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Riding in hot weather

B-mtrd

B-mtrd

drtm-B
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
Location
42°24′6″N 71°8′19″W
Moto(s)
The Mistress
Here in New England we have a limited amount of time to ride. That means riding in hot summer days over 90 degrees.

I have a cooling base layer that I get wet and a cooling vest. I'm planning on getting a neck gator as well.

A rider told me this weekend that if I want to make my vest cooling more efficient I should not use a fully meshed jacket as the water evaporates faster. Is that true?

Other that staying hydrated, stopping more often for breaks, wearing summer gear and cooling gear what else is recommended?

BTW, on the busa I do use only my tanktop, flip flops and open face helmet.

Thanks in advance.
 
Not sure what to make of the tanktop, flip flops and open face helmet comment :laughing

I believe the question would be true. More minimal vents will help it last longer.
Once above 90 or so exposing skin to the heat will be worse than being totally covered up as well.

When we rode in 100 plus minimizing the air hitting you was imperative to survival. Damn blow dryer!!!
 
The trick is to get out for your ride early in the day so that the only hot part is getting back home at the end.

I had that issue when I lived in Folsom. The temperature was reasonable in the morning when I headed for the hills, the temperature was great in the Sierras, then the only seriously hot part was when I got back to about El Dorado Hills or so and having to ride half-way across Folsom to get home, stopping at way too many red lights. There are three or four months there where nearly every day the temperature hits 100+. I relied on vents in my jackets for most of the cooling, as long as I was moving. Not much helped when stopped. But there was no way I was going to spend even a full hour above 95 degrees.

By the way, when I lived there I often rode a motorcycle to work and had to get home when it was up to 105 outside. One of the tricks for that was that my jacket was relatively cool, being kept inside. I figured that I was half-way home before the temperature of my skin came out even with someone whose car sat out in the sun all day and they had to wait for the AC to drop the temperature. It helped that I only had to go two miles.

We're supposed to see temperatures over 100 around here this week and I won't be doing any serious rides. I might do something short in the morning, but no way I'll come back out of the hills and have to ride across the whole valley to get home once it's above 100.
 
budman said:
Not sure what to make of the tanktop, flip flops and open face helmet comment :laughing

I believe the question would be true. More minimal vents will help it last longer.
Once above 90 or so exposing skin to the heat will be worse than being totally covered up as well.

When we rode in 100 plus minimizing the air hitting you was imperative to survival. Damn blow dryer!!!
Click to expand...
It's teh barf so I had to add the disclaimer of the whole busa squid setup, which is quite common around here.
 
ScottRNelson said:
The trick is to get out for your ride early in the day so that the only hot part is getting back home at the end.

I had that issue when I lived in Folsom. The temperature was reasonable in the morning when I headed for the hills, the temperature was great in the Sierras, then the only seriously hot part was when I got back to about El Dorado Hills or so and having to ride half-way across Folsom to get home, stopping at way too many red lights. There are three or four months there where nearly every day the temperature hits 100+. I relied on vents in my jackets for most of the cooling, as long as I was moving. Not much helped when stopped. But there was no way I was going to spend even a full hour above 95 degrees.

By the way, when I lived there I often rode a motorcycle to work and had to get home when it was up to 105 outside. One of the tricks for that was that my jacket was relatively cool, being kept inside. I figured that I was half-way home before the temperature of my skin came out even with someone whose car sat out in the sun all day and they had to wait for the AC to drop the temperature. It helped that I only had to go two miles.

We're supposed to see temperatures over 100 around here this week and I won't be doing any serious rides. I might do something short in the morning, but no way I'll come back out of the hills and have to ride across the whole valley to get home once it's above 100.
Click to expand...
I tend to do that but some times my rides end up longer than expected. Also, I've been doing longer hauls so even though I leave early I arrive when it's hot.

I'm planning to ride from the Boston area to Rehoboth beach in a week so I want to be prepared.
 
I carry 2 neck gators. I wear one and keep the other in a container with ice water. During stops at a gas station or at lunch, I swap out the dry one and put on the cold/wet gator just before I head back out. I refill the container with more ice and water if possible to soak the now dry neck gator in order to swap out again at the next stop.
Repeat as needed.
 
B-mtrd said:
A rider told me this weekend that if I want to make my vest cooling more efficient I should not use a fully meshed jacket as the water evaporates faster. Is that true?
Click to expand...
I believe it's true.

Anecdote.

Riding to Vegas from So Cal, in July.

Stopped in Baker, and my friend took off his jacket, wearing only a T-shirt.

Somewhere near Vegas, we stopped again, and he convinced me to take on my riding jacket, so I was just wearing a T-Shirt.

From there, we rode on north on the 15. We made it to Mesquite before I had to pull over. About 80 miles.

I had a pounding headache.

We stopped, I consume vast quantities of iced tea, donned my jacket and have worn it ever since.

Here's my analysis of it.

Without the jacket, my body is simply a wick in the wind. I consider the same thing for fully mesh gear, as it's the same problem. You're, essentially, fully exposed to the hot air blast drying you up like jerky.

With the jacket, I end up with a sweaty jacket with vents. My body sweats, the jacket captures it and becomes damp. It's a vented jacket, but now its a "wet" vented jacket, which in itself can aid in cooling. I also am less exposed to the jet of hot air which means less overall loss as well.

While riding, I've never been uncomfortably hot in my riding gear. Key term "while riding". It gets hot down here in So Cal, and even with my Kilm Badlands Pro gear, which weighs a ton, has full armor, including the chest and back, but lots of vents, I don't consider myself uncomfortable. Stuck in traffic, yea, it's all terrible.

Now, I have NOT ridden in HUMID weather. "Yea, but it's a dry heat!" -- Private Hudson. In humidity, maybe it's quite different.

I can see in "warm" (80s) how the mesh gear might be nice -- that's a different environment. But when its 90+, I'm kitting up and steeping in my own juices. (Along with all of the other hydration tips.)
 
I agree with wearing a jacket to minimize water loss, if it's really hot and I'm properly hydrated I'm still sweating underneath my jacket. If the pace is slower / off-road I'll have vents open as well and the main zipper down a bit, but on the highway, I just find letting that hot air in makes things feel worse. When off road my biggest concern is getting caught in the heat with a mechanical so on hot days I prefer to be out early enough that I can be done riding by 2 or so. I got stuck crossing Livermore a few years back when it was 110 out. I was not feeling great, but figured stopping would just make things worse so I pressed on towards cooler temps in San Francisco. Hottest I've ever experienced was Vegas in July hovering around 115 or so. I did not enjoy that.
 
I might try this week using my other suit. It's not mesh but it has a good amount of vents. To @berth point, might feel hot while stopped but moving with cooling gear underneath might feel better.
 
There is no easy fix other than riding early and getting to altitude quick. If I get to the Pine Trees before 8am I'm good (only 12 miles from my house).

I think I have tried everything in Thailand where I can't get to altitude and it's humid. Sometimes I wear one of those vests you soak, always mesh. The only time I'm really comfortable on the hot days is if I'm home by 10am. I stopped wearing full length adv boots and got a shorter 2 buckle pair. That actually made a big difference. The soaked vest works well under mesh for about an hour, works OK for another 45 minutes. Probably would stay wet longer if I wasn't in mesh but I always gotta stop and pee by then anyway. haha

There is no substitute for mesh. When I do a Baja trip or Grand Canyon I carry a second mesh jacket under my dry bag. No amount of little zipper vents will keep you cool in a heavy jacket. I don't even bother trying and carry 2 jackets.

I just treat riding like most treat golf. I make it a priority and get up early.
 
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Weren't liquid filled cooling vests the hot ticket a few years ago? Also remember seeing those hand sized ice packs (you'd freeze overnight and toll them in your cooler) that folks stuffed inside (some frozen, some not) jackets.
 
I have a kind of odd cooling vest that has packets of a phase changing material in it that freezes solid at 50 degrees. The stuff stays cool for about 8 hours in 100 degree plus temps. For a ride lasting a day when you know you can chill the packets at the end of the day, it's amazing. For a multi day ride where you're camping, the more common wet cooling vests and other soggy things are probably the only practical choices.
 
taylormade21 said:
I carry 2 neck gators. I wear one and keep the other in a container with ice water. During stops at a gas station or at lunch, I swap out the dry one and put on the cold/wet gator just before I head back out. I refill the container with more ice and water if possible to soak the now dry neck gator in order to swap out again at the next stop.
Repeat as needed.
Click to expand...
I carry a large baggie and on gas stops I fill it with ice and some of the water that I buy. Stuff the vest in and seal. The vest soaks up almost all the water and then I am good for several hours.
Part of the reason I cancelled Kernville as a Rally destination this month was for safety. We were looking at 5 to 6 hours of 100 plus temps.. not good. Plus when you get to the destination and it is still above 100 it is not good for recouping.

The other reason was.. I knew I would not enjoy it!! :rant
 
Rode to Tucson a couple of times in mid July back in the mid 2000s. Needles CA at 126 F. Used a Joe Rocket Razor suit, full textile but lite with 6 vents in the jacket and 4 in the pants, the suit even has velcro for knee pucks.
What I learned was: water, water and more water. Rode with a camel back and would run out of water before I ran out of gas. When I stopped at gas stations I would drink a quart of gatorade and a quart of water. Filled the camel back with ice and water, the ice melts fast. Wore a long sleeve white cotton t-shirt under the suit, thought once that rolling the cuffs of the of the suit back would help me stay cool: the sun hitting the white cotton shirt felt like someone holding a magnifying glass to my forearm.
Rest stops are critical, get in the shade or if you can the air conditioned gas station long enough to bring your temp down.
Watch yourself for judgement errors, that's a sign that you are starting to suffer heat exhaustion. Cramping is also a sign.

Here's the same jacket for sale on ebay
www.ebay.com

Joe Rocket Razor Motorcycle Jacket Blue / Black / White Men's SZ 44 NEW! | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Joe Rocket Razor Motorcycle Jacket Blue / Black / White Men's SZ 44 NEW! at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
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Rode across Nevada and Utah a couple weeks ago in the high temps. We tried to leave early but my hot gear is a mostly cotton ( slow to dry) wet turtle neck, soaked helmet and some kinda of poly + cloth that retains the moisture. Searches for cooling cloths mostly go to that first of the alphabet retailer. The helmet drys first and going through Arches Park 45 minutes was max. I close most of my vents leaving a gap in the rear of the jacket, when I start to dry and warm up I’ll open vents. Surprisingly cool for the first 15 - 20 minutes. I keep a squeeze bottle with cooling water as well as drinking water. Riding across Montana, Idaho and Oregon from Yellowstone I left early checking in by 2 or 3. It was hot enough that not much moisture soaked into my shorts.
The downside is I maybe back in a low riding-frequency loop until Weaverville.🖕
 
News last week: Some people (a tour group?) tried to ride across Death Valley last week. One died, several ended up in the hospital.

I have gone up I-5 in the summer. 1-5 has a lot of rest stops. I wear a cotton T shirt over a sport bra and soak it at ever stop. With vents open, there is a nice swamp cooler effect. I try to drink lots of water - the Camelback really helps
 
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