Heat Advisory 5/29

100+ temps are forecast for much of Texas today. Given this has been an extremely cool year so far, please take care. Take lots of water and start drinking them now and get hydrated.

Heat problems can sneak up on you. If you quit sweating or get a headache, you're done.

Riding season is over [emoji15]

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

This was too long for Tricepilot to read back in June of 15, but perhaps worth reposting here?

Since this is Two Wheeled Texans not Two Wheeled Scandinavians and summer is fast coming, I hope this topic is of some interest to forum members.

I just finished the excellent book by Professor Sid Watkins (sadly now deceased) on his days as a the official doctor to Formula One. For those not familiar with him or the program, Sid was an eminent neurosurgeon (and lover of fine scotch) brought in by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to address the badly needed issues of safety and trackside medical care in the series. His work and the work of many others, turned F1 from a very deadly sport to one of comparative safety. Much of his research went beyond crash data and deep into the physiological stresses driving a race car places on the body and brain. He captures a lot of this information in a lengthy appendix and since the conditions between what we do (riding a motorcycle ATGATT) and driving an F1 car with full a Nomex fireproof suit and helmet on seen to have many parallels I thought it would be interesting to distill some of his studies here. Some of this information seems obvious, however much is contrary to what one would expect.

Professor Sid's early work was actually for the British Army in West Africa where he tested and analyzed subjects for the physiological effects of heat inside armored vehicles. This information closely translated into his later work with the F1 drivers.

Heart Rates in General
Your maximum heart rate is largely determined by your age and is roughly calculated to be 220 minus minus that sum. Therefore a 50 year old subject will have a maximum HR of 170. Supreme athletes can raise that slightly but genetics really rules the roost here.

Although heart rate is generally thought to increase due to exercise, other factors have large influences too. These include stress, pressure to compete or succeed, fear and anger, G-forces and general vibration and body temperature.

Heart Rate & Heat
When working, Watkins found that the heart rate increases 25 beats for every 1 degree elevation in body temperature. So if we say that the body has elevated from 99°F to 103°F a heart rate of 100BPM would have increased to 200BPM, or in the case of our 50 year old example, far beyond his threshold.

Acclimatization
Many of the top drivers studied (including Senna and Keke Rosberg) had grueling heat workout regimes and these did appear to be very successful. Findings included (surprisingly) that acclimatization actually lowered the point at which the body began to produce sweat (enabling more efficient cooling) and also lowered the amount of salts and other nutrients being lost through this sweat.

Dehydration
The maximal rate at which the body can lose fluids was calculated to be about 2 liters per hour, at racing speeds it was recommended that 0.5 to 1.0 liters per hour be consumed to maintain acceptable hydration levels. It was also found that various hydration specialty drinks had no effect on performance and actually in some cases contributed to dehydration by irritating the stomach.

Cognitive Performance
Watkin's initial tests in Africa included work with Morse operators to measure the effects of ambient heat on the mental capabilities of both unacclimatized and acclimatized subjects. I found the results of these tests astounding and of huge relevance to motorcycling.

In the unacclimatized operators at 86°F the failure rate was 12%, at 91°F it was 37% and at 96°F it was as high as 76%. Experiments with similar mental tasks produced very similar results.

For the acclimatized subjects at the same temperatures the rates were 10%, 25% and 50% respectively.

Perhaps most importantly, when physical performance was mapped alongside psychological performance, the latter deteriorated much earlier than the former.

So what can we deduce from all this research? Obviously riding in the heat makes extreme physiological demands on the body, demands that cannot be "man-upped" or obviated through just being tougher. I think the most pertinent point in the research is the loss of judgement due to heat stress, judgement being of prime importance to those of us on 2 wheels. Hydration is critical but so is acclimatization. The couch potato who gets out of the A/C once a week will be at a much higher risk than those who exercise or work regularly in the heat. Although the studies were mostly performed in the mid 80s to mid 90s, energy and hydration drinks appear to still have little if any benefit to hydration beyond plain water.

So, drink lots, keep an eye on your buddies and monitor your own mental condition for signs of confusion or fatigue. Let's stay safe out there in Texas this summer!

Philip,

Thanks for sharing this information. In my oil exploration career we lived in Tunisia, North Africa and I also worked in Libya and Egypt. Most of the seismic field work was done over the fall-winter, but sometimes projects slid into April or even May. The Sahara "Scirocco" patterns would shift, and temperatures could climb during the day into 115 F range, with winds and almost no humidity.

We emphasized hydration rigorously, and also I will endorse that one can acclimate to the heat. Sinus care was crucial also, we used nasal gels and sprays to avoid nosebleeds. Kidney stones can be a byproduct of chronic dehydration, another reason to constantly drink.

Accident rates went way-way up with the heat. The most common were backing vehicles into other objects, and even people, and rolling vehicles on steep slopes. There were a few times big seismic trucks got stuck in sand, we worked to get them out. Best practice was to retrieve stuck trucks at night when temperatures would plummet.

So yeah, I am very careful riding my bikes in summer. I always carry water. I stop at least once an hour to hydrate. The worst is being stuck on a baking road, in the sun, in a traffic jam. Happened to me last summer in Rosenberg, and yeah I about went nuts and stopped to hydrate and clear my mind.

Extended high speed riding in a mesh jacket may feel cool, but your body is being desiccated the entire time. Any air temp over 95F should be approached with caution.

Be careful out there.

Thanks Philip. Good info.

I have to wonder about electrolyte losses if downing only clear water over the course of some time. Gatoraid (yep, U of Florida) came up with the stuff for their athletic teams for this purpose. As a younger fellow the south Texas heat had some effects at times. Doc would have us take salt tablets. I've heard that our tongues lie to our bodies about adequate hydration. That's why Gatoraid has stuff in it to make you drink more than if only water alone. I guess the bottom line is drink stuff and do it a lot.

I am in the habit of looking at the color of my urine . I also took electrolyte tablets a lot when I was welding for a living. I still keep some handy at work now at the co-op

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

During Prof. Sid's research I think electrolyte drinks were in their infancy & he found little real improvement in performance or hydration using them. Modern formulations may differ from that finding.

Gatorade does provide benefits both in electrolyte resupply and water retention. However, if you're doing a quick 30 mins workout the sugar content (which is an integral part of the H2O retention) will probably be greater than the calories burned. But for sustained exertion in hot conditions the benefits are proven.

As with JMZ, I use the color of my urine as a guide to hydration. It's important to remember to hydrate long before commencing the exposure, when cycling I can survive 20+ miles even in 100 degree heat provided I've had enough fluid intake beforehand.

Oh & the salt tablets are the good old osmosis you learned about in grade school. Basically the salt "attracts" the water with is then retained by the body rather than passing into the bladder.

In the unacclimatized operators at 86°F the failure rate was 12%, at 91°F it was 37% and at 96°F it was as high as 76%. Experiments with similar mental tasks produced very similar results.

Click to expand...

I'm 63, my wife isn't. Thought I was gonna commit suicide there didn't ya We find that as we age the temps we quit enjoying riding becomes lower.
90 for us is about the end of summer riding, so we get out in the mornings.

The couch potato who gets out of the A/C once a week will be at a much higher risk than those who exercise or work regularly in the heat.

Click to expand...

This is me. 10 to 14 hour work days, home a/c to car a/c to office a/c to car a/c to home a/c. It hurts.

Although the studies were mostly performed in the mid 80s to mid 90s, energy and hydration drinks appear to still have little if any benefit to hydration beyond plain water.

Click to expand...

Must heartily disagree with this one.
Gatorade mixed 50/50 with water is a wonder drug.
A health store additive called EmergenC will nearly work miracles on folks who might be on the verge of heat exhaustion. It allows time to get to a cooler place and hydrate.

When I was acclimated, working outdoors consistently, about a decade ago, we used to put a lot of time in, outdoors in direct sun in summer temps where ground temps ( 36 inches above ground surface ) were in the 125 to 138 degree range.
Younger people take this better/ longer. Over 50 age group, there's a clock running, no matter how acclimated or hydrated a person is.
For me and my age group, we could count on 6 to 7 hours of un-cooled time before we began feeling the symptoms, of became nauseous.

Hoodcounty said:

Must heartily disagree with this one.
Gatorade mixed 50/50 with water is a wonder drug.
A health store additive called EmergenC will nearly work miracles on folks who might be on the verge of heat exhaustion. It allows time to get to a cooler place and hydrate.

Click to expand...

I qualified this in the OP & above - the study was performed when these types of products were in their infancy. When I started bicycle racing in the 80s, Shaklee was pretty much the beginning and the end of performance & recovery drinks, now there's too many to count.

Good info all around. Clear water verses electrolyte drinks came up as a question in my wilderness advanced first aid class. The answer from the instructors was that the commercially available drinks only make a difference in people who already have a shortage before the heat event. An example would be a rescue of someone stranded in the desert without food.

Lots of water is still the go-to prevention mechanism. Hydrate or dydrate is the word on the river. It's a balmy 104 in Terlingua today, and my non-AC cabin is holding around 94 degrees. Acclimation does help with handling the temperatures. I work and live most of my life outdoors so this is about the extreme for me. When it hits 110 I am in the shade with some water.

JMZ said:

I am in the habit of looking at the color of my urine . I also took electrolyte tablets a lot when I was welding for a living. I still keep some handy at work now at the co-op

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

is blue bad?

Good advice.

I rode early and I rode late and I avoided the middle of the day but I don't think it was as hot as forecast. Looks like a lot of 80s for the next 10 days.

focus frenzy said:

is blue bad?

Click to expand...

Probably not . Might just mean your not getting any .

JMZ said:

I am in the habit of looking at the color of my urine .

Click to expand...

Lucydad said:

Extended high speed riding in a mesh jacket may feel cool, but your body is being desiccated the entire time. Any air temp over 95F should be approached with caution.

Click to expand...

Yep. It was 100+ when I got home yesterday at the end of a 1000+ mile trip. I only wear a full textile jacket and LD Comfort undergarments. If I feel I'm getting too hot I stop and soak the chest and sleeves of my LD Comfort shirt and then use evaporative cooling to keep me comfortable.

On my deployments to Iraq they taught us to drink one quart/liter per hour and ever third hour to drink a electrolyte drink of the same size. Do not just drink water with out consuming foods that contain sodium or other organic salts, because a severe condition called hyponatremia. This happened to a guy I knew on my first deployment that was convinced all he needed was water in the extreme heat.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

I only ride for fun, not necessity, so if it is too hot I just don't ride. Not fun anyway when it gets this hot.

The other option if possible is to go somewhere cooler. My weather station at 9K feet yesterday morning in Cloudcroft showed 48 degrees, and I had to wear a jacket going into town for gas. Put in 150miles of two track and dual sport with a couple other TW Texans and all is right.

I am lucky enough to be close enough to get up there a couple times a month in the summer and that gets me through until it cools off again in Texas.

Friday I rode home from work. I was thinking about complaining about the humidity but as a Floridian in Dallas I try to avoid such things. Besides, it was only 65% and really, it's not bad till it's at least 80%.

Saturday morning I was loading up the truck and about to die. Thought maybe I was becoming more acclimatized finally to North Texas and wimping out. Checked and it was at 95% when I finished loading and climbed higher. I moved here to get away from that crap. Ugh.

Right now it's back to 82F with 41% humidity. I can totally handle this.

Another option instead of up in elevation is riding East Texas forests. You are almost always in the shade. Humitidy is up there but I find riding a tree line path much easier than same temps in the sun.

Like Phillip said earlier, getting used to it really does help. In two months I will think 88 is a cold front.

SL350 said:

Like Phillip said earlier, getting used to it really does help. In two months I will think 88 is a cold front.

Click to expand...

This is true. I recall a few years ago riding home from work and getting a little bit of a chill and looking down and happily seeing 92F on the bike thermometer.

I have a summer jacket that has a pocket for a camel back, I put a ice pack in it when I right in the heat and it keeps it cool.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

Camelbak's are the way to go, dirt or street. I remember street rides where we'd pull in and everyone is headed to get something to drink and I'd be headed to pee.