Heat and Wind

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

I found myself getting tired and battered on my UNjourney. I kept hydrated and used my new evaporative cooling vest, but found myself getting quite tired dealing with the heat and high winds. Moreso than I thought I should be tired anyway. Do you have any strategies for dealing with the more extreme conditions?

[Francois_Dumas]

I take more breaks....... heatwave even here now.... and almost always windy !

[Firefight911]

One often overlooked helpful thing here is to make sure that you have hydrated WAY before you take off. If you are planning a ride for the weekend, for example, you need to take in lots of fluids starting a couple of days prior. Avoid sodas and caffeine in excess as it acts as a diuretic.

 

Once you are on the road, you need to drink a little all the time. As soon as you feel thirsty, it is too late. You are already dehydrated by this time.

 

Don't drink solely water. Mix it up a bit with an electrolyte supplement, such as Gatorade or Cytomax, etc. Cut these drinks 50/50 with water as they are typically "thick" tasting when drinking straight.

 

Every so often, a salty snack can help as salt helps to retain water. Moderation here too as anything in excess is never a good thing.

 

Hope this helps. And, of course, plenty of sleep prior to the trip.

[RichEdwards]

Steve,

Time of day is important. I head out at about 5:30 a.m. when it gets hot in FL. Stop for breakfast and watch the sunrise at 6:30. Most of my miles are covered before noon when it's cooler and when there is little wind. It's tough dealing with the heat in a Roadcrafter. I sold mine because it was largly unused in the Florida heat. Mesh is best in the heat.

[LDHack]

I ride pretty relaxed in the wind, letting the bike deal with the cross winds. If the wind gets past the fairing, that does get tiring...

 

Hydration is the most critical. I have a gallon thermos and plastic drink tube, so I can sip often while riding. I sip every half hour in the heat. Sipping, and the water is digested into your body, instead of flooding your stomach with lots of water, which you tend to pee out. I don't think it works to drink only at gas stops, and be successful at staying hydrated. In the heat and wind, you loose a lot of fluids from persperation through your skin.

 

I assume you ride with a jacket and not short sleeves. I use a Aerostich riding suit, and open it up so the wind seeps through the sleeves and keeps me cool. As I assume you know, you dehydrate really fast if you ride in short sleeves. Your cool vest is a good addition.

 

I now drink only water, and stopped using 50/50 gatoraid. The sugar in gatoraid seemed to make me pee a lot more, and not absorb the fluids as much.

 

I do quite a lot of long riding, including prairie winds and desert heat. This strategy seems to work well for me, although 115 degree heat is still a challenge.

 

Now you have to go out and ride in the heat a lot to experiment. Not a bad assignment....yes?

[Dances_With_Wiener_Dogs]

I assume you ride with a jacket and not short sleeves. I use a Aerostich riding suit, and open it up so the wind seeps through the sleeves and keeps me cool. As I assume you know, you dehydrate really fast if you ride in short sleeves. Your cool vest is a good addition.

My gear is always my RoadCrafter, BMW boots, Symax lid. Gloves and under jacket wear change with the weather. Heading into the wind wan't a big deal, it was the crosswinds that had me listing at 10 degrees that got me the most tired. I had a 2 liter bottle hanging around my neck that I'd drink from, by flipping up my helmet.

 

Probably the biggest tiring aspect was the traveling itself. Most of my riding is commuting and although I'm on the bike every day, day trips are infrequent and long trips like this are every couple of years. I was plenty comfortable though I need to stretch more (in general).

[GelStra]

BTW, I have heard from a few folks on the board that the concentrate version of Gatorade that they sell at REI doesn't have sugar in it. Just the electrolytes you need.

[RTCHIEF]

You need to acclimatize yourself for the heat first. Change your diet, don't ride until you are exhausted. I like to be on the road by 4. If I ride past 4pm, I will take a hour or more heat break in a shopping mall, etc.

 

3M is introducing technology for 02 supplied masks that use the air pressure feeding the mask to act as a heat pump, separating the hot and cold molecules for the user. Using the wind speed a bike has to power a similar device that would produce cool breathing air for the rider is on the horizon.