Hot weather riding tips: Surviving the dog days of August

[mcrides]

It's been on my mind a long time. Just got around to doing it.



If anyone has been struggling with the hot temps we've been having,   :shock:

I just put up a little section re dealing with hot weather riding:



http://pages.videotron.com/mcrides/hot_ ... riding.htm





Cheers!

Bruno

Montreal, Canada

http://pages.videotron.com/mcrides

[apache]

How hot is hot in your neck of the woods? it recently was 121 in the Carizzo plains where I frequent. Kinda like standing in front of a blast furnace. I havent found anything to fix that kinda heat.

[mcrides]

How hot is hot in your neck of the woods? it recently was 121 in the Carizzo plains where I frequent. Kinda like standing in front of a blast furnace. I havent found anything to fix that kinda heat.

You can't fix that kind of heat. But what I wrote addresses that kind of heat. I used a lot of those concepts when crossing the Mojave desert mid summer.



You want to protect yourself from the blast furnace effect.

The good news is that high heat is very dry. That means you can use evaporative cooling along with other tactics that I talk about.



The worst types of heat are the hot and humid. Temps might only be 95-97F but with high humidity giving effective heat stress index of over 135F.

It's way tougher to keep cool in humid heat because evaporative cooling is much less effective.



I'll be adding some sections that cover this as soon as I have a minute.   :)

[apache]

Good info, interested in the rest when you can. Unfortunatly I am guilty of suffering some of the issues you posted during a trip to Death Valley. it wasent fun.

  I will practice some of the tips and see how it works out next week on my vacation up 395 to the Bodie area etc.

  Thanks.

[greg]

Ha ha very funny, hot in summer indeed. Come and try the UK.

[apache]

Seriously though? hows the weather there? always was under the impression it was foggy a lot. Musta watched to many sherlock holmes movies, ha,ha.

[greg]

Well today has actually been fantastic today, but in general is variable, lately alot of dull grey sky with the occasional spot of sun, not much rain. What the hell, I am moving to Italy, Salento, as soon as my house is sold. I can tell, somehow, that the weather there will be considerably more agreeable and consistent.

[apache]

Hum Italy???? sounds interesting. Being Im a half italian/sweed I hope to someday go there. Maybe I can dig up some relatives. Consistency..... wish I could say that for here. had to work today. A typical day here in summer is leave house@65, ride 15 miles and hit a massive fog bank near raining for the next 20 miles. Leave to go home, still 55 degrees and foggy, ride 5 miles hit sun and 40 mph cross winds for 1 mile, then the bottom of the cuesta grade its typically 100+ for the return ride. I need to invent a heated/air conditioned suit. 8)

[waltconrad]

I'ts cooled down to a balmy 100F here in S  NV,115 is about normal in summer. I ride all summer in mesh.i have a vest filled with gel beads that swells up after soaking for 24 hours.It protects you from the giant blow drier effect and evaporates water.At minmum you should ride with a soaked Tshirt under the mesh jacket,soaking your head is good,whole body better. I stop every 1/2 hour and nip inside for a mixed drink,1/2 water and 1/2 lemonaid or fruit drink . I cooled of at the Paiute resevation casino /fireworks /smokeshop/liqourstore yesterday. I wish to Christ someone would have taken me there when i was a kid, I'd have thought i'd died and gone to heaven. The fireworks are divided up into sections,mortars,artillery,rockets,flares.I wouldn't have been suprized to find Osama working the counter.I got a nice green and red stone arrowhead as long as my index finger. Whoever carved it  did a masterful job, he was probably thinking about whitey wilst he was napping it. Where else can you get an ancient masterwork of art for $5 , cool off and rehydrate at the same time?