• Can't post after logging to the forum for the first time... Try Again - If you can't post in the forum, sign out of both the membership site and the forum and log in again. Make sure your COG membership is active and your browser allow cookies. If you still can't post, contact the COG IT guy at IT@Concours.org.
  • IF YOU GET 404 ERROR: This may be due to using a link in a post from prior to the web migration. Content was brought over from the old forum as is, but the links may be in error. If the link contains "cog-online.org" it is an old link and will not work.

Staying cool while crossing the Great American Desert

L

larsp

Guest
Guest
I'm going to be crossing the great state of Nebraska next week, and the current forecast is for hot and sunny.  I'm looking for tips on staying cool along the way.  Going without my riding suit isn't an option.  Shorts and a tee-shirt underneath is the uniform for the day. 

I'll be carrying and drinking lots of water so that aspect is covered.

I'm sure there are some good ideas out there.


Thanks,

Lars
 
Wearing a Doo rag under the brain bucket, and watering it down every so often helps, and wearing a mesh jacket actually keeps you cooler than just a tee shirt and no protection. Make sure you stop every 25 miles or so, and drink some water.
 
Cool vest under mesh jacket
Hydro back pack filled with ice water
Heat shields on C10
Baker air wings upper and lower on C 10
 
get on the road at the crack of dawn which this time of year will be about 4:30 am.hottest temps of the day will come around 3pm.
 
Wear a white helmet. Seriously. When I rode across the country in 2013 I bought a white Arai thinking it would help keep my head cooler. It did. Pouring some cold water into it every other rest stop also helped when temps went over 110. :D

I rigged up a Jersey Camelback by using some clear tubing as a drinking straw fitted to a standard size bottle cap. I screw it on and drink from the cold water bottle behind me, which also helped to keep my back a little bit cooler.

:great:
 
We used cooling towels and a full camelback to stay cool and hydrated. Mesh jackets are great but you lose a ton of water through sweat that you never feel. I didn't pour anything in my helmet because I didn't want to smell it for the next 10 days but a cooling towel under the helmet may not be a bad idea.
 
Lars, if you figure it out let us know!  I have ridden across Nebraska twice and Kansas three times.  I have cooked in my gear every time.  I liked the mesh, but I really just had to stay hydrated. 

This year the wife and I are heading to Colorado tomorrow, so I will once again be crossing the "Great American Desert"  However after last years escapades in the rain, we have a better plan for crossing great distances.  Ride in the A/C.  I may drop off and ride once we hit the Rockies into our destination, but the wide open nothing of Kansas will be experienced in the climate controlled comfort of the cabin of our SUV.




 
Best advice: ride at night, and sleep in the heat.

I just made a 500 or so mile ride back home to Tennessee from south Louisiana. Left out at 2:30am, and stayed very cool until about noon. By then I was almost home.
 
I've got a friend who swears by putting a bag of ice in the front of his jacket.  He just buys one at the store and enjoys the cool melt water running down through his gear as the ice cools his core.
 
aerostitch road crafter light, adjust the vents so as you sweat  the evaporation in the suit will cool u down. the ice in the pocket thing works too they're waterproof and provide a heat sink of cool right over your chest. as always stay hydrated.  especially in mesh,u don't realize how much fluid you're loosing in the low humidity and high heat when it evaporates pretty mush instantly.
 
motonerd14 said:
Wear a white helmet. Seriously. When I rode across the country in 2013 I bought a white Arai thinking it would help keep my head cooler. It did.
Click to expand...

I have always worn a white helmet for the same reason.  However, I read an article, I believe it was in the AMA magazine, that researchers came to the conclusion that the color of the helmet made no difference in regard to heat.  Perhaps it's the clear coat layer that goes over just about all helmets.  Not sure I buy the premise; I'm sticking with white.

Another study in the AMA magazine stated that white helmets give the best chance of being seen by motorists; beating out even the neon colors.  So, even if the heat dissipation benefits are illusory, there's always the safety element.  Besides, I'm a traditionalist; white helmet, white underwear, black bowling ball.  ;D

For dealing with heat, I haven't found anything better than Heat-Out gear from Cycle Gear.  When used with mesh gear, it is unreal.  And it's very inexpensive.  The tops and bottoms are like tight fitting long johns, and almost as much trouble to get on as a scuba suit.  However, it really works.

The first time I took it out, it was 97° and sunny.  It felt like the low 80's; I am not bullsh*tting.  It only works with air flow, so would be useless under standard gear.  But with mesh, it beats the heat.  :great:
 
Solomookie said:
motonerd14 said:
Wear a white helmet. Seriously. When I rode across the country in 2013 I bought a white Arai thinking it would help keep my head cooler. It did.
Click to expand...

I have always worn a white helmet for the same reason.  However, I read an article, I believe it was in the AMA magazine, that researchers came to the conclusion that the color of the helmet made no difference in regard to heat.  Perhaps it's the clear coat layer that goes over just about all helmets.  Not sure I buy the premise; I'm sticking with white.

Another study in the AMA magazine stated that white helmets give the best chance of being seen by motorists; beating out even the neon colors.  So, even if the heat dissipation benefits are illusory, there's always the safety element.  Besides, I'm a traditionalist; white helmet, white underwear, black bowling ball.  ;D

For dealing with heat, I haven't found anything better than Heat-Out gear from Cycle Gear.  When used with mesh gear, it is unreal.  And it's very inexpensive.  The tops and bottoms are like tight fitting long johns, and almost as much trouble to get on as a scuba suit.  However, it really works.

The first time I took it out, it was 97° and sunny.  It felt like the low 80's; I am not bullsh*tting.  It only works with air flow, so would be useless under standard gear.  But with mesh, it beats the heat.  :great:
Click to expand...

Another benefit I've found with the white helmet is that when worn with a black jacket on my C14, motorists think I'm a cop (in California, at least) and move out of the way.  :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top