A ride in the heat

[WestWind]

I went for a home based 5 hour ride yesterday around the Okanagan area of B.C. We can get hot summers here but the air temp gauge on my RT was reading 42 celsius (107 fahrenheit) out on the pavement. The official high temp for the day posted on the weather network site was 39 C (102 f). The forecast is a few more days of this. (No forest fires yet.)

The ride was hot but not as bad as I thought it would be. I had all the gear on with all the ventilation open. When the road left the hillside and went down along the lake for a distance, the few degrees drop in temp was very noticeable and although still hot, seemed much cooler. I want to get one of those evaporative cooling vests. Anyone have experience / recommendations for these? Any other ways to beat the heat (when out riding)?

[Bobmws]

If you are in a relatively low humidity area evaporative cooling works very well. When I crossed the S W desert (115 degrees) last month, I cooled by wetting my shirt and bandanna, and also putting ice in the chest pockets of my Darien jacket. Drink lots of water and sufficient amounts of electrolyte replacing drinks.

[41077]

Be carefull if you choose to hose down at a gas station, check the temp of the water coming out of the hose before drenching yourself. Also be aware if coming into forests or heading toward costal areas, temp drop can be dramatic. Next thing you know you're cold. The last lesson I learned traveling down I-5 then turning west to the coast. 87F on I-5 65F in the forest, we got to the coast still wet.
Avoid ice tea, it's a diaretic.

[RedBeemer]

I have the vest you are talking about and they do work. I found it helps to have water handy to "top off" while riding as the front dries first from wind blast in about a quarter of the time the rest of the vest does.

[BradfordBenn]

I have a neck wrap like that and it works real well. However I just bought a cooling vest, might get tested tomorrow...

[pmdave]

The Aerostich "evapodannna" is a wind triangle that you soak with water and wear over your neck/chin. The trick is to use evaporative cooling over your carotid arteries (the big arteries in your neck running up in front of your ears). Cooling the blood supply to your head helps keep the core temps in check.

Of course, you need to keep it wet. A water bottle in a holder allows you to keep squirting water down your chin.

Trouble is, anything over your face in hot weather looks really dumb--and you have to keep answering dumb questions: "aren't you really hot?"

Enter the evaporative cooling vest, worn under your jacket where no one sees it. Soak it in water, and the evaporating water helps cool down your core. This helps even in very hot weather because evaporation actually sucks heat out of your body. Vented gear simply allows hot ambient air to supply heat to the body. If air temperature is higher than body temperature, you can only absorb heat, not give it off.

One good (and cheap) vest is sold by www.soundrider.com. I wore one today, even when standing around running a checkpoint on the Sasquatch dual sport ride. Temps about 98 - 100.

On the way to Boise to the RA rally, I wore the vest, the Evapodanna, and packed ice in my right Darien pocket. Some jiffy mart places had 40 oz. drinks, and I'd drink 40 oz of water, then empty and fill with ice cubes, which I could pack in the jacket before leaving. The funny part is having water droplets lift up in the air and splatter on my faceplate at 110 degrees--like a mini-shower.

In climates where humidity is high (much of the midwest) evaporative cooling doesn't work as well as in the desert, but it does work. Best advice for hot, high humidity places is to take frequent rest breaks, drink lots of water, and adjust your schedule to allow more riding early in the morning.

pmdave

[moa84843]

I just wanted to throw out a thought on bike air-conditioning.

It would not seem to take much engineering to use a small chilled water system. The chilled water could then be passed through a hose into a vest or pad. Of course this would probably take about 20 to 30 pounds of hard wear. All the technology to do this already exists, so maybe it’s marketing thing?

:stick

[Burnszilla]

http://www.silvereagleoutfitters.com/

[PacWestGS]

I bought one of these in Colorado, worked great through Kansas (112dF) and worked great for the whole trip (even in the humid northeast).

Chill Out!! Designs Inc. (http://www.chilloutdesigns.net/)

In the morning while it's dry it works good for insulation, as it warms up just soak it, wring it out and wear, (I stopped wringing after a while and just let it drip down my legs).

It should fit snug against your body, but not tight. T-Shirt is OK, but a Micro-Fiber dry (whicking) shirt works best.

I had no real problem with the front drying out (there is no wind on my chest behind the windscreen) I found that standing up in the wind zone every now and then was turning the AC power on high for a minute.

Something new to add. I used "ExOfficio" micro-fiber underwear for the whole trip (the stuff that says, six-weeks one pair of underwear) works great, better than anything I have ever tried before. Kept my backside dry even when wet, no chaffing, no monkey-butt. Easy to wash out every night, hang dry over night.

Back to the vest, they are worth the $100.00 or so... :thumb

Doc