Riding in the heat

[s.ga.rider]

I had the idea of wearing gym shirts, boxers and my airglide pants for my 3 week trip. A test ride of 60 miles today showed that

I dont have the airflow I need for a 3 week, 500 mile minimum a day trip. My shorts and boxers were soaked after the 60 miles..... No way that will work work for 3 weeks..... My trip is 2 weeks away.... Help...

Im leaving from south ga, 100 degree temps with 90% humidity.... Yes I know you cant do much with that but today I had sweat running down my legs and other places... haha

 

[s.ga.rider]

I dont wont monkey butt at the start... I have a pair of monke butt shorts( gag gift) and I have monkey but powder...

 

[BigOgre]

LD Comfort. Two pair of shorts + long sleeve shirt of your choice. Use no powder. Wet shirt (sleeves & front) and close front vents on jacket as temps rise. Oh, and a very wet helmet liner at every stop.

 

[flyfisher]

I find the seat beads really help keep the *** drier...enjoy your trip...ff

 

[stose85]

Spandex boxer briefs help keep my backside dry. Cyclegear sells a base layer called heat-out. The shirt feels like you're wearing nothing at all. I also have a cooling vest that you soak in cold water and it lasts about 2 hours. 109F today with the humidity. I feel your pain. Swamp *** is real!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

First, tell us where you are going.

The Ogre is correct about the LD comfort shorts. There are others that will work very well.

It is a fact that the humidity of different sections of the country affect how your gear works. In Swampy Flatlandistan I simply cannot dry out during the heat of summer. I get wet and stay wet. If I try soaking my Tshirt, I wind up smelling like a wet goat's ***. Evaporative cooling does not work when the humidity is 70+%. As you get into the drier portions of the country evaporative cooling will work wonderfully. There is a huge difference between riding in the Gulf States and riding Out West.

 

[LKLD]

Synthetic over cotton for your base layer (aka underwear) and intermediate layer, will help tremendously. Also, very easy to wash and dry in your room, so you don't have to take as much with you. Also, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate with water or Gatorade (electrolytes). Water can be poured over your base-intermediate layers to help with evaporative cooling. In heat, be very cautious of heat stroke, it's no joke!

Enjoy your trip! :thumbsup:

 

[FrankD]

As suggested above, a synthetic base layer designed to move moisture from your skin is the best way to go. There's a bunch of materials engineered specifically for this. The cooling effect is caused by evaporation. With that in mind, I go with long sleeves, long johns, a headsweat beanie, coolmax neck gator and a good pair of wool hiking socks. Pretty much no uncovered skin. Everything fits snuggly to maximize contact with my skin. Sounds counter intuative, but it works. On really hot days, I wet it all down for more evaporation. I've felt "cold" on 110 degree rides.

Granted, high humidity will limit how much evaporation you'll get.

And you'll also get a bunch of second looks at fill-ups (hope you've been doing your core workouts).

 

[escapefjrtist]

LD Comfort tights and long sleeve shirt regardless of the outside temps.

Flat just works...

--G

 

[Fontanaman]

I suggest an evaporative cooling vest.

 

[garyahouse]

The problem is not the wrong clothes, it's a combination of no airflow and nothing to cool you off. A veskimo will end your problems, but they're pricey. Alternative? I put a set of Baker air wings (fairly cheap actually) on my bike. I hung them off the mirror stalks: air wings on top and my driving lights on the bottom. They bring just enough air in to cool me off fairly well. Of course that doesn't help much in the desert with temperatures hovering near 115, but here in rotten, humid Florida, it makes quite a difference. Half the time I just have one air wing pointing at me, it's plenty of air.

But then again, if you simply ride a little faster, you'll get more air flow: simple physics:

Gary

darksider #44

 

[900gc]

As suggested above, a synthetic base layer designed to move moisture from your skin is the best way to go. There's a bunch of materials engineered specifically for this. The cooling effect is caused by evaporation. With that in mind, I go with long sleeves, long johns, a headsweat beanie, coolmax neck gator and a good pair of wool hiking socks. Pretty much no uncovered skin. Everything fits snuggly to maximize contact with my skin. Sounds counter intuative, but it works. On really hot days, I wet it all down for more evaporation. I've felt "cold" on 110 degree rides.
Granted, high humidity will limit how much evaporation you'll get.

And you'll also get a bunch of second looks at fill-ups (hope you've been doing your core workouts).

Yep, tech base layers (Outlast for one is nice) Airwings and a shorty windshield.

 

[PhilJet09]

Here are a coule things I confirmed last year out west with several days above 100.

1. No cotton, anywhere. This means underware, socks, etc. High performance synthetics are your friend. They remove moisture efficiently and keep you cooler.

2. No exposed skin, anywhere. My jacket sleeve rode up a bit crossing the Mojave, it was the worst sunburn I got...1/2" on my wrist.

3. Cooling vest when it's really hot, worn under a mesh jacket.

4. Mid 90's and above it becomes a matter of insulating yourself from the hot blast of air. Crossing the desert in 115 degrees, I wore LD underware only under my non-mesh riding pants. Under armor t-shirt with cooling vest and mesh jacket up top. Keeping my helmet visor closed was more comfortable than open.

5. Drink lots of water, often.

 

[redneckj]

I suggest an evaporative cooling vest.

I agree 100% with this. Last year on the way back to WA from Spearfish I wore a evaporative vest for the first time. I was absolutely amazed how good it worked. I just wore a white cotton Tshirt then the vest and a mesh jacket. AWESOME

 

[SacramentoMike]

Sad fact, but when it's hot enough, more air doesn't help much. Take a hair dryer, set it on high, and aim it at your face. Cooling? Not much. I haven't ridden much in really high humidity, but around here, those cooling vests and the LD Comfort sleeves and cap are great.

And the last 150,000 miles I've done have ALL been on a Bead Rider. People don't believe they'll be comfortable because the beads are hard, but they just sink down into the seat at the points where your weight is on them, so you literally don't feel them. They do NOT press into your skin like people think they would. (Or like I suppose they would if you laid the thing out on a wooden chair.) But what they do do is let air flow under you so you're not sitting there in your sweat--at least not nearly as much. You don't feel the wind under you, but you'll feel the difference. It took me the first two or three days of a long trip to decide for sure, but ever since then, I would not ride without them. (BTW, in the rain, they keep you from sitting in a puddle of water. That's pretty nice too.)

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I wear conventional boxer briefs. Never ever wear jeans unless it's winter. Taclite 5.11's are much cooler and much less restrictive in the riding position. Whenever I can, my shirt (where most major/evaporative cooling happens, as your arms and torso are more exposed) is full synthetic- underarmor of some sort or something similar. On an all day ride, I do stand from time to time, as much for blood flow and airing out as for any other reason. I couldn't stand to sit in a chair all day without standing up and stretching periodically, no different on a bike. Side note- When you've inadvertently cross contaminated yourself after teaching an OC (pepper spray) qualification class (during the post-class urinal visit), and that stuff wakes up from the heat and moisture naturally occurring during the ride home, it puts all other heat related issues in perspective.

 

[FJReady]

You're gonna sweat, key is getting the moisture off the skin. Getting it out of your clothes requires air flow and the result is evaporative cooling.

I have LD comfort shorts. Over those go some thin hiking pants made of that hi-tech wicking stuff. Shirt is long sleeve Cool-Max of other polyester material. No cotton anywhere. Socks always Smart Wool. My Jacket and pants are Motoport mesh Kevlar which flows a lot of air.

I did this before I had the Kevlar gear too. Works just as well with the typical mesh gear too. Key is airflow.

When its really hot, I'll dump some water on my shirt to promote the evaporation.

I've never used a bead-rider. May try that to help the air flow in the downstairs region.

 

[Madmudder]

LD Comfort. Two pair of shorts + long sleeve shirt of your choice. Use no powder. Wet shirt (sleeves & front) and close front vents on jacket as temps rise. Oh, and a very wet helmet liner at every stop.

+1

 

[Uncle Hud]

Seems like a theme is developing here, and I agree with it: airflow and evaporation of your sweat.

1) Open strategic suit vents (or wear mesh gear) for good airflow, and

2) Wear a thin, synthetic layer to pull sweat away from your skin and help evaporation.

One last suggestion: stop at the larger convenience stores and look for their walk-in beer coolers. The larger stores have these, and usually there's a stack of boxes that make a great seat. A five-minute beer cave visit will lower your core temp dramatically. Store staff is usually amused that you're chilling in their chiller.