Riding In the Heat Explained

pepollock

pepollock

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Feb 16, 2007
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Eastern Massachusetts
Mellow: I hope it is OK to post this on st-owners. I'm unsure about copyrights, etc. Please delete if necessary.

Recently posted on the BMWMOA site (bmwmoa.org/forum) is a link to an article in the Iron Butt magazine. The thread on BMWMOA is for "Mesh Gear" in the "Gear" section. The posted link is www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf

It is an article that explains how the human body is cooled, how dangerous riding in temperatures above 93F (yes, 93) can be, and what you can do to keep riding when it gets that hot. Information is well documented and well presented. With this summer's heat, everyone should read this.

pete
 
Thanks Pete!!!! Great read and will use this info up here in the heat.
 
Great stuff... thanks for sharing.

pepollock said:
Mellow: I hope it is OK to post this on st-owners. I'm unsure about copyrights, etc. Please delete if necessary.

Recently posted on the BMWMOA site (bmwmoa.org/forum) is a link to an article in the Iron Butt magazine. The thread on BMWMOA is for "Mesh Gear" in the "Gear" section. The posted link is www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf

It is an article that explains how the human body is cooled, how dangerous riding in temperatures above 93F (yes, 93) can be, and what you can do to keep riding when it gets that hot. Information is well documented and well presented. With this summer's heat, everyone should read this.

pete
Click to expand...
 
I was actually doing the right thing when I ride here in the desert heat and did not realize it. I did find out that I am not drinking enough liquid when I ride though. I will have to do a better job with that. I carry Gatorade, water, and energy bars on my bike but I need to carry a larger amount when I ride longer distances.
Thanks for posting up the article. I learned a lot.
 
A rider here in Oklahoma City area lately lost consciousness while riding, crashed and died of head trauma. I need to follow up on the story, but the typical rider (90%) is on a cruiser with maybe jeans, t-shirt, no helmet or gloves. Darwinism in action although I am sorry for their families.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2
 
Good information, is anyone able to get air flow through a jacket on the 1300? I have tried three different brands and even on colder mornings with the stock windshield down at the lowest setting and vents open can't feel any air movement.
 
fnmag said:
Many riders don't realize that problems start at 93F.
Click to expand...

+1

I had read the article a while back.

On some of my trips this summer, I would watch the temp display and, when it hit 93 or higher it was time to stop and soak my T-shirt underneath my jacket with water.

Usually good for about 100 miles till you have to stop and do it again.

It would be nice to have that article as a sticky.
 
MileHigh said:
+1

I had read the article a while back.

On some of my trips this summer, I would watch the temp display and, when it hit 93 or higher it was time to stop and soak my T-shirt underneath my jacket with water.

Usually good for about 100 miles till you have to stop and do it again.

It would be nice to have that article as a sticky.
Click to expand...

Fine.. be that way.. LOL
 
Good article, I rode through Greece recently and cooked! At one point the temp gauge was showing 42 C (107F) while we were riding along and went up to 50C (122F) when we stopped in traffic - I never knew that at 50C the display flashed at you.. Both wife and I were in mesh gear and I had a Camelbak in use, but even so we were very dehydrated when we stopped.
Since then I've changed the stock exhaust to a Staintune to remove the catalytic converter heat source and will ensure that when we return to Greece in that sort of heat that we BOTH use a Camelbak. TBH I can't see that there's anything else we could do.. (?)
 
Steve398 said:
Good article, I rode through Greece recently and cooked! At one point the temp gauge was showing 42 C (107F) while we were riding along and went up to 50C (122F) when we stopped in traffic - I never knew that at 50C the display flashed at you.. Both wife and I were in mesh gear and I had a Camelbak in use, but even so we were very dehydrated when we stopped.
Since then I've changed the stock exhaust to a Staintune to remove the catalytic converter heat source and will ensure that when we return to Greece in that sort of heat that we BOTH use a Camelbak. TBH I can't see that there's anything else we could do.. (?)
Click to expand...

Having logged more than a few miles in the desert southwest, once the temp goes over 100F I usually stop at the nearest gas station and soak my helmet and t-shirt in water. It will last about 45-60 minutes before drying out in the typical humidity levels we see in the desert. I've ridden comfortably in that mode up to about 117F for a couple of hours, which is about as hot as it gets on average in the desert here. Its possible for the temp to go higher than 120F occasionally here, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
 
it sneaks up on you really fast! i was on an IB B2B ride when i rode into n.calif and 111degrees f. stoped more than my fair share of rest stops and just couldn't drink water fast enought...when i started making bad riding desisions, that's whenrealized that i was in trouble. i had to give it up and checked into a motel that had ac!
 
the_gr8t_waldo said:
it sneaks up on you really fast! i was on an IB B2B ride when i rode into n.calif and 111degrees f. stoped more than my fair share of rest stops and just couldn't drink water fast enought...when i started making bad riding desisions, that's whenrealized that i was in trouble. i had to give it up and checked into a motel that had ac!
Click to expand...

Wasn't the thread called "RIDING in the heat explained" ? But seriously, once it gets above 105F or so, it does get really uncomfortable to ride, and potentially dangerous if you don't take precautions. In my younger years I just toughed it out, but then after trying the helmet/shirt soaking method I actually don't mind it at all. At 115F its funny to watch the looks from the cagers, thinking "that guy must be dying in this heat", when in your evaporative cooled helmet you're actually feeling quite comfortable.
 
I hadn't considered soaking my vest and will do it when I'm next in those temperatures.. the helmet is something else though, with an Autocom system between my wife and myself I don't think the microphone and speakers would appreciate a soak!
 
STihrke said:
Good information, is anyone able to get air flow through a jacket on the 1300
Click to expand...

I just started using a KLIM Latitude Misano Jacket which vents very well on the ST in the hot weather I wear my longsleeve LD comfort which when wet make it feel like air conditioning. I have used it up to 90 deg thats as hot as it's been here this summer.
 
No need to soak clothes here, they are self soaking. Soaking is probably a good idea in the western states. Check out the "feels like" in the pic below. Like they say "it isn't the heat it's the humidity". This is why my bike does a lot of sitting in the summer. Aggravated by my low tolerance to heat.



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Great article.

The best part was identifying an outside temperature of 95 degrees as a critical threshold.
 
Good read. They don't make wicking shorts that prevent me from getting M. B. after 13 hours in the saddle.
 
About 95 degrees is when I don the cooling vest. The perfect vest charging station is under a tree, by a lake with cold running water available. Here a convenient fish cleaning station pops up in the foothills of the Sierras...just in time. The pause that refreshes and good for about 2 hours unless the temp tops 110 then a stop every hour is mandatory.

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