin covered, do not expose it to the sun.. Sun Burn will eventually occur . This is a true burn / cooking of the skin. This promotes dehydration and increases the body temperature.

Fluid intake is important to maintain good temperature management… Water or isotonic balanced solutions. Gator Aid.. diluted 50% with water is better than full strength . There are other fluids that will work as well… you just need to make sure that the you do not place to much sodium in the stomach and intestines or it will draw fluid from blood and tissue thereby reducing the effectiveness of the body cooling itself…

So salt tablets, salted water and other high sodium product do not help…

Cover up, drink plenty of fluid, eat normal foods with reasonable amounts of sodium. One note Caffeine is a diuretic.. meaning that it will cause you to lose more fluid than what you take in… So coffee, sodas etc are not good for hot environments.

I hope this helps a little

 

[Peteoz]

Wow, Wes. Thanks for taking the time to post that.:thumbup: Would those general rules apply to those who really feel humidity and those that don’t? I sweat at 90degrees and 70+% humidity, sweat badly at 90degrees and 90+% humidity. My wife does not feel even 100% humidity despite the temperature. There’s no need to reply if the answer is too complex.

Pete

 

[wyliec]

Great job

Wes P,

Nice job. I like it that you stayed away from the terms of heat transfer: conduction, convection, radiation, evaporation. Once you get into that, it gets a little confusing.:thumbup: I did notice conduct, but that was excellent.

 

[Easy Rider]

Cover up, ..................

I hope this helps a little

Excellent information. Thank you.

BUT the "cover up" phrase of your summary is a good example of what causes the mis-understanding.

"Cover up" does NOT mean to also severely restrict the air flow to the body.
Air flow must be maintained......in most reasonable situations.

It is also true that past a certain point.....maybe 100F ambient......that simple sweat and air flow can NOT be counted on to keep you at a safe temperature. It just won't. STOP riding and get out of the heat or get some "supplemental" cooling.

 

[UtahPete]

It is also true that past a certain point.....maybe 100F ambient......that simple sweat and air flow can NOT be counted on to keep you at a safe temperature. It just won't. STOP riding and get out of the heat or get some "supplemental" cooling.

I think we need to recognize the difference between humid and arid environments. In extreme heat, the strategy for maintaining a safe body temperature is different for each situation I think.

 

[Bob Denman]

You guys are ALL over-thinking this...

Airflow and proper hydration: That's all that you need! :2thumbs:

 

[UtahPete]

You guys are ALL over-thinking this...Airflow and proper hydration: That's all that you need! :2thumbs:

How much 100+ riding have you done, Bob? Particularly in the desert.

 

[Bob Denman]

If you can't stand the heat... :roflblack:

We've ridden with the temperatures up around 105 degrees. No problem! :thumbup:

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Just remember, that when the air temperature is warmer than you are, air flow will no longer cool you off it will warm you up. You can provide some nice wet evaporative cooling if you can but remember it will only cool you while it is wet, ant at 100+ it won't be wet long. 100+ stop for water a lot, grab some shade when you can, and keep your body covered, that 98.6 is what you want to maintain so you need a barrier between you and that heat! I believe that the recommendation is 1 liter of water every hour. Anyway how is that snow back east!:yes:

 

[Pirate looks at --]

Actually, JC, LD Comfort, who are a well known and reputable US manufacturer of cooling and heating gear agree with Pirate. They recommend you do NOT use a mesh jacket over their wet undergear, but use a normal jacket with a couple of vents open for the best cooling effect. I doubt they would leave themselves open to litigation by offering wrong and dangerous misinformation. The jury might still be out on that one.

Pete

That is the great thing about science, you may not agree with it, but it is still right!:yes:

 

[Lew L]

Desert

My method is:

1. lighter colored jacket and vented gloves
2. WATER at the handle bar to sip often
3. stop about each hour to fill up water and get some shade
4. a cooling vest , refreshed at the stops
5. Always have extra water!!!!!!
6. A vented windshield ( with adjustable vent control)


Seems like all our riding is done in the summer out west so the above steps work GREAT for us.



I'll use the above when I visit UtahPete and tour the south west this summer. Used it last summer and it worked perfect .

Lew L

 

[johnsimion]

You guys are ALL over-thinking this...

Airflow and proper hydration: That's all that you need! :2thumbs:

I've been watching this thread closely because I do live in the hot desert. I agree with Bob's simple but common sense advice - although I'd add that it's important to keep body parts covered and out of the sun.

One thing that I think makes a huge difference is how you're using your Spyder. If you go on loooong trips in 105 degree temps, then maybe Bob's advice isn't good enough. For me, it is. Of course, I'm a guy who doesn't make all-day rides and cross-country rides anyway. I prefer just to get out of the house for a while, see some nice scenery, go look at other people's houses, carve some donuts, run errands, go have a coffee, etc. Riding more than a couple of hours each direction just isn't really my thing, partly because there are scenic roads nearby and once you get an hour or so out of Vegas, the roads turn into long boring straight lines. So, if I have to go on long trips in the heat, I take an air-conditioned car. Others have different preferences and I totally respect that, so maybe some of these suggestions are more applicable to them.

 

[UtahPete]

I've been watching this thread closely because I do live in the hot desert. I agree with Bob's simple but common sense advice - although I'd add that it's important to keep body parts covered and out of the sun. One thing that I think makes a huge difference is how you're using your Spyder. If you go on loooong trips in 105 degree temps, then maybe Bob's advice isn't good enough.

You're right John. I bought the two Spyders to do long-distance touring mostly. We rarely use it to bop around town; too much of a hassle with helmets, limited luggage, etc for shopping trips, particularly in the hot weather - that's when we prefer an air-conditioned car.

So, to clarify, this thread is for long-distance touring in hot weather. In the desert, avoiding riding in the heat and catching some shade is not really an option.

BTW Lew, that thing about finding shade - we have driven hours at a time without there being any shade (no trees for sure and no convenient gas station canopy to hide under. That's the reality in the Southwest (Southern Utah, Southern Nevada, most of Arizona and much of New Mexico. I've considered carrying a large sunbrella for just that reason!

 

[ARtraveler]

What about the bugs? Do you just outrun them and hope you don't have to stop? :joke:

Mostly, the windshield stops them dead in their tracks. Spllllllaaaaattt!. I ride with the WS in the lowest position when it gets hot. I get a little cooling breeze that way. There are more bugs on the helmet though. :yes:

 

[Easy Rider]

I think we need to recognize the difference between humid and arid environments. In extreme heat, the strategy for maintaining a safe body temperature is different for each situation I think.

Given equal temperatures, you get more evaporative cooling quicker when the humidity is low so slightly less air flow is needed.
That isn't necessarily a good thing, though, as really dry air can SUCK YOU DRY rapidly without you feeling excessively hot until it is too late.

High humidity requires more air flow to achieve sufficient cooling.

In both cases, even if you properly adjust for the relative humidity, if the heat is EXTREME the amount of sweat required to keep "cool" can be more than your body can produce for very long.

 

[LeftCoast]

Not trying to revive any discord on the topic of hydration but I ran across this article today and thought I'd share it.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/health/best-drinks-for-hydration-wellness/index.html

Obviously as per the article alcohol is not a hydrating drink, just some are less dehydrating than others

 

[UtahPete]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/health/best-drinks-for-hydration-wellness/index.html

Interesting;

The researchers found that while water -- both still and sparkling --does a pretty good job of quickly hydrating the body, beverages with a little bit of sugar, fat or protein do an even better job of keeping us hydrated for longer. The reason has to do with how our bodies respond to beverages, according to Ronald Maughan, a professor at St. Andrews' School of Medicine and the study's author. One factor is the volume of a given drink: The more you drink, the faster the drink empties from your stomach and gets absorbed into the bloodstream, where it can dilute the body's fluids and hydrate you. The other factor affecting how well a beverage hydrates relates to a drink's nutrient composition. For example, milk was found to be even more hydrating than plain water because it contains the sugar lactose, some protein and some fat, all of which help to slow the emptying of fluid from the stomach and keep hydration happening over a longer period of time. Milk also has sodium, which acts like a sponge and holds onto water in the body and results in less urine produced.

 

[LeftCoast]

I guess that milk was better than water was the eye opener for me. Someone pass the cow!