50/20's

[Old Can Ride]

As the Rightous Brothers would put it, I am now approaching my 50/20's. Being the State of Texas started keeping death certificates in 1923, I know exactly the age and how each of my ancestors died. They were all 50/20 something, and all died from a heat stroke. It is very hot in Texas the next few months, and all my ancestors died in Texas in July, August, and September. Like my ancestors, I know I will keep on keeping on doing what I like doing no matter what the temperature might be..

Father - James - Was outside at the race track in San Antonio - 112 degrees in the shade.

Grandfather - Oklahoma - Was outside welding. 98 degrees in the shade.

Great Grandfater - Noah Webster - Digging a new septic sytem - 104 degrees in the shade.

Great Great Grandfater - James - Riding his horse - 101 degrees in the shade.

All of us have had very light skin.

So, I must now come up with ways to keep my body tempature down when riding my steel horse in the summer months. I can not fool myself, I know I will ride my motorcycle!

Riding gear like tinted face shields have never worked for me. I still sunburn my face badly with sun block and tinted face sheilds on. Is there any thing else to keep the face from sunburning. Is there such a thing as a cooling mask?

Need to purchase a riding cool vest, but most only cool for about 1 to 2 hours. Has anyone found a vest that can go any touring distance in the summer months?

When riding in the summer I usually am on the road by 6 AM. I stop to eat at 12:30 to 1:30 PM. This lets me travel about 300 miles in the morning. I try to stop in a town that has a movie theater or a mall. I spend an hour at the cafe in A/C, then I will find a movie theater or a mall to set in A/C for about 2 hours. Then, from 4:30 until 6:30pm I will travel another 100 miles. This way I can travel 400 miles per day in the summer months. I try my best to go north in the summer months, so I can stay in my tent at night. But from time to time my body and the temperature will tell me to get a hotel room.

Athough, I do ride the interstates some at night, I try not to ride at night.

Does anyone have any ideas as to summer riding gear, or a better riding schedule?

 

[Deckyon]

considering on how cooling vests work, outside of carrying extra water to douse the vest every now and then, there isn't much else to do. You could try switching to white jacket/pants (really helped me in the last few weeks) or get something with extra venting or mesh.

As to the schedule, it looks like you have a good one. And you have toe common sense to listen to your body about stopping riding (but not stopping drinking when there are sorority girls in the campground.)

Are there any face shields that are anti UV coated?

Also, try the heat-out gear from HEAT-OUT at Cycle Gear The short sleeved shirt works great - wore it under my t-shirt all weekend at ama and it was like having ac when the wind even hinted at blowing.

 

[itlives]

Maybe two cooling vests would be your ticket to more comfortable ( heart healthy) summer riding. A small chest or watertight plastic bag for the one you're not wearing.
I know you stop every 100 miles. That's about an hour and a half. Change vests every time.
A lighter color riding jacket will reflect more heat. If I remember , yours is black.

What does 50/20's refer to?

 

[L.B.S.]

Genesis 50:20 English Standard Version

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."




Is 50/20 like 11-teen?

To me, anything approaching 30* C (86* F) is death by heatstroke, so I can't help, sorry...

 

[Old Can Ride]

What does 50/20's refer to?

In the Rightous Brothers Las Vagas stage show, they were never 51, 52, or 53. They were 50 / 12.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I have seen a number of color/temperature studies over the years. Very little temperature difference in the color. A black helmet and a white helmet is less than one degree temperature difference.

 

[miss demeaner]

along with a cooling vest, have you tried one of those "towels" that you wet/snap/wrap around your neck?
having cool air/water on your neck esp at your carotids will help to keep core temp down.
frog togs offer something like this. chill it, or freeze it.
good luck, good riding.

 

[itlives]

In the Rightous Brothers Las Vagas stage show, they were never 51, 52, or 53. They were 50 / 12.

Gotcha , thanks!

 

[Old Can Ride]

along with a cooling vest, have you tried one of those "towels" that you wet/snap/wrap around your neck?
having cool air/water on your neck esp at your carotids will help to keep core temp down.
frog togs offer something like this. chill it, or freeze it.
good luck, good riding.

My wife also told me to use the snap towel around my neck. So, I is on my short list, thanks.

 

[Fuzzy]

I have seen a number of color/temperature studies over the years. Very little temperature difference in the color. A black helmet and a white helmet is less than one degree temperature difference.

Think you are wrong here. Direct contradiction of what I was taught in heat transfer class in engineering school. Go to the nearest auto dealer on a sunny day. Feel the surface temperature on the hood of different colored vehicles. My wife's car is black. My truck is silver. Definite difference of internal temperature getting in on a hot sunny day. Massive difference between black and white.

Now if you are riding at night or in the shade the difference won't be as much. If the temps are approaching 100 you are probably in the sun, even in Texas.

 

[kpinvt]

I live in Vermont where it never ever gets to 100+ temps. In the summer on long rides I usually wear my Aerostich one piece riding suit. To keep myself cool I wear light synthetic shorts or long pants with zip off legs. LD Comfort LDComfort Motorcycle Baselayer Undergarments that keep you cool in the heat and warm in the cold. boxer shorts with the very handy (handy? Is that the right word?) kangaroo pouch. One of these days I would really like to get some of their other gear. I wear a long sleeve, synthetic moisture wicking shirt with a short sleeve moisture wicking t-shirt on top. I never EVER, wear cotton when riding. It sounds crazy but, the extra layer is to hold water that I pour from a bottle or spray from my pressurized water bag onto my shoulders and along the top of the shirts below my chin. I keep the front of the suit zipped up with all of the other vents wide open. I was riding a couple of days ago in mid eighties temps and the inside of my suit felt like a damp 60 to 65. Moving is good, stopping is bad, air flowing over the shirts is what cools your core by evaporation. Mesh gear will dehydrate you very quickly.

 

[Banjoferg]

How about a personal cooling system? (Cool Vest for Heat Stress Relief, Motorcycle Cooling Vest: Veskimo Personal Cooling Systems)

 

[Ed Up]

along with a cooling vest, have you tried one of those "towels" that you wet/snap/wrap around your neck?
having cool air/water on your neck esp at your carotids will help to keep core temp down.
frog togs offer something like this. chill it, or freeze it.
good luck, good riding.

Frogg Togg Chilly Pad. Academy sporting sells them and Walmart has something similar. I have both and can't really tell any difference between the two. They do help a lot and you can move them around on your neck for a new cool spot. On a bike they are only good for a hour, maybe 90 minutes, the wind drys them out. Just being outside they work 2-3 hours. Too cool them down all you need is water, don't have to be cold water.

 

[SergeantChuck]

The heat does suck. I made a six hour ride twice this weekend to and from the Lake of the Ozarks area. I started my ride home at 1PM Sunday. Man it was hot. I don't use any type of cooling system but I do pound a large bottle of water of every stop.

I am way to cheap to spend $400+ on a cooling vest that will only get used a couple months a year (if that). But I say, if you have the money, that's the route to go. I've heard some of the larger capacity vest will cool for 8 hours.

For us cheap folk. Stop more often and drink water. Wring out clothes when you get to your destination.

 

[anglachel]

Drink water.
Drink lots of water.

I ended up with a case of severe dehydration when I was in my teens, apparently one of the first things my body shut down was my digestive system so anything I ate or drank was rejected by my stomach. not being able to drink anything my dehydration worsened, and eventually my parents called a doctor, doctor prescribed some meds (that couldn't be ingested because of earlier mentioned stomach problem, so they eventually prescribed different meds that went through a different entrance). Eventually I was able to keep fluids down and rehydrate... but for a few days I wasn't able to really drink any substantial amount of liquid, and wasn't able to eat anything...

I feel it's harder to stay hydrated on the motorcycle because the wind just pulls the moisture off of your body, so it's hard to tell when you've stopped sweating (sign of serious dehydration).
Also might consider seeing if Nana Chou is up for migrating north for the summer, I know you can't always get away from the worst of the summer heat (we've been in the 90's in snowy minnesota over the weekend, heat indexes up in the triple digits) but avoiding the worst of the texas heat could help.
If you can stay hydrated seek out the dry heat, your body can naturally cool itself (if hydrated) better in lower humidity.

As for jacket color, I don't notice a big difference while moving, but when stopped my black pants get MUCH warmer than my white/gray jacket.

I've nothing to offer on cooling vests, I've never used them, When in the desert not on a bike I'd often soak my head, and put a damp hat on, cooling your head/neck does a lot to keep the rest of your body cool. That trick doesn't work in the mid-west on hot days as everything is already damp.

 

[turbodieseli4i6]

+10 on what Fuzzy said. I have two jackets. One black for winter months and a off white mesh for the summer. A few years ago I was wearing a brown Carhartt t shirt on a humid 100 degree day on my old Goldwing. By the time I rode about a 100 miles, I had that shirt soaked. Luckily I was close to Bass Pro shop and I went in and purchased a white Under Armour t shirt. What a difference that made.
These shirts pull moisture away from your body very well and as much as I sweat, I cooled down great. Throw in good breeze and I was able to tolerate it.
Now after writing this, I find this tidbit saying I'm wrong. Maybe wear a black moister wicking base layer with a reflective mesh outer layer would be best.
The Physics that Explain Why You Should Wear Black This Summer

 

[drdubb]

Use a camelback filled with ice water. Use it to refresh your cooling vest. Refill at convenience stores.

 

[itlives]

Use a camelback filled with ice water. Use it to refresh your cooling vest. Refill at convenience stores.

I used a 2L (like Camelback) that fit in my tank bagon my trip out west. It really helped me. I'm not a 50/20's though, not even 50/10 until late this year. And, I'm in good shape....hint for you fatman. It's never too late....until it is.

 

[MZ5]

I live and ride in southern AZ. It's hot for several months. It's also more dry than many parts of the country, but 105-110 and thunderstorms is a very common weather forecast from July through September. I ride nearly all freeways and highways. I've owned and used both evaporative cooling and phase-change clothing. All the following is based on the above experience.

Phase-change vests don't provide meaningful cooling, though they feel okay at first. The ride gets clammy quickly.

Evap cooling is extremely effective here (after all, that's what sweat is), but you must re-wet the shirt regularly.

Anytime it's over about 90 - 95, you must _block_ the wind. Wearing mesh, for example, evaporates water & sweat too quickly to replenish effectively. That means you're re-wetting your evap shirt too often, and/or you're sweating so quickly and adding heat to your body so quickly, your system cannot keep up. This accelerates heat stress effects.

All that means it's better to have gear that effectively blocks the wind, but ALSO HAS CONTROLLABLE VENTS.

I prefer LDComfort mock-turtleneck shirts. Having evap capacity on the arms in addition to the torso is extremely useful, plus it feels very significantly better than torso-only. A similar item under the helmet is extremely useful.

Avoid black gear and helmets.

Re-hydrate AT LEAST EVERY TIME YOU STOP, but far more often than just every tank of fuel. It would be best for a day-long rider to have a modular helmet or a straw system rigged inside a full-face. Propel water (with electrolytes), or putting some electrolyte replacements into the mix somewhere (i.e. alternating Gatorade and water), is important if you're riding all day. I don't like all the sugar in Gatorade, so I use the Propel, or G2 Gatorade, or just some electrolyte pills.

You'll probably need to add water to your evap shirt every 50 - 100 miles, depending upon how well your gear shields you from the wind.

I don't quite understand the sunburn under the face shield bit. A helmet which uses polycarbonate for the shield material already blocks UV, but the mirrored shields from at least Arai and Shoei also have a separate UV blocker. If you're using one of those and still getting a sunburn, it's not a sunburn in the typical sense (meaning, it's not being caused by UVB rays).

These are the things I use and do. They're the best strategies I've found. It's still fatiguing riding in very high temps all day, so if I could spend half an hour or an hour in the AC, as you do, every tank of fuel or so, I would definitely do it.

Good luck!

 

[Old Can Ride]

Cycle Gear has their Bilt waterproof cooling vest on sale today. Normal price is $59.99, on sale of $39.99. Today was the first day it went on sale, so I bought one. Have not tried it yet.

The sales person was telling me about a new cooling mask that she saw this week for the first time. She said this new mask is evaporative cooling like the vest. She said this mask is a lot thinner than any mask she has seen. Has anyone seen the new cooling mask on the internet yet, I could not find the cooling mask on the internet..

The only mask I can find is this cooling mask from Revzilla.

Oxford Layers Cool Dry Balaclava - RevZilla