Riding in the Heat

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Joe
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We had someone at NatSTOC that was passed out in the restroom from dehydration this past week. He's okay, EMTs showed up and looked him over, he took it easy and got some water and gatorade and recovered nicely.

This can happen to any of us and many times, by the time you realize there's an issue, it's too late to do anything about it.

I was dreading my return trip as I knew the temps between Nebraska-Kansas-Oklahoma would be hitting the 100's.

But, I had one of the easiest 800+ mile days I'd ever had. What did I do?

- Started early - headed out about 6:30am
- Stopped every 200-250 miles
- Drank a 32 or 16 ounces of gatorade at each gas stop
- Drank some water at each gas stop
- Poured cold water on my silk head liner at each gas stop
- Poured cold water on my shirt front/back - nylon shirt - at each gas stop

The helmet liner and shirt betting soaked with water would last about 75-100 miles.

Ideally, I should have brought my camelbak with me but it didn't mess with it when I left home so I was out of luck. But, with the above approach, I never got thirsty or felt bad, even when it was hot riding over fresh black asphalt and I could feel all that heat coming up, I was comfortable.

It's great to have water but you should have some gatorade type drink. Having a cooler attached to the bike would be nice as you could stop anywhere without needed to find a gas station. Being male, we tend to want to push our tanks to the limit and not stop 'til 300 miles... ego extraction is one thing that also needs to be done in hot weather conditions.

Not everything will work for everyone, so post your tips for hot weather riding.
 

okckeith

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Very good points Joe. Tiny and myself saw 106 yesterday in Kansas. I am so glad I bought a cooling vest and a Starter Dri-Star shirt. I bought the shirt at WalMart for 15.00. The cooling vest was on sale at Cycle Gear for 40.00. I don't take the heat very well at all. Not sure I could have made it with out the extra gear. It really helps.
 
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Any time you're riding in heat above 93* you will lose body fluids faster than you can take them in. It helps to be very hydrated before you even START the ride and drink as much as you can during the ride and at every stop.

By soaking your headliner and shirt, you are adding evaporative cooling while using something other than your sweat to provide that evaporation. Good tip!
 
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Good point Joe. I would like to add that in heat like this you should be taking enough liquid to make you Pee a few tines through out the day. ( I know many would like to go all day riding without peeing would be a good thing, but it is a good measurement of you hydration level.) When you loose your thirst can also mean you are starting to dehydrate.
 

Dinkie Diesel

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Thanks for the tip Joe. I have another bit of advice. Never leave the house in July or August!!!

I happen to be a panty waist. I bought one of the cheapie evaporative cooling vest and tried it on one leg of my trip when it was 100+. It did give you the feeling of being cooler but it didn't last long. I am fortunate to have a cooler when I travel and I made good use of it on this trip. I think I spent $1012 on ice though. I drank a bottled water at every stop, ate bananas and oranges like a silverback and I faired pretty well. Diet and metabolism is important in the heat. And when you pull into Cody, WY and the cheapest hotel is $130/nt but it's 98 degrees somehow that $130 doesn't seem so bad. :D
 
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Joe
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Good point Joe. I would like to add that in heat like this you should be taking enough liquid to make you Pee a few tines through out the day. ( I know many would like to go all day riding without peeing would be a good thing, but it is a good measurement of you hydration level.) When you loose your thirst can also mean you are starting to dehydrate.
Thanks, the color of pee also means a lot.. it should be clear but typically just a little color is normal... dark and you are probably on the verge of dehydration.
 

Dinkie Diesel

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Thanks, the color of pee also means a lot.. it should be clear but typically just a little color is normal... dark and you are probably on the verge of dehydration.
Where are the moderators when you need them?

Joe is spot on on this one. I have had that experience myself.
 
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Where are the moderators when you need them?

Joe is spot on on this one. I have had that experience myself.
Well, if your pee looks like a sumo wrestler, you have bigger issues.
 

skidlid1300

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Scout and I traveled the back roads al the way home. We saw temps around 105 most of South Dakota. We both had the Camelbacks. Glad I brought it. It really saved us. At every gas stop I refilled it with Gatorade. Scout had the cooling shirt, and had water in his saddlebag, where he doused himself, good for another 150 miles or so. Never had an issue, and I was peeing clearer than the stream at NatStoc...
 
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Thanks for the tips Joe!! I try not to ride in that kind of heat, but sometimes you never know where you will be when the temps spike! Great tips!!
 

W0QNX

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Most of the time when I'm out and about my left hand glove box will have a 32 oz. Styrofoam cup in the pocket. It's usually got a Diet Coke from Mcd's in there. I know not the best to drink but I keep it with something in it at all times. And I have a flip front helmet so I can drink it at will. If I see a Mc'D's next to the road along my route I stop in more often then not and get a new drink and an ice cream cone when the temps are up in the 90's or more. Sometimes 4 a day!

Some have said that left pocket is too hot but when on a trip I usually have 2 levels of cups in there. One with the beverage and it's stuck in the old cup for double insulation. Ice in the drink will last 3 hours in 100 degrees and I drink it all.

I'm lucky and the heat doesn't bother me in fact I prefer 100 to 50 degrees anytime.

Drink drink drink, even if it is diet pop. (I'm not a doctor but I did sleep in tent last weekend(??)).

If you look at some of my tag pix you'll see that cup quite often.

Raymond

 
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If it is over 100?, you can't keep up going tank to tank. Just can't do it. Last time I was out in the hot stuff (300 miles over 110?) I stopped after about 250 miles and drank water until I peed. 60 oz in about 1/2 hour. I had already drank 100 oz by the time I got there...

I also use a cool vest and a 'cooldana'. Around my neck, it really helps. This trip I wore my lightest fabric jacket and 'stitch pants. I stayed pretty comfy, all things considered...

You've got to be proactive in high heat or IT WILL GET YOU.
 

steve3b3

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When I'm traveling in the heat, I fill my Camelback with ice and water the rest of the way.
Looking at Carole's photos, I noted many cooling vests, and put one on my shopping list, since even with water, it's still hot.

Steve :04biker:
 
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Many of you have seen the cooler bottle that I keep on my rear footpeg with a long hose attached. I have a 1/2 gallon and a 1 gallon jug. I drained the 1/2 gallon on my 400 mile ride last Saturday. When I was riding through Texas, NM and AZ, not to mention Kansas, I was draining a full gallon each day, along with drinks from my stops.

There is no way I could go tank to tank without something to drink along the way. Just drinking at gas stops doesn't cut it for me. I'd be peeing Guinness instead of Miller Light!
 
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challenger

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The wife and I rode for two hours last Saturday ... started at 1100 - temp 89 and finished just after 1300 - temp 92. We were trying out a couple of newly purchased cooling bandanas ... have since bought a variety of products ... even sent a couple to my daughter at Leader Training in Ft Knox ... temp in the high 90's. Two + hours on BeaST and we did not break a sweat ... going to do a longer run this Sunday and check out some different cooling items. Will update later!

http://www.northamericanpride.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_13
 
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If possible, the day before having to be out in the heat, drink as much as you can stand. And the day of, keep drinking all day. As said before if you are peeing a lot you know you are hydrated. You can't hydrated if you are trying to catch up, it's too late. I about dehydrated once will going to a race and that is not a good feeling. That's when I realized I couldn't catch up on the hydration.
 

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I've ridden for hours (main tank AND an aux tank) in heat with a low of 106 going up to 112 . . . safely. Here's some LD tips I think I've learned and seem to work for me.

First: Normal body temp is 98.6, give or take a degree. If the air temp blowing on you is above that . . . button up! Keep the air OFF your skin. If you're wearing mesh, put in a liner or your toast. My AeroStich is perfect for this.

"But that'll make me hotter since the sweat won't be evaporating as fast," you say. Nope, doesn't work that way; counter-intuitive maybe.
The air that's warmer than your body temp heats your skin and the sweat (which increases your surface area) that's sitting on it. Evaporating sweat only cools when it's taking heat away and if the air is hotter around it . . . you're not losing the heat.

Wear a layer of something that "wicks" next to your skin. I ride with LDComfort long legs and long arms for max coolness. It's expensive but worth every penny in high heat. There are other choices, but wear something as the wicking gives you the coolness.

Try this when next in the heat. You've probably got your helmet shield opened up to let in more air - close it up. It'll feel cooler.

Next, as others have already noted, drink lots of liquid. Colder liquid taken as you ride helps keep your core cool from the inside out. I carry a 2 gallon iced cooler (WallMart, and ice lasts pretty much all day) with a drinking tube (CamelBak part with bite piece, drill hole and poke it in). For small day trips, I have a CamelBak that has 2 liters of ice water lasting about 3-5 hours in high heat.

At every stop I down a bottle of something with electrolites. Once a day I'll also down a V-8 for vegetable input.

If you feel hot AND tired . . . STOP. I like the truck stops with a fast food addition. I park the bike in the shade at the pump, fill-up, go inside, doff my gear and get a bottle of something cold in the store side and sit in the restaurant side and get something to eat while cooling off. When you're ready, you won't be starting out on a hot seat and you'll have a head-start on staying ahead of the curve.

Carbonation and caffein are your enemies riding long distance generally and in the heat specially, but that's a whole 'nother issue.

Shuey
 
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I park the bike in the shade at the pump, fill-up, go inside, doff my gear and get a bottle of something cold in the store side and sit in the restaurant side and get something to eat while cooling off. When you're ready, you won't be starting out on a hot seat and you'll have a head-start on staying ahead of the curve.
Shuey
Don't block the pump! After filing your bike, move it! Pet peeve of mine!
 

Shuey

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Don't block the pump! After filing your bike, move it! Pet peeve of mine!
If it's in the 90s and you've cooled off inside and refreshed with plenty of liquids then plop your butt down on a seat that's 120 degrees plus then . . . you are the heat sink cooling off the bike seat.

I never tie up a pump at a station that's busy and don't like waiting to get to a pump when others do, but if they aren't busy, plenty of pumps available and it's sunny . . .

Shuey

PS: When a station is busy, the larger ones often have room under the roof to park a bike and not be at a pump or disrupt the flow of trafffic. That's Plan B.
 
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