Tips for staying cool in the heat: Needed

I like to think I am MTGATT, but I'm not. I don't "suit up" if I'm just running to the PO or a quick trip to the grocery store (although those are probably the most important times). For most other riding, I do wear MTGATT (I may substitute jeans for riding pants and tennis shoes for boots at times).
I'm about to take on a trip around the southern plains in the next couple of weeks and could use some tips on staying cool. I'm already planning to do most of my riding in the morning before it gets too hot, but would also like some tips as I will most likely get stuck in the afternoon heat somewhere at some time or another. I kind of like to be prepared.
I'm thinking shorts under riding pants, my jacket, a semi airy pair of hiking boots, gloves and modular helmet will be my standard wear (most are gray/silver, helmet is red). What should I bring to assist staying cool? Thanks!

If your ride goes beyond an hour or so, I would say a cooling vest or liner would help! I also have a neck cooler that works the same way as a cooling vest. Soak it in ice water for 15 minutes and then put it on. Works great for short trips and your clothes don't get soaked in the process, like a cooling vest will do.

Wet your t-shirt down every time you stop. This works best with a vented jacket so you can let some air in but not too much. Putting ice in your pockets at each stop can help as well. If it's 90 or hotter a textile jacket with vents works MUCH better than mesh IMHO. Mesh lets in too much air and evaporates your wet t-shirt (and your sweat) too quickly. A cooling vest works better than a wet t-shirt of course if you want to go that route. People often make the mistake of exposing more skin when it gets hot when covering up will actually keep you cooler. All IMHO of course, YMMV and all of that.

StevieMac said:

Wet your t-shirt down every time you stop. This works best with a vented jacket so you can let some air in but not too much. Putting ice in your pockets at each stop can help as well. If it's 90 or hotter a textile jacket with vents works MUCH better than mesh IMHO. Mesh lets in too much air and evaporates your wet t-shirt (and your sweat) too quickly. A cooling vest works better than a wet t-shirt of course if you want to go that route. People often make the mistake of exposing more skin when it gets hot when covering up will actually keep you cooler. All IMHO of course, YMMV and all of that.

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Invest in a an LD Comfort riding shirt and shorts. A wet cotton t-shirts against your skin all days is not good. You want a wicking material which will be wet, but not on the surface in contact with your skin. You still get the evaporative cooling effect without the possibility of a rash or monkey butt. I experienced the latter in 2001 on my way to WeSTOC. Not fun!

I agree that a mesh jacket is too much air flow. You will dry out too quickly. A cooling vest under mesh on a hot day will only help for 20 to 30 minutes. Once the vest dries out you just end up with another insulating layer which is not good.

On our recent WeSTOC recon run to Grand Junction we saw a high of 106F and average temps between 95 - 100F. I had my cooling vest with me but never needed is. At fuel and rest stops I just poured some water down the sleeve of my LD Comfort shirt via the cuff. The water wicked into the material and gave me a nice cooling effect via the arm vents in my First Gear jacket.

I stopped bringing mesh on trips a couple of years ago and may leave the cooling vest at home from now on.....

Shirt: http://ldcomfort.com/dryline-long-sleeve-turtleneck-top.html
Shorts: http://ldcomfort.com/Mens-Riding-Shorts.html

I have LD shorts and LOVE them. Personally I didn't really care for the t-shirts but other people sure seem to like them. I find that cheap wic away t-shirts work better for me personally but again YMMV.

... And, be sure to pack water (I usually pack a gallon, using sports bottles. I freeze a couple, which stay cold for hours.) Drink at your fuel stops, and if you're riding for stretches longer than an hour, I'd make a water break stop at a minimum of every hour; preferably twice an hour.

I'm wondering how well does evaporative cooling work in high humidity? It works great in the West, where humidity is typically low unless you're in monsoon territory (or Seattle ), but I've never ridden in places like Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, etc. Does it still work reasonably well in those climates?

I find I don't have much trouble staying wet all on my own riding in those kinda places ;-)

adamk said:

Invest in a an LD Comfort riding shirt and shorts.

I agree that a mesh jacket is too much air flow.


Shirt: http://ldcomfort.com/dryline-long-sleeve-turtleneck-top.html
Shorts: http://ldcomfort.com/Mens-Riding-Shorts.html

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Heartily agree on both points.

adamk said:

... in my First Gear jacket.

I stopped bringing mesh on trips a couple of years ago and may leave the cooling vest at home from now on.....

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Adam, which First Gear jacket are you using?

I've got an Olympia AST II, but I'm not particularly impressed with it in hot weather, although it was tolerable up to maybe 90 with all the vents open. (Traffic lights are killer!) Above that I use mesh, but with the windshield up to block the hot air! Much above 100 and I break out the cooling vest, although wetting ones shirt can help also.

Folks should remember that above about 90F or so the breeze will heat you up more than it will cool you. So I do wear mesh to allow a little non-specific ventilation, but out of the direct breeze. Be aware that my mesh jacket has *ahem* shrunk a little, and doesn't flow as much air as it used to - maybe that's why I can get away with it.

I've taken to wearing shorts to improve my leg blood circulation on long rides due to my past DVTs. But I discovered my mesh overpants don't work with them at high temps - the hot air coming off the ST1300 will actually lightly burn my legs. (It's OK with jeans under the mesh.) Last trip I resorted to some newspaper over my shins for insulation! I should probably switch to my non mesh overpants.

Or maybe just switch everything to Darien.

And cool water helps tremendously. It's been a source of laughter on occasion, but I've got a big 2L Camelbak that I'll fill up with icewater, but in a tankbag or a nearby cooler will work also. A few swallows ever so many minutes does wonders. You just have to remember to stop and refill it periodically (time to recharge the cooling vest anyway). Don't let your water run out halfway between Needles and Kingman like I did in 120+ weather! And if you don't need to pee, you're getting dehydrated.

Remember heat exhaustion is bad, but heat stroke can be life threatening! Don't be embarrassed to find somewhere to get out of the heat a while.

This stuff has gotten me through temps up to 128F. But that was a dry heat in Death Valley.

Here is the beST net reference I have found on the subject:
http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf

I have successfully ridden many many miles in hot weather (90-115F) with an Aerostich Roadcrafter two piece, LDcomfort shorts, various type T-shirts (full cotton is not a problem for me), Aerostich Combat Lite boots and Elkskin Roper gloves, Shoei full-face helmet and Silk liner, and a 1gal jug of ice water on a Garauld TechWorks mount on the right passenger's foot peg. All equipment highly recommended, IMNSHO.

Edit: oh yeah, forgot to list my Marsee cooling vest!

Regards, John
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StevieMac said:

Wet your t-shirt down every time you stop. This works best with a vented jacket so you can let some air in but not too much. Putting ice in your pockets at each stop can help as well. If it's 90 or hotter a textile jacket with vents works MUCH better than mesh IMHO. Mesh lets in too much air and evaporates your wet t-shirt (and your sweat) too quickly. A cooling vest works better than a wet t-shirt of course if you want to go that route. People often make the mistake of exposing more skin when it gets hot when covering up will actually keep you cooler. All IMHO of course, YMMV and all of that.

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Yes, all this stuff!

Jim

I rode over 730 miles over two days just two weeks ago in TN when the temps were in the 90's and the dew point was in the mid 70's. The most heat generation was from the ST1300 itself. I found myself overheated the second day with all my garb on even drinking vast amounts of water. I stripped off down to my jeans and tshirt to help my body get rid of the heat being absorbed from the seat and tank. On my next fuel stop I bought a bag of ice and sat it on top of my seat with a towel over it. The cooling affect was great over the next 100 miles. Drastic circumstances sometimes require outside the box thinking if you are away from home. My wintertime project on the ST1300 will be to see what I can do to help the heat situation short of damaging the bike or trading.

I stripped off down to my jeans and tshirt to help my body get rid of the heat being absorbed from the seat and tank.

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Your sweat was evaporating faster than it could cool you. Feels good riding but it will dehydrate you. You will be hot when you stop. I live in Florida and deal with riding in the heat constantly. I really look forward to October.

Have you tried a short windshield? Short, as in comes to the top of the fairing when in the lowest position? I think the 1100 is cooler. But at the high temperatures and humidity of the South, I don't know if the difference can be recognized.

milkmaster said:

I rode over 730 miles over two days just two weeks ago in TN when the temps were in the 90's and the dew point was in the mid 70's. The most heat generation was from the ST1300 itself. I found myself overheated the second day with all my garb on even drinking vast amounts of water. I stripped off down to my jeans and tshirt to help my body get rid of the heat being absorbed from the seat and tank. On my next fuel stop I bought a bag of ice and sat it on top of my seat with a towel over it. The cooling affect was great over the next 100 miles. Drastic circumstances sometimes require outside the box thinking if you are away from home. My wintertime project on the ST1300 will be to see what I can do to help the heat situation short of damaging the bike or trading.

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Another Tennessee boy here. Evaporative cooling vests are worthless in high humidity areas like my home state. On the other hand, they are wonderful in low humidity areas. Three weeks ago, I rode 600 miles, in one day, through eastern CO and KS, the temps ranged between 81 degrees F in Denver, and got up to 106 in Topeka. My cooling vest lost effectiveness the further east I rode. Invest in some good mesh gear, vented boots and gloves and drink lots, and lots of water, even if you do not feel thirsty. I do not subscribe to the cover up and boil advice, your body has a natural evaporative cooling system built in, it is called sweat. Air must get to it to be effective. The important thing is to replenish it.
The best thing I did to my ST1300 to help with the heat is to put Mylar bubble wrap under the seat, especially near the tank.

My $0.02. At the least, get the LDcomfort shorts. A hot sweaty rear end will get old after a day. The LDcomfort shorts can be washed in the evening in the shower, wrung out in a towel, and will be dry and ready to wear the next morning. Even if you can't wash them every day, you can wear them more than a day in a row and they won't get stinky. I'm a bicyclist and sometimes use my cycling shorts - those are limited to one time use before they become toxically odiferous so I need to carry at least two pairs.

Next on my list of must haves would be an on board hydration system. I like a 1 gallon wide mouth water cooler secured to the passenger seat. You can feed some aquarium tubing through the drink valve on the cooler and buy a bite valve at Big 5. Quick and easy to add ice once a day and water as needed. It cools on the way down and cools on the way out (sweat). I've gotten lazy now and use a hydration bladder in a tank bag. Not as good as the cooler but probably a little cheaper. If you stop at McD's or similar place where the sodas are all you can drink, I get a large one (like 32 oz) and drink it, then refill the cup with ice, and add that to the hydration bladder. It stays cool for an hour or so depending on temp's.

Count me as one who doesn't like the cooling vests and I ride in the west where it's usually a dry heat. When my skin stays warm and wet all day, I get a prickly heat rash. I do have one of the cooling ties and will sometimes wear that for a hour or two but no more. I prefer to hydrate and sweat. My jacket is a Cycleport Ultra II in stretch kevlar. It passes about the right amount of air through - enough for cooling evaporation but not so much that I dry out and add heat due to convection cooking. Other less breathable riding jackets can accomplish much the same effect with vents. Remember, you want the sweat to evaporate at your skin for cooling. Mesh is good for low speed, and stop and go riding in the heat but not for sustained higher speed riding.

jonz said:

Motoport stretch kevlar

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Great material Jeff.

Travel in the fall during cooler daytime temps if possible. especially out west.