Riding suits and weather

[jukka71]

Hi guys!

Came just from Cyprus, Mediterranean, and we got 100F degrees during the hole week. Didn?t see many riders, but the thought to wear the riding suit and boots in that weather...

Happy to be back to Finland with 69F

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jukka, when it gets up above about 95F I wear my riding suit on the road, but not in town. Extended riding in 100F+ will dehydrate you pretty quickly, at least in my experience.

 

[Warren]

I wear all my gear even in town. We broke a record at 113F earlier in the summer and it was hot in the gear but it would have been hot without it as well. Fortunately my commute is less than 45 minutes.

 

[charlie b]

Wearing full gear when it is hot isn't that bad as long as you keep moving. It is not but bearable up to 100F. Above that you have to manage the heat, just as if you were working outside in it. Heatstroke is nothing to sneeze at. Have had it once and it is not fun. Stop often so you can cool down. Drink water. Other 'tricks' depend on what the humidity and temp are.

When you are stopped in traffic the heat from pavement, other cars, and lack of air movement makes even 90 deg difficult to stand. I stash my jacket in those conditions. Then put it back on when about to hit the highway.

 

[Dee G]

I hate wearing the gear when its above 95F, but.....

The nice thing is, with all the vents open on the Roadcrafter, with the sweat that was oozing out the pores while I sit at the stop light, I become my own, personal evap machine when I start rolling again. hehehe

 

[Phil Tarman]

Dee, I think the hottest I've ever ridden in was on the dry side of the Cascades. Seems like it was 113F near Othello. Drank lots of water that day!

 

[jukka71]

We got 72F in the morning and it was a pleasure to ride to work

 

[docta]

Here at the Retirement Home, we switch over to armored mesh gear when it gets much above 80 degrees, but then everyone's idea of what hot and what's not varies quite a bit......noticed the same thing on the other end of the temperature spectrum during my snowmobiling days in northern Minnesota many years ago......

TW

 

[Phil Tarman]

In all the various discussions we've had about how to stay cool when riding in the heat, I've alluded to an article in the Iron Butt Magazine. I kept creditiing that to Rear Admiral (ret) Don Arthur, the former Surgeon General of the US Navy (still don't know why the Navy has a Surgeon General instead of a Surgeon Admiral, but that's irrelevant).

I was wrong about the author of the article. It's still a great article and here's a link to the article written by Tom Austin, the IBA's chief technical advisor:

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