[fenix]

The past 2 days riding home from work, have been horrible @ 330-430pm. It takes me an hour to ride home. It's like an oven out there. I stay in NC sandhills area and it's been hot and humid. Right now there's been record setting heat here (according to wral news it's hit 104 where I stay.)

Now, I've just got my bike, so I don't have all the 'proper' gear just yet. Pretty much just the helmet and gloves and boots.

Day 1 I wore a thin jacket to work in the morning, and had to wear it in the heat cause I didn't have anywhere to put it.

Day 2 I got a bag to put the jacket in, but the heat is still bad. I would think going 55-60 with just a cotton tee would keep me cool, but it didn't. Still pretty bad.

Anyway, I'm gonna be taking a trip tommorrow, to my parents place. About an hour and half ride.

Only thing open right now is Walmart. So far, I put a Camelback on my list. Any other things that I can get for a temp fix till I get some real gear?

 

[nb_mitch]

You need a proper jacket to protect you when sh*t happens. And it will happen. Really, if you think it is hot in a t-shirt, then you shouldn't be riding. There are good jackets that provide proper protection on the key areas and are still vented well.

The best thing is to keep moving. I would always take a longer path that had fewer stop lights, congestion, etc. The more you keep the bike moving, the less the heat will affect you.

I recently totaled my Triumph and basically walked away with very little damage. My knee was the biggest damage, because I was wearing jeans instead of my protective pants. I only wore my protective pants when I was going to ride aggressively, not anymore, I will be fully geared up or I will not ride.

 

[Matao87]

I find a mesh jacket the best option for 90+ degree days. They are usually fairly inexpensive. I got one on clearance for under $30 from Jafrum this spring.

 

[TX_Dj]

Your body temp is 98.6F.

If the air is 98.6F, your ride will feel hot.

If the air is more, you will feel like someone is pointing a blast furnace at you.

Faster into air that is hotter than you does not cool you down, it warms you.

Your body starts to sweat like crazy, and regardless of humidity level, that does evaporate rather quickly. But... if all the evaporation can do is cool the 104F (40C) to 100F (~38C), you still don't feel much of a cooling effect.

I ride in 100F+ weather all summer long. The key is hydration, ventilation, route planning, avoiding unnecessary stops (i.e. if a right turn - u-turn - right turn gets you back on your path sooner than waiting for a light, take it), and more than anything, increasing your tolerance level for the heat.

I feel your pain, but overall you need to wear gear to be safe if you have a crash, some gear is better ventilated than others, drink lots of water before and after your ride (note, I didn't say coke, gatorade, vitamin water... i said WATER, your body needs that sh**).

Other helpful things are to soak your t-shirt in water before you go out, or get a "cooling vest" (which is more or less the same concept). Both will add more water to the evaporation process, which means more cooling effect to be had with less dehydration, but the effect is limited by many factors.


I can't take the cold. I bundle up like crazy when the temp starts dropping. But heat? That's my world. Everyone is different. If you want to ride, you have to adapt. That's why I'm one of the few people in Texas that own a full bib snowmobile suit... cuz I still manage to sweat my arse off in 17F weather while riding with it on.

 

[garblicks]

It was 102 today riding home in full gear. I coulda took the hwy but in my city I'd get run over going 75mph and thats as fast I'll go on the bike. Man I was sweating bullets. One thing I'm gonna get it a camel back I'ma get the 70 oz one soon. You need mesh for the summer and gear that's breathable you still gonna be hot during that time of day no way around it

 

[Matao87]

A guy on youtube made a pretty convincing argument for riding without full gear in very hot and humid climates. The sum of it was, the full gear may protect you in a crash, but how much more likely are you to crash when distracted/exhausted by the heat? Are you less likely to crash keeping cooler in t-shirt and shorts? It was a very interesting point of view...

 

[TX_Dj]

My summer street gear got destroyed by rodents in storage... Until last week, I'd been riding in textile overpants and my late fall/early spring leather jacket and a piss-poor ventilating black helmet.

Heat will make you do stupid things. No doubt about it.

Mesh gear isn't much warmer than no gear in summer, and heat is really no excuse, imho.

It's kinda like saying you won't wear a seatbelt because the AC in teh car is broke, and when the windows are rolled down the seatbelt distracts you while flapping in the wind or something... I dunno, maybe.

 

[Slayer]

Forget about being comfortable at 100-plus degrees for more than a few minutes. Especially if sun is overhead. Best is to use a soaked, long sleeve t-shirt under a mesh jacket. Still, it will dry and/or heat pretty quickly. My cooling vest was a waste of $40. The front dries within minutes but not the back, leaving you with a mass of hot, damp fabric on your back. Gloves take on a new importance when they are needed just to touch the red-hot front brake and clutch if you left the bike in the sun.

I live in Phoenix, so count yourself lucky if it's only 103. Even with humidity that's better than 113, which of course is the shade temperature. It has been over 110 for several days this week. Im a desert rat and I have no problem bicycling and hiking in the late afternoon when it's over 110 because I sweat way more than when on the cbr doing, by comparison, very little physical activity. Motorcycling becomes less desirable for me in extreme heat because of that.

The low will be 88 here for the next few days, so mornings aren't a huge reprieve. Best is to head to the high country when possible. Second best is to hunker down and just learn to tolerate it till fall.

 

[trainwreck8391]

I'm guilty of not wearing my jacket in in the heat. In fact I wear Jordan shorts and a cut off a lot of time. I always wear my lid though.

 

[TX_Dj]

Funny... just saw this from a FB friend:

 

[katedwolf]

It was 102 here today and 99 or above for a week and counting. I ride with all the gear. Wet my Buff for the head and wet coolmax top under the jacket. The heat from the engine on the shins and feet is a bitch. Stop lights are hell so I time the ride to slow down and try not to stop.
Hydrate, H2O, before and during if it is longer than 30 minutes on the ride.

 

[roberthood]

For a jacket..I wear the Speed and Strength-Project CBR..textile jacket. It has zipper vents in the arms and back..they work great for hot days! One thing though..if you open the arms up, open the back too..if not the air will float around your arms and make your sleeves puff up..if you open the back with the arms..the air coming in will escape through the back vents and all will be good. It's a great jacket for around $150.00

 

[lolhahaha]

****, that weather sucks. It's great here in San Diego. 70-80 and the 80 is inland away from the coast a few miles. Been riding my ass off the past few days and have 1K Miles already since last week.

 

[Conundrum]

A guy on youtube made a pretty convincing argument for riding without full gear in very hot and humid climates. The sum of it was, the full gear may protect you in a crash, but how much more likely are you to crash when distracted/exhausted by the heat? Are you less likely to crash keeping cooler in t-shirt and shorts? It was a very interesting point of view...

imo, if it is too hot to ride with gear, then it is too hot to ride period. Only the rider can decide what that temperature/conditions are, as everyone's tolerance is different.

Also, I've read before that in really hot conditions, a full textile might actually be cooler than a mesh. I think this has to do with the fact that the air is hotter than your body temp, and it strips away any sweat causing you to overheat (think convection oven). If you have on a full textile, the air pocket within it helps prevent this evaporation from happening as quickly. Again don't quote me on this, I'm no scientist/medical professional -- I just play one on tv/at kid's birthday parties .

 

[Wynne G Oldman]

Perhaps you should try this approach?

 

[Empty Sea]

There's a post someplace in this forum, and I think TxDJ was alluding to the same idea, that when it is hotter than your body temp and you are moving, you are better off being completely covered..vents closed. I gather that the theory is that extremely hot air moving over your body is like a blow dryer, drying your perspiration faster than it can cool you off. Keeping the hot air off your skin would allow your body to better cool itself. So far, I haven't had to test this theory, but it's probably worth a try. Just stay hydrated. Good luck!

 

[MotoMike]

There's a post someplace in this forum, and I think TxDJ was alluding to the same idea, that when it is hotter than your body temp and you are moving, you are better off being completely covered..vents closed. I gather that the theory is that extremely hot air moving over your body is like a blow dryer, drying your perspiration faster than it can cool you off. Keeping the hot air off your skin would allow your body to better cool itself. So far, I haven't had to test this theory, but it's probably worth a try. Just stay hydrated. Good luck!

I believe this theory to be true in practice, particularly in a dry climate with very little humidity. And staying hydrated cannot be stressed enough... the latest and greatest high tech riding gear won't compensate for lack of proper hydration.

 

[LD CBR]

There's a post someplace in this forum, and I think TxDJ was alluding to the same idea, that when it is hotter than your body temp and you are moving, you are better off being completely covered..vents closed. I gather that the theory is that extremely hot air moving over your body is like a blow dryer, drying your perspiration faster than it can cool you off. Keeping the hot air off your skin would allow your body to better cool itself. So far, I haven't had to test this theory, but it's probably worth a try. Just stay hydrated. Good luck!

Try this. It works.

Mesh gear and soaking your t-shirt will work for a short time but it won't last very long when it's this hot. If you're riding at high speeds and longer distances, cover up completely. And of course, stay hydrated.

 

[Jaymann250]

Lol! I live in Texas and the heat here is no joke! But I'd rather
Deal with the heat and wear my gear vs taking a chance
Without it.


Ride safe my friends!

 

[Wynne G Oldman]

A guy I used to know when he was working in Australia, used to jump into a river halfway to work, to keep himself cool. He was dry by the time he got to work.