800 mile Interstate 10 SUMMER day across Texas - NOT FUN

[ammolab]

Details: This Monday. Starting temp = 74F (07:00AM CDT). Mid day temp = 114F. End of ride = 109F (7:30PM MDT).

Bike: 2011 R1200R with 6000miles on the clock. Sport Shield, low seat, OEM Bags full and 220lb rider. Sump full of fresh Valvoline VR-1 Synthetic 15W-40 (50/50mix of 10W30 and 20W/50) Booster plug fitted.

Bike ran great! 72MPH average speed, 47MPG Average mileage and no noticeable oil used.

Not FUN? WHY? The HEAT was unbearable. I have made many Bike trips in the past 40years and never has the heat affected me like on this ride. I am 65 now but in pretty good shape for an old coot. I would get dizzy and had to stop every 60 miles for water. Drinking as much as I could and filling my helmet with cold water would help for a half hour or so....then the symptoms of heat sickness would come back. I made the last hour or two by soaking a German surplus military shirt with water and putting ICE in all the large pockets. FELT GOOD! That kept me alive for the last 100miles and I did make it ok.

HEAT can be a killer and a 80MPH breeze at 114F is no comfort at all.

Don't loose your cool guys! Ride safe!

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

By sport shield I'm assuming you have the oem tiny shield like I do. I haven't taken a long trip on this bike yet, but your report brings out a concern of mine. There is a lot of wind on your upper and mid section with this shield. Fine for a couple of hours, but on an all day ride in the heat, that's a lot of potential for water loss. I'm thinking that before an extended trip I'll need more shield.

Still watching the threads on this, but I'm leaning towards the Cee Bailey sport shield or mayhap the Para Scout rig. Will continue to watch for now. Thanks for your warnings on evaporation and heat/hydration.

[ammolab]

Yes, OEM Sport Shield. I take most of the wind 'spill' from this in the helmet. I rode with a closed helmet shield as the HOT DRY air was murder to my face and eyes @ 80MPH. Other than that I am not bothered by the stock sport shield.

I started a thread on the CB sport shield below to get some info and it looks like I will add one soon myself.

[bmwk100]

I rode through Texas in late April and rode between San Antonio and El Paso too. With the Cee Bailey 20" windshield and Don's block it was a breeze. It would have been a nightmare if I had done it with the sport shield. Definitely invest in a bigger windshield for long highway jaunts.

[ammolab]

I rode through Texas in late April and rode between San Antonio and El Paso too. With the Cee Bailey 20" windshield and Don's block it was a breeze. It would have been a nightmare if I had done it with the sport shield. Definitely invest in a bigger windshield for long highway jaunts.

I have done some pretty long rides with the OEM Sport Shield. My real complaint this trip was the 114F HEAT. I made the same Texas ride in April on my K75C with the stock Bikini Faring....no problems at all.

If I had been sitting on the parked bike for 6 hours in that heat I think I may have been just as effected by the heat.

[sweatmark]

I rode through Texas in late April and rode between San Antonio and El Paso too. With the Cee Bailey 20" windshield and Don's block it was a breeze. It would have been a nightmare if I had done it with the sport shield. Definitely invest in a bigger windshield for long highway jaunts.

I have done some pretty long rides with the OEM Sport Shield. My real complaint this trip was the 114F HEAT. I made the same Texas ride in April on my K75C with the stock Bikini Faring....no problems at all.

If I had been sitting on the parked bike for 6 hours in that heat I think I may have been just as effected by the heat.

I'm with you: air is your friend during high temp travels. Big windshield/fairing is stifling (literally) and stupid way to keep cool, though I have no argument with avoiding wind-battering and consequential physical fatigue.

Considered riding last weekend to Pheonix via Nevada, but was saved by a missing part for my Rockster rebuild, got a cheap flight instead. Had purchased a cooling vest for the task, made by TechNiche. Also considered a phase change vest, but will evaluate the lower cost option first.

FWIW, also bought a hat made from same HyperKewl evaporative cooling material. Worked fantastic during this past week under 100-110F Arizona sun. Highly recommended:

http://www.fourseasonssurvival.com/HYPE ... _1611.html

Did 500 miles one day last summer in 80 (morning) to 100 (afternoon), using only the wetted tshirts trick. Still beat the crap out of me, heat exhaustion. Don't know how you did 800 miles of super slab under similar conditions.

[Tarmac]

Hot weather riding tips from a guy who lives in Tucson.

1: Camelback, or other hydration pack. Fill it with ice and water. You can also spray the water down your jacket.

2: Bandana around the neck. Soak it in water, plus it keeps the sun off your neck.

3: Full faced helmet with tinted visor, keeps some of the sun off your face.

4: Sunblock, put lots on your nose.

5: Big zip lock bags filled with ice. Stuff them in your jacket, on your chest.

[KMalo]

Hot weather riding tips from a guy who lives in Tucson.

1: Camelback, or other hydration pack. Fill it with ice and water. You can also spray the water down your jacket.

2: Bandana around the neck. Soak it in water, plus it keeps the sun off your neck.

3: Full faced helmet with tinted visor, keeps some of the sun off your face.

4: Sunblock, put lots on your nose.

5: Big zip lock bags filled with ice. Stuff them in your jacket, on your chest.

5a: Forget the zip lock bags and let the melting ice cool you as it leaks out of the pockets.

6: Wet down your shirt and helmet interior at rest/gas stops.

Chuck

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

I rode through Texas in late April and rode between San Antonio and El Paso too.

Just one guys opinion, but I'd say that riding in to El Paso from the west on I-10 has got to be one of the worst rides in all the country!

[DMM]

I have done some pretty long rides with the OEM Sport Shield. My real complaint this trip was the 114F HEAT...
If I had been sitting on the parked bike for 6 hours in that heat I think I may have been just as effected by the heat.

I'm with you: air is your friend during high temp travels.

+1
So, the debate is whether baking or convection baking is worse.

Kidding aside, I'd rather be moving, but if done properly, riding requires a lot more mental activity than sitting still. Dehydration can be a real killer as it slowly, but negatively, affects one's ability to observe, analyze, and react. I know that I've been complacent (on autopilot) a time or two, but not while dehydrated and overheated.

So, I'd rather be riding, but I always make the effort to stay well hydrated and adopt good suggestions (e.g., camelback with ice and water - great idea!) to keep cool.

[ammolab]

The Camelback with ice water would have been GREAT! I would not try a Summer Ride in the Southwest without it after this trip across West Texas.

For the record I didn't do this ride for "FUN" but I was moving myself and Bike from Houston TX (sea level, Flat, Hot, HUMID) to retire to Ruidoso NM ( 7000ft, Mountains, Dry, Cool).

Rode up to Cloudcroft NM today: Cool, Curvy and Pretty.....

So I made it here alive, and it is WORTH IT!

[KMalo]

The Camelback with ice water would have been GREAT! I would not try a Summer Ride in the Southwest without it after this trip across West Texas.

For the record I didn't do this ride for "FUN" but I was moving myself and Bike from Houston TX (sea level, Flat, Hot, HUMID) to retire to Ruidoso NM ( 7000ft, Mountains, Dry, Cool).

Rode up to Cloudcroft NM today: Cool, Curvy and Pretty.....

So I made it here alive, and it is WORTH IT!

Hey! Congratulations!

Feels good, eh?

Chuck

[ka5ysy]

I'm curious: What kind of riding jacket and pants were you wearing?

[sjbmw]

This thread reminds me of the MOA rally in Bloosburg. +1 on the camelback. Wallyworld sells the Coleman.

[angellr]

I hit triple digits locally yesterday and it was like riding in a furnace. Luckily, I did not have far to go in the heat. My mesh motoport jacket did its job, but sometimes heat happens.

Would also add to the list - stop every 100 miles or so and drink gatorade in addition to H20 inside an airconditioned convenience store.

[deilenberger]

Having ridden in somewhat warmish weather.. (like last Weds from the NJ shore to Camden NJ and back, in traffic - saw 103F at one point with about 90% humidity)..

Mesh isn't always the answer. I wear my AeroStich Roadcrafter year round. When the temps exceed your body temperature - riding with mesh gear will make you hotter since the air will heat your body rather then cooling it. Whatever sweat you are making disappears almost before it reaches the surface of your skin, doing very little to cool you off. If you keep the hot air from hitting your skin, the sweat has a chance to evaporate and cool you off. A case of less wind is better. It also keeps you from dehydrating as quickly.

From the land of variable, and often uncomfortable weather..

[xprof]

OK you guys, Don E is right, once again. How do I know? Well, here's probably more than you wanted to know, but I just can't help myself...

When I was a young college student, in the early 1960s, I had a mentor. Raymond B. Cowles (you can google him) was a famous scientist, retired from UCLA and an emeritus professor at UCSB. He was really old, and I was really young. But we both loved reptiles, and we both loved motorcycles. Ray learned to ride dirt bikes in Africa back in the 20s and 30s, and I had a mid-50s Matchless G80CS 500cc thumper. He would beg rides from me and tear off across campus, suit flapping and necktie waving, to come back breathless 15 minutes later! He wrote many famous papers, the most famous being one with C.M. Bogert, in which they coined the term and concept of endothermy, the idea that some creatures (like mammals and birds) made internal heat, and he was the first to propose that dinosaurs did so too, the first mention of the "hot-blooded dinosaurs" that is now pretty much standard thinking. Think "Jurassic Park."

He used to ride desert sleds with a number of famous movie actors, and he knew desert racing well. What his scientific bibliography will not show (I just checked) is that he once wrote a story for a motorcycle magazine entitled "HEAT will KILL you", with a bit of lurid art. What he said in the article was pretty much what Don says. We had all been riding the desert in 2 sweatshirts when it was cool, one sweatshirt when it was warm, and a T-shirt when it was blazing hot. Cowles argued that really hot air flowing over your body would just heat you up and put you into heatstroke, and he advised us all to wear leathers, adjusting the cuff zippers so just enough air flowed into our armpits to evaporate the sweat. And you know, it seemed to work! When air temp is higher than body temp, only evaporation can cool you. I use an evaporative cooling vest these days, but it might work even better under a leather jacket or an Aerostich with the vent zips open.

Sorry about all this gab, but Ray Cowles was my hero (and both of his grand-daughters were subsequently students of mine), and I just had to blather a bit. It is also a convenient call for me to head out to the desert on my R to do a little research...

[AncientMariner]

+1

Another way to confirm this theory, is to consider the way arabic nomads live n the desert: Completly covered from head to foot in flowing robes...

My Darian jacket and pants work great at keeping my just right in high temps. I've never even considered getting a mesh jacket.

Bruce

[angellr]

Having ridden in somewhat warmish weather.. (like last Weds from the NJ shore to Camden NJ and back, in traffic - saw 103F at one point with about 90% humidity)..

Mesh isn't always the answer. I wear my AeroStich Roadcrafter year round. When the temps exceed your body temperature - riding with mesh gear will make you hotter since the air will heat your body rather then cooling it. Whatever sweat you are making disappears almost before it reaches the surface of your skin, doing very little to cool you off. If you keep the hot air from hitting your skin, the sweat has a chance to evaporate and cool you off. A case of less wind is better. It also keeps you from dehydrating as quickly.

From the land of variable, and often uncomfortable weather..

OK you guys, Don E is right, once again. How do I know? Well, here's probably more than you wanted to know, but I just can't help myself...

When I was a young college student, in the early 1960s, I had a mentor. Raymond B. Cowles (you can google him) was a famous scientist, retired from UCLA and an emeritus professor at UCSB. He was really old, and I was really young. But we both loved reptiles, and we both loved motorcycles. Ray learned to ride dirt bikes in Africa back in the 20s and 30s, and I had a mid-50s Matchless G80CS 500cc thumper. He would beg rides from me and tear off across campus, suit flapping and necktie waving, to come back breathless 15 minutes later! He wrote many famous papers, the most famous being one with C.M. Bogert, in which they coined the term and concept of endothermy, the idea that some creatures (like mammals and birds) made internal heat, and he was the first to propose that dinosaurs did so too, the first mention of the "hot-blooded dinosaurs" that is now pretty much standard thinking. Think "Jurassic Park."

He used to ride desert sleds with a number of famous movie actors, and he knew desert racing well. What his scientific bibliography will not show (I just checked) is that he once wrote a story for a motorcycle magazine entitled "HEAT will KILL you", with a bit of lurid art. What he said in the article was pretty much what Don says. We had all been riding the desert in 2 sweatshirts when it was cool, one sweatshirt when it was warm, and a T-shirt when it was blazing hot. Cowles argued that really hot air flowing over your body would just heat you up and put you into heatstroke, and he advised us all to wear leathers, adjusting the cuff zippers so just enough air flowed into our armpits to evaporate the sweat. And you know, it seemed to work! When air temp is higher than body temp, only evaporation can cool you. I use an evaporative cooling vest these days, but it might work even better under a leather jacket or an Aerostich with the vent zips open.

Sorry about all this gab, but Ray Cowles was my hero (and both of his grand-daughters were subsequently students of mine), and I just had to blather a bit. It is also a convenient call for me to head out to the desert on my R to do a little research...

Gentlemen, both very good posts! I had noticed the need for an evaporative vest with my mesh when really hot, but now understand why. Had always wondered how desert folks were able to survive the 120+ temps fully robed/clad. It makes sense, albeit a bit aromatic.

I might start to rethink my gear choice for long rides on hot days.

Thanks again, gentlemen!

[MrPMS]

One other thing regarding heat. It drives me crazy to see people trying to stay cool while wearing dark jackets, pants, and/or gloves.
Don, I assume your Roadcrafter is light-colored...