Touring in hot weather

[Azisbest]

Lol... Sometimes, this past week it's been around the 90 to 95 farenheight. Not as hot as some places down south. I travel south in August almost every year and that vest did wonders.

OMG 90 or 95? We pray for such temps in the summer. Thats picnic weather.

 

[barbagris]

Humidity?

The problem at Desert temps is not the air temp as much as the radiation from EVERYWHERE (not just from that big yellow nuclear fusion device above). Exposed skin burns.

Here at the moment it is impossible to walk on tarmac/pavement/Stone in the middle of the day without shoes - the surface temps are way above 50°c.
Yesterday was especially "hot" and you could feel the heat on the sides of your ankles.
Last year I had light burns after an hour ride home on the outside of my ankles because my socks were rolled down.
Infra Red (heat) will easily pass through thin trousers.

At 37°C the air is warmer than body core temp. Any radiation will quickly heat you up. And dry you out.

A plus I have discovered - is PinLock visors. These seem to keep your face cooler in strong sun, and if you invest in the photo-chromatic insert MUCH moreso.
They do NOT go DARK it's more a light smoke.

Where I am still undecided is whether a well vented helmet is a plus or not. Comfort wise - yes obviously. But I wonder if it may not be better to be in a closed insulated environment.

 

[Ishrub]

Humidity?

The problem at Desert temps is not the air temp as much as the radiation from EVERYWHERE (not just from that big yellow nuclear fusion device above). Exposed skin burns.

Here at the moment it is impossible to walk on tarmac/pavement/Stone in the middle of the day without shoes - the surface temps are way above 50°c.
Yesterday was especially "hot" and you could feel the heat on the sides of your ankles.
Last year I had light burns after an hour ride home on the outside of my ankles because my socks were rolled down.
Infra Red (heat) will easily pass through thin trousers.

At 37°C the air is warmer than body core temp. Any radiation will quickly heat you up. And dry you out.

A plus I have discovered - is PinLock visors. These seem to keep your face cooler in strong sun, and if you invest in the photo-chromatic insert MUCH moreso.
They do NOT go DARK it's more a light smoke.

Where I am still undecided is whether a well vented helmet is a plus or not. Comfort wise - yes obviously. But I wonder if it may not be better to be in a closed insulated environment.

Put your frog in an esky (insulated box) in the sun for a few hours and you'll have a classic 'boiled frog' - just sayin!

 

[barbagris]

Put your frog in an esky (insulated box) in the sun for a few hours and you'll have a classic 'boiled frog' - just sayin!

With Peach sauce?

 

[KDog Bone]

OMG 90 or 95? We pray for such temps in the summer. Thats picnic weather.

It's not just the heat in summer but the below 0 F temps in the winter. Makes the summer feel that much hotter! Blood gets too think!

 

[barbagris]

@laraza - When are you setting off?.

Next week looks as if it could be more comfy here.
But looks as if the Aquitaine could be wet. Take it easy.

 

[DRMD421]

When it gets Summer hot here I just travel forward into Fall and when winter comes along I just travel back to the beginning of Fall again. Works out great!

 

[Dawg68]

Humidity?

The problem at Desert temps is not the air temp as much as the radiation from EVERYWHERE (not just from that big yellow nuclear fusion device above). Exposed skin burns.

Here at the moment it is impossible to walk on tarmac/pavement/Stone in the middle of the day without shoes - the surface temps are way above 50°c.
Yesterday was especially "hot" and you could feel the heat on the sides of your ankles.
Last year I had light burns after an hour ride home on the outside of my ankles because my socks were rolled down.
Infra Red (heat) will easily pass through thin trousers.

At 37°C the air is warmer than body core temp. Any radiation will quickly heat you up. And dry you out.

A plus I have discovered - is PinLock visors. These seem to keep your face cooler in strong sun, and if you invest in the photo-chromatic insert MUCH moreso.
They do NOT go DARK it's more a light smoke.

Where I am still undecided is whether a well vented helmet is a plus or not. Comfort wise - yes obviously. But I wonder if it may not be better to be in a closed insulated environment.

You bring up good points sir...
With over 28 years in the military I've spent more time than I would have liked in a few deserts around the world and as some of you know..we don't wear shorts. Every piece of skin is covered and then there is the gear...frag vests, ballistic plates, tactical vest, ammo, day pack and the list goes on..
the thing I've learned is that layers in the summer are just as important as thy are in the winter. In the summer in extreme temps I found that dry wicking material is wonderful. Under all my grear I would wear some sort of wicking material from my tshirt to my underwear, cotton is not so good. I've taken that to my riding in extream weather. Wicking material plus a jacket and pants that have great air flow equals comfort. It's the convection process that keeps us cooler. As for your head...keep it covered. If you find your head gets too hot try a cooling scarf around the neck, same material that I described in the hypercool vest. The key to all this sweat if your not using something like the hypercool vest..if you stop sweating I think you may be in a little trouble..dehydration.

In the end, unlike being on a mission, if it's too hot to ride and your uncomfortable, find a good watering hole, put your feet up and wait for the sun to settle a little..

 

[barbagris]

If you find your head gets too hot try a cooling scarf around the neck, same material that I described in the hypercool vest.

Agreed - though the scarf needs to cool skin near the carotid artery. The Hypercool "beanie" works OK too.
I have a shirt designed to be worn under a bulletproof vest - the shoulder tops and sleeves are poly cotton. But the torso is all wicking material.

DO NOT BUY camo pattern Hypercool stuff. They do not retain water anywhere near as well as the original nylon stuff. I bought one to go over the aforementioned shirt. Water just drips down onto your pants.

As well as airflow - I find that it needs to keep the suns rays off the evap layer. Find a Jacket with vents works better than 100% mesh for example.

 

[laraza]

@laraza - When are you setting off?.

Next week looks as if it could be more comfy here.
But looks as if the Aquitaine could be wet. Take it easy.

That's good news!

Catching the ferry Monday morning and stopping at Nantes that evening.

Kinda resigned myself that we're getting wet at some point, probably on the way from Southampton to Poole!