Relaxing after riding in over 100 F for a few hours

(Thought this was appropriate for our trip)

This is such a great article addressing many of the issues we are contending with on this trip.  Last Summer 2011 when we rode Alaska, we were riding in really cold and wet conditions.  This trip it will continue to be HOT and dry.  As in any trip we are learning as we go and will be trying out some cooling vests when we get to Rigby, ID.  I think it’s important to read the highlighted lessons in this article.  If you are riding for hours in heat, it is tempting like Cheryl to take the jacket off but I knew this is not the best idea.  What I have learned is about keeping the face shield down.  We will also stop more often to soak our under gear with cold water. OH, and read the last part if you don’t read the entire article.  So TRUE!

by David L. Hough

The ride south over the Siskiyou Mountains from Oregon to California started out cool enough. Up at 4,000 feet, it was chilly enough that I was glad I had added the jacket liner and neck warmer. But a hundred miles later, as I descend down into the Sacramento Valley, the temperature begins to soar. By the time I reach Oroville, the temperature signs are flashing 118 F. It’s another hundred and fifty miles to the rally site at Mariposa in triple-digit temperatures.

A rider passes by in the opposite lane, jacket bungeed on the back, bare chest exposed to the hot blast. I wave, but there is no response. His exposed skin is red, and he doesn’t even appear to have noticed me, a bad sign that he’s on the fringe of heat exhaustion. I don’t wish any problems on a fellow motorcyclist, but there are lots of riders who have to contribute to the statistics before they crack the code. Continue reading →