When is too hot

[Phil Tarman]

Tar snakes don't usually bother me much. You do slip a bit on them, but when you slip, you usually slip off them and then regain traction. UT-12 from Torrey to Bryce Canyon (one of the great roads in the west, BTW) has a bunch of them as you go over the mountain south of Boulder (can't remember the name of the mountain right now -- it may be Boulder Mtn). When you hit those tar snakes, you just slip sideways a few inches and you're good to keep going.

 

[Brillot2000]

Tar snakes don't usually bother me much. You do slip a bit on them, but when you slip, you usually slip off them and then regain traction. UT-12 from Torrey to Bryce Canyon (one of the great roads in the west, BTW) has a bunch of them as you go over the mountain south of Boulder (can't remember the name of the mountain right now -- it may be Boulder Mtn). When you hit those tar snakes, you just slip sideways a few inches and you're good to keep going.

I experienced the "Tar Snake Shuttle" on a warm day outside of Santa Paula on S. Mountain Rd during a turn. It was not a pleasing sensation, to say the least. It felt like getting a flat rear tire. Just up the road, I saw a Harley ride pull off the road inspect his bike.

 

[Macka]

TPMS is a great add-on if you run into this often.

I had a particular set of tires that used to catch the pavement grooves in the freeway. It had that same feeling of having a flat tire. Twice, I pulled off the freeway to inspect my tires. I eventually got rid of the tires. TPMS would've helped a lot and saved that anxiety.

Chris

I have been using TPMS on both bikes for a couple of years now.
After getting caught out with a flat rear tyre I fitted one to the NT straight away.
Twice since then it has warned me of a deflating tyre and allowed me to top it up to get me to a safer place where it could be repaired.
Without it I would have ended up with a flat tyre and unrideable bike many km from the nearest town as I would not have known until too late.
I will never be without it again.

Macka

 

[Miairhead]

Wow it hot and humid. I not been riding much, (wife just got a nice new Hip). I wonder if she was not using a walker, if I would of found another excuse not to ride. I hate heat more the cold, even with good riding gear it is still hard on this old man. Michigan went from winter to heat, not much spring and lots of rain. I cancelled a ride to BMWRA in PA on the 18th, figure I get one in August instead. Always a nice trip to Wheels perhaps.

 

[mikesim]

Never too hot, just stay hydrated and keep moving. Y'all who live in arid areas are lucky though with cooling vests and misters. They do nothing in our humidity.

Mike

 

[NoNTnow]

Never too hot, just stay hydrated and keep moving.

Commute in Atlanta and see how well that works out...:rolleyes1: :wink: Before I retired there were a lot of "nice" days the bike sat and I drove to work. My desire for comfort, as in nice cold A/C, greatly exceeds my desire to be considered a hard core biker. I'd rather be a cool "cager" than a hot "biker"...

 

[Phil Tarman]

It was 113F when I rode across I-8 and I-10 on the Epic Ride. LD Comfort underwear, a 'Stitch with ALL the vents closed and water inside me and up the 'Stitch sleeves and on my chest worked there. When I rode to Key West a couple of weeks later, it was 104F and I rode at slower speeds (40-45mph compared to 75-85mph) and I was just plain hot. I drank lots of water and stopped halfway back to Florida City and ate and drank lots and lots of while doing that.

It's been in the mid-90s here in Greeley lately and I don't need to ride.

 

[Miairhead]

On a trip I will ride in almost any weather, but home I tend now to choose rides that are not too hot or too cold. I do not like to ride at dusk or dawn around home unless it is leaving or returning from a trip (just too many creatures about).

 

[Macka]

On a trip I will ride in almost any weather, but home I tend now to choose rides that are not too hot or too cold. I do not like to ride at dusk or dawn around home unless it is leaving or returning from a trip (just too many creatures about).

I thought that you guys in the US had to deal with "critters" not creatures, or is that just in the Southern States.

Macka

 

[mikesim]

I thought that you guys in the US had to deal with "critters" not creatures, or is that just in the Southern States.

Macka

Yes, Yankee's have "creatures", we have "critters"..... they hurt the same when you hit 'em.

:wink:

Mike

 

[mikesim]

Commute in Atlanta and see how well that works out...:rolleyes1: :wink: Before I retired there were a lot of "nice" days the bike sat and I drove to work. My desire for comfort, as in nice cold A/C, greatly exceeds my desire to be considered a hard core biker. I'd rather be a cool "cager" than a hot "biker"...

The temps in Atlanta aren't really any hotter or more humid than St. Louis.... the traffic on the other hand... sheeesh!

Mike

 

[Thumpn]

It was 93 in northern KY yesterday, and I rode the bike to do some errands. While I was moving it was not too bad, and some of the valleys along creeks felt pretty pleasant. The hard part was stopping at the traffic lights, and in the asphalt parking lots as I was putting on or taking off my helmet/jacket/gloves. It was really hard getting my jacket sleeves on or off when I was soaked with sweat.....my arms would stick to the jacket lining.

I do need to get a mesh jacket for summer riding. My jacket has air vents that work pretty good when you are moving - but it is too hot when there is no air flow.

A wet towel around my neck just doesn't help when the humidity is up over 70%.....all it does is make you wet.

The 5:30 AM ride to work this morning was nice - the ride home won't be as we will be hitting 90 again today.

 

[Miairhead]

Looks like Michigan will have 3 days of under 90 and dew point in 70's to ride for the next week. I do not remember summer this hot and humid in years. Of course I can not remember if I brushed my teeth this morning either. Now a days the only thing I remember is stopping to use the rest room. Old age is not for sissies. I finally know what my Grandfather said, how in the hell did I get old so fast.

 

[NoNTnow]

the traffic on the other hand... sheeesh!

We don't have traffic in Atlanta, we have Federally numbered parking "strips"...I-20, I-75, I-85, I-285, US-41 and a bunch of State numbered ones as well....:rolleyes1: Not having to commute in this mess is one of the biggest advantages to being retired...:smile:

 

[Brillot2000]

I wanted to let you all know that it was 118°F (47.8°C) when I got home Friday afternoon after work. I started out in Simi Valley, CA at 112°F (44.4°C). The humidity was in the single digits. I normally ride with my visor crack open a bit, that day the air was so hot that is actually hurt when it came into contact with my face. So I had to keep it closed most of the way.

I wear mesh ATGATT and was comfortable as long as I was moving. The gear helped shield my skin from direct sunlight, which reduced the amount I sweat and helped to regulate my body's temperature. Once I finally got off the bike in the garage, my back was noticeably wet, not soaked. I pealed everything off ASAP and headed into the house to cool down. The indoor ambient temperature was 84°, however, the A/C was set at 78° and was not able to keep up with the demand.

 

[Coyote Chris]

I wanted to let you all know that it was 118°F (47.8°C) when I got home Friday afternoon after work. I started out in Simi Valley, CA at 112°F (44.4°C). The humidity was in the single digits. I normally ride with my visor crack open a bit, that day the air was so hot that is actually hurt when it came into contact with my face. So I had to keep it closed most of the way.

I wear mesh ATGATT and was comfortable as long as I was moving. The gear helped shield my skin from direct sunlight, which reduced the amount I sweat and helped to regulate my body's temperature. Once I finally got off the bike in the garage, my back was noticeably wet, not soaked. I pealed everything off ASAP and headed into the house to cool down. The indoor ambient temperature was 84°, however, the A/C was set at 78° and was not able to keep up with the demand.

Ouch. I hate riding above 90. When I lived in the mid west and was touring, I would get up before the sun and find an airconditioned motel about 1pm. Spokane has about 19 days of 90 or above as an average, but at least it cools off at night. Love my mesh gear...

 

[Macka]

Global Warming doing it's best to ensure that we (or at least some of us) notice!
I guess that you have seen the reports of the massive flooding in Japan (my wife is Japanese and we go there every year).
Amazing amounts of rain. Four times the monthly average in three days. Almost the entire Western half of Japan is under water.
The last I saw was more than 100 dead and 70 missing. We have friends affected but no loss of life, fortunately.
The oceans are warming too quickly which increases the amount of evaporation and therefore the volume of water in the typhoons.
You guys have seen it in your hurricanes recently. Flooding like we have never seen before in Europe too.
The world is becoming a scary place, we don't need wars, nature is more than scary enough.

Macka

 

[Sojourner]

We're actually still in an ice age.
https://www.prageru.com/videos/what-they-havent-told-you-about-climate-change

We also need to remember 2 key things:
1) Because of the easy transfer of information these days, news is over-abundant, and travels fast. It used to be we didn't hear much about disasters that happened elsewhere. It's not that natural disasters are more prevalent, they're just more reported.
2) Because the population of the earth is growing, and the standard of living is increasing around the world, building has increased, and therefore damage increases. More buildings and villages are affected, where so many disasters happened in sparsely-populated or unpopulated areas. Now there are fewer and fewer sparsely-populated areas.