Beat the Heat!

An important skill is (believe it or not) keeping cool in the summer! That's right, it seems simple but we often forget that HYPERthermia is a serious problem for riders.

What is hyperthermia? From our friends at www.medicinenet.com:

"Hyperthermia is overheating of the body. The word is made up of "hyper" (high) + "thermia" from the Greek word "thermes" (heat). Hyperthermia is literally high heat. There are a variety of heat-related illnesses, including heat stroke and heat exhaustion. Other heat-related health problems include heat cramps, heat rash and sunburn."

Hyperthermia and Heat Related Illness Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention on MedicineNet.com

Basically it means you start getting cooked. Fundamentally your body cools itself by sweating--it's evaporative cooling. The problem for riders is, if you start sweating you're steaming water out of the system; if you don't pour water into the system then you run out of water in your body, your blood will literally thicken, and then bad, bad things can happen to you. So you know: on a bike, you'll wick away the sweat--that gives you that pleasant cooling sensation--BUT you may not realize YOU ARE SWEATING and YOU NEED TO SWEAT to stay cool.

Do you see the double edged sword here? Riding cools you but also dehydrates you faster. You can end up with HEAT STROKE. Again from our friends at Medicinenet:

"What are the symptoms of heat stroke?

Warning signs of heat stroke vary but may include:

an extremely high body temperature (above 104°F)

red, hot, and moist or dry skin (no sweating)

rapid, strong pulse

throbbing headache

dizziness

nausea

confusion

seizures

unconsciousness"

Note system number 2--NO SWEATING. That's the sign that the system is failing and you're in trouble. Do you see the conundrum? Ride to be cool, but in essence you're speed drying yourself. (Why the rapid pulse and headache? I'm told it is because your blood is thickening and harder to move).

Another big problem is that fact that CONFUSION is a symptom. Yeah, you get stupid or, as we say in motorcycle world, IMPAIRED. You start thinking "I' don't feel good...maybe that double bacon, green chili burrito was a bad idea...I'll ride FASTER, get home SOONER, and get some pepto going..." instead of recognizing you've got a serious, serious problem. How serious? IV fluids serious. Kidney or liver shut down serious.

You CAN ride in hot weather. Mrs. Crash and I just completed two 280 mile days riding in 90 to 100 degree temps. How? By staying hydrated. A couple of rules to live by if you're riding in the heat:

1. UNDERSTAND YOU'RE IN DANGER. Simply 'toughing it out' isn't a option. Just like you should realize that the only cars on the road at 3:30am on a Saturday morning are people going to bad jobs, cops and drunks should heighten your awareness; you should say--it's gonna be HOT and plan accordingly. Riding on a 97 degree day IS NOT the same as riding on an 78 degree one.

2. ACT LIKE YOU'RE IN DANGER. Stop hourly. Re-hydrate. Yeah, you may not be thirsty but get 12 or 16 ounces of water down you at each stop. FORCE yourself. Remember: one of the symptoms of Heat Stroke is nausea. IF you see hot and sick? YOU ARE HOT AND SICK. Stop often and hydrate. Drink a low sugar sports drink every couple of stops. You wouldn't set out across Nevada without a full tank of gas--keep your internal radiator topped off.

3. Wear some gear but remember what's going on. Mesh is nice but remember, that cooling breeze is also a DRYING breeze. If you're wearing vented gear? Same deal. Gear will help with SUNBURN as it protects you from UVs. It will also slow evaporation but you don't want to cook in your gear. Use the vents. AND if you're riding in a t-shirt and vest? You're bleeding water so act like it. (See suggestion 2).

4. Wear sunscreen. On your face. Under your chin. On the back of your neck. The reflected energy off the road (or your shiny bike) can blister you as well as the direct energy of the sun.

5. Use cooling aids--like a water soaked bandanna on the back of your neck; notice how quickly it dries and remember that's what is happening to YOU. I've used gel filled cooling rags and really like them. They cover the back of your neck and cool at the same time. Also, once they stop offering comfort it's a good sign to stop and reload.

6. Know when the teeth of the day are. When is it hottest? I've always found 4 to 6pm to be where the real heat is. Consider parking it up during the hottest hours.

7. Are you taking pee breaks? When was the last time you urinated? Yea, a full bladder means you have H20 to spare—once you notice “I haven’t peed all day” you’ve noticed a key indicator that your body no longer has a reservoir of water, it’s all going out through your pores and not your bladder. You should be drinking AND peeing.

Remember, over heating is a serious and dangerous problem. It impairs you. An impaired person makes bad decisions. THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS THIS: Solve the problem before it becomes a problem. Be proactive not reactive. Hydrate. Cover up as you can. Stay out of the teeth of the heat. Be wise.

Be Safe!
__________________
Yup. That Capt Crash (Written entirely by Capt. Crash, reposted here by me)

In the nice cool shade on my tool box.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ya'll can come up here whenever you please. Chilly 73 today but suppose to be a blistering 95 by the end of the week. I haven't seen it that hot since last year when I was climbing around Enchanted Rock.

There is a reason that a large portion of IBA riders wear LD Comfort...

LDComfort undergarments help eliminate layers of clothing on your long rides.
With LDComfort as your base layer, we recommend the following:

A good textile (NOT MESH) jacket that allows you to funnel air up the sleeves when needed. (see below: Hot weather/cooling explanation)
A good pair of textile pants - Something that blocks the wind, but has vents for heat.

How to use the LDComfort Shirt as a cooling device.
The LDComfort long sleeve shirt is a supreme cooling garment for when temperatures rise into triple digits. Crossing arid deserts in 120 degrees is easily accomplished using the LDComfort long sleeve shirt as a cooling garment under a riding jacket. (It is best not to wear mesh in extreme heat. Mesh will let hot air in and allow the cold air to escape.)

Only allow cold air to enter the body of the jacket. You make this cold air by wetting the LDComfort shirt. When you are riding your motorcycle you have 65 mile an hour forced air at your finger tips. Use this to push air up the sleeves and into the jacket. Evaporation happens in the sleeves and this now cold air is funneled into the jacket. The cold air cools the water you have added to the neck, front and back of the LDComfort shirt. You are now wrapped in cool water and can ride like this for a number of miles before you need more cold air. Do not open the vents in the jacket as that will allow the cold air to escape. The only place you need for warm air to escape is the front zipper. Ride in this bubble of cold air and water and avoid the extreme heat on the outside of the jacket.

There can be a 30 degree difference between the inside air and the outside air so be careful you do not run too much air up the sleeves. It is easy to chill yourself when it is only 95 degrees outside. This is the reason you only want to allow air up the sleeves as this is how you can control your temperature.

To summarize: Wet the LDComfort long sleeve shirt; (especially the sleeves) close all vents in the outer jacket; open the sleeves of the jacket at the cuffs; put arm out in the air stream and funnel air up the sleeve and into the jacket; fill the jacket with cold air and ride in comfort. Repeat as needed.

Note: The more air you run up the sleeves the sooner the sleeves will evaporate. Refresh with more water in the sleeves as needed. Remember: The water in the body of the shirt gets cooled by the cool air coming in from the sleeves. The sleeves get cold because of evaporation with water and airflow.

Riding through 120 degrees in the Mojave Desert? No problem.

http://www.ldcomfort.com/productuse.htm


I can't testify to the 120 degree claim in the Mojave Desert, but I can attest to riding in 112-115 degree temps in the Arizona desert while wearing LDC and being MUCH more comfortable than riding without it.

Regarding the comments by Capt Crash to stop every hour or so to have a drink... I personally recommend that you wear a Camelbak or similar so that you can drink as you ride. Even an hour can be too long between hydrations if the temps are very hight.

There is also the Veskimo cooling system if you interested... I just posted up my user review on mine..

http://www.twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74343

Thanks for the reminder El. Good stuff.

I have found great success in filling my simple Camelpak with ice cubes and some water, and wearing it under my vented jacket. It allows me to hydrate on the go, and it pressed by the jacket against my back helps cool my core and cool the blood flow through the aorta. This cooler blood flow in turns reaches the most distant parts of our body. This helped me traverse to and from CO last year July in relative comfort, coupled with regular stops in the shade and refilling with ice out of a cooler or fountain drink dispenser at fuel stations. Btw, my upper body attire are athletic fabric t shirts.

Ive recently coupled this with the Mission Enduracool. Originally a towel, it now also comes in tubeform so you can slip it over head and neck and keep them cool. Even when dried it helps keep the sun off your normally exposed neck, reducing sunburn and heat effect.

Finally. A pair of Sidi sport riding boots a half size larger than normal foot size, worn over moisture wicking hiking socks. Thank you Tourmeister, for the boots and the sock tip.

If you fill your camel back the night before and freeze it, wear it under your jacket and it will keep you cool for quite a while even in summer heat. A trick my Dad taught me is to stick your helmet in the ice cooler when you stop at a convenience store for fuel/bathroom break/snack while out riding. It doesn't last too long, but sure is nice to put back on.

(Thumbs up)

RECIT said:

If you fill your camel back the night before and freeze it, wear it under your jacket and it will keep you cool for quite a while even in summer heat. A trick my Dad taught me is to stick your helmet in the ice cooler when you stop at a convenience store for fuel/bathroom break/snack while out riding. It doesn't last too long, but sure is nice to put back on.

Click to expand...

Don't fill the camelbak completely before freezing it. You still want to have access to the cold fluids.

Before sticking the helmet in the ice cooler, put a little water in there with it so that the foam cools down as well. When I do this I also soak my LD Comfort helmet liner and put it in the cooler as well. The feeling only lasts for about 20 minutes once I'm back on the road, but OH!, does it feel good for that 20 minutes.

I have both evaporative and phase change cooling vests. Evaporative is cheaper and keeps me wet, not always am good thing, but is easily recharged simply by dropping in a Ziploc with water. Phase change is dryer and lasts longer per charge, but requires time in a freezer to recharge.

For those with a few extra minutes, this is a great article put out by the IBA several years ago on this subject. It goes into specifics about heat exchange and fluid requirements.

http://www.ironbutt.com/ibmagazine/ironbutt_1002_62-66_Hot.pdf

The tipping point when speed and wind hurt more than help(at 93 degrees) is lower than I would have thought before reading the article.