Hot weather riding tips please...

[Teachme]

Hey guys we decided to head to the beach. The wife brought her car as did the daughter and i brought the scoot. Of course its 99 degrees all the way down with a heat index of 104. I kept lots of water and stopped every 60 miles. Now Saturday we are heading home leaving out at 10 am there is a chance of tropical storm ( please rain please rain ) but if not i need some hot weather riding tips from some of you more hard core riders. When the cooling fan cut on i thought i was gonna catch fire.

[VARider07]

I live in Virginia Beach. I have ridden all day when it was 95. I wear a long sleeve turtle neck so I don't fry. Might wear a wet bandana and re-wet when you stop. 'Course you'll need to drink water, lots. Give yerself a break and hit a nice, ice cold fast food joint. Have ice cream. Take your time. Enjoy the ride. ( You do have good, fresh sun screen for your face, right?)

[cactusjack]

I know a little bit about riding in the heat. It's 106° here in Gilbert AZ right now.

Start early and finish early. I try to be off the bike by about 2:00pm, that's going into the hottest part of the day.

Drink lots of water - lots of it. Soda, beer, coffee are diuretics and can speed the dehydration process. Peeing is good. Not peeing means you are getting dehydrated and it's stressing your kidneys.

Cover up. It sounds counter intuitive, but keep the direct sun off your skin as much as possible. wear a long sleeve shirt or jacket. You see landscapers, roofers, and street workers working outdoors in all kinds of heat, the smart ones wear long sleeved shirts and hats that cover the back of their heads and neck.

I've ridden when it's 119 and nothing makes that any more comfortable..

[Teachme]

Thanks guys going to look for a jacket and maybe workout pants. Rode down shorts and a tee shirt. Was a long hot ride. The scoot did good.

[HwyRider]

We do a lot of riding with the heat in the 90's with high humidity in the summer. I wear a long sleeve shirt and carry a jacket. I keep cutoff gloves (no fingers) in the saddlebag in case the hands start getting wet.

[id-man]

I picked up some cooling sleeves from a sports store - not these exact ones but the idea is the same, keep the sun off and air passes through. If you wet them the wind makes them very cool for a few minutes. Between these and my evaporative cooling bandanas I can survive a pretty hot stint on the road.

[recumbentbob]

I wear a camelbak it holds 2 liters of water i would recommend one.

[Vulcan Bill]

Another Arizona desert rider offering two options for hot weather riding.
Option 1. Don't. Take the air conditioned car!
Option 2. If you must, a lot of good info already posted. I'll emphasize a few. Carry water with you and DRINK IT. If you don't have a bottle holder mounted on your handlebars get one. A very light long sleeve shirt will keep you cooler than a short sleeve. Chap stick is good idea for hot weather.

[rolfe]

The last few years down here have been 105 degree days and that does not include sitting on hot asphalt in traffic waiting for a light.

A well ventilated helmet helps, sunscreen, white long sleeve shirt.

Hydrate yourself , be mentally prepared for extreme hot weather riding.

Remember you will get excessive sun exposure even in the early morning hours.

Ive know several people who rode hours in 100 plus degree weather to have lunch and then turned around and headed home. I asked them how could the stand the heat - they told me before starting back they would stop and buy a 10lb bag of ice and put it between them.

Have a Great Time and Ride Comfortable

[baggerbob]

Let's not forget that 100* in the south and 100* else where are two different things...little thing called humidity boys....

[ldhthept]

A well ventilated white or lighter colored helmet also helps.

[desertdog]

Drink some gatoraide also. You need that in addition to water, as you lose alot of electrolites when you sweat. If you start to get a headache when you have been riding for awhile its a possible indicator that you are getting dehydrated. Find a place to cool off, and re hydrate. Also start to hydrate the day before the ride. Drink extra fluids so your body has time to store up. If you are getting thirsty on the ride, you are already experiencing the first stages of dehydration, up your fluid intake.

[darksider]

What I like to do is stick a couple bottles of water in the freezer the night before I go riding . Then in the morning wrap them in a towel with a couple from the fridge . The frozen ones keep the others cold as they melt , I always have cold water .

[Teachme]

Thanks for all the tips guys. We left earlier on the way home its amazing the difference the clothes make wore a light lonf sleeve shirt and light pants and had water bottles on hand to drinks and pour over me. 300 miles was a good ride got caught in a down pour 10 minutes from home but i welcomed the rain by then.

[HwyRider]

Glad it worked out. Just knowing what to wear really helps in high temp high humidity riding.