is it ever too hot to ride?

  • July 30, 2011 10:01 AM PDT
    I know I have my limits when it comes to riding in 90+ heat with matching humidity.
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    July 30, 2011 10:05 AM PDT
    My worst day ever was in SD on I 29, 98 deg and 95% humid. Brutal. We stopped early (2:00) that day. Running in Utah another time at 120 degrees was no sweat (pun intended) with low humidity was uncomfortable but doable.
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    July 30, 2011 11:56 AM PDT
    Well I guess I am a sissy, cuz a couple years ago we headed out and it was just about 105 and I would have to say OH HELL NO, that is to hot!!
    • 58 posts
    July 30, 2011 11:57 AM PDT
    Was home last week and doing drills at the MSF course. Was 105 according to the marquee across the street.
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    July 31, 2011 5:20 AM PDT
    Couple of years ago in July I visited my son who lives in Phoenix AZ. I rented a Fat Boy and it was like 113 degrees. I'm jaming down the rubber (people from AZ know what I mean) slab and I'm trying to understand why I can't breath very well. Stick your head in an oven and see how hard it is to breath in there.
    Damn........I love the first day I can put Leathers on....YEA!!!
    • 5419 posts
    July 31, 2011 6:00 AM PDT
    I can't say the I have ever seen it "too hot to ride" but it can get pretty damn uncomfortable just east of hear in the Mojave Desert (Death Valley). Last week we rode home from AZ in the middle of the day and there was one stretch where it was right around 115° and nowhere to stop for 100 miles.

    Not that I like it in the least bit, but since there is no way to head east from here without going through desert, we have actually got somewhat used to it...well maybe not used to it, but at least ready for it.

    And we're going to do it again in a few weeks to go meet up with RexTheRoadDog in AZ!!!

    Dragon, know exactly what your talking about with the rubber. They need to make more roads with Asphalt-Rubber, its nice to not have the cracks in the tire lanes from the heavy trucks.

    • 601 posts
    July 31, 2011 7:44 AM PDT
    I was speeding down the M50 motorway from Dublin once and got chased by two squad cars and a motorcycle cop for almost 20 miles, I ended up pulling off onto a side road and parking up until they had passed on..sirens blaring and lights flashing.... Yep, certainly too hot to ride that night !!!
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    July 31, 2011 7:45 AM PDT
    I'm living proof, that yes, sometimes it IS to daggone HOT to ride...
    I was pregnant with my (now 19 year old) son, and I decided to take a nice long ride one fine Florida morning. I dressed in the usual requisite black. Pants, boots, t-shirt, vest, jacket and helmut. (Pryor to the repeal, ya'll) Anyway, I left the house in 82 degree weather. By the time I got half way from Lake Wales to Gainesville (my routed map), I had already stopped twice to peel things off. Since back then, cell phones were the size of blow dryer's, I didn't have one, and hence didn't know what the temp had climbed to. Unbeknownst to me, it had peaked out around 96 with a heat index of near 110. Dang! All I know is, by the time I got to Gainesville, (roughly 2 plus hours), I was dizzy and nauseous. I couldn't get enough liquid in me! I was so sick, I decided to get back on the bike and try to get home. Needless to say, I made it about 30 miles before I had to pull over at a MOM & POP. It was just fortunate they had facilities, cause it wasn't pretty.

    Do all your'selves a favor, huh? IF you feel HOT, you ARE HOT!!! Get to some shade, quickly...
    I could have lost my son over that, and only thru God, I didn't!!!
    Don't press your luck. Your life MAY depend upon it!!! OK!?!
    I wouldn't bitch...but you guys know I worry about you, right?
    Ride Free *and cool
    Tweek
    • 9 posts
    July 31, 2011 7:48 AM PDT
    rory1 wrote...
    I was speeding down the M50 motorway from Dublin once and got chased by two squad cars and a motorcycle cop for almost 20 miles, I ended up pulling off onto a side road and parking up until they had passed on..sirens blaring and lights flashing.... Yep, certainly too hot to ride that night !!!



    Remind me to tell ya about my  "too hot to ride" ...greatest police chases episodeTWEEK (almost didn't RIDE FREE)
    • 0 posts
    July 31, 2011 8:37 AM PDT
    Well you mob its nearly always bloody hot down here..My tried and trued method is simple,DRINK.DRINK and DRINK often..We have days of 100 plus and shitloads of humidity so you can dry out real bloody quick..They morning of a big hot ride I take my hydration mixture and drink a gallon of water..When you ride in Australia you will find that pubs are always a nice distance apart...BEER IS YOUR FRIEND! So for every 4 beers I drink I drink a water...When ya ride out west of here it can get bloody scary bloody quickly..Temps of 120 plus and as dry as a dead dingo's donger can kill ya in a few hours if your a dickheasd and arent prepared...In closing to answer ya question old mate.Na its never to hot to ride ya just gotta make the pub stops more frequently...CHEERS BOOF
    • 467 posts
    July 31, 2011 12:09 PM PDT
    I remember once when we were on a poker run from Gillette to Beulah via Spearfish....it was hot as Hades! When we stopped at Cheyenne Crossing it was 110 and getting hotter (in my opinion anyway) So we leave there and you all know I do the speed limit through the canyon (:))--which 35. And I just kept getting hotter and hotter and the cars kept piling up behind me and I kept thinking that I was not being that slow! Got to the head of the canyon at Spearfish and it turned out that the canyon was on fire and all the cars behind me were evacuees! And the ambient tempurature in the canyon due to the flames was 118 and climbing! I didn't see flame one! But it must cleaned up the East side of the canyone pretty well, cuz when the rainy season came during Sturgis that year the floods and mudslides in Deadwood had bikes floating down Main Street. That may have been my "hottest" ride!
  • July 31, 2011 1:25 PM PDT
    Since we live in So. Cal we are used to riding across the desert in high temps. I'm not sure how hot it has gotten out on the blacktop but a few years back we stopped in Mojave city and the bank sign said 119. Its hot but if we want to ride anywhere in the summer we have to cross the deserts to get anywhere.
    • 567 posts
    July 31, 2011 1:35 PM PDT
    As y'all read in Tweek's comment, it gets miserable hot down here in the Sunshine State .. especially in June thru September .. and there's plenty of HOT days before and after that.
    You gotta take breaks. You can't be too dressed up. You gotta hydrate. And, little things like having a wet rag around you neck to cool yer brains down can help.
    • 467 posts
    July 31, 2011 2:31 PM PDT
    That's no lie! A cooldana and a camelback are my best friends when I ride in FL!
  • July 31, 2011 3:27 PM PDT
    Did a ride from Bismarck, ND to Rapid City, SD one Labor Day. 105 degrees, drank a lot of water. Took the bike to Garden City, KS last summer to get a tire replaced. (I don't do spoked wheels). got home in the afternoon, the temp had topped out at 108. Stopped every thirty miles or so to soak my shirt. Had on a mesh jacket, helped keep the shirt kinda wet and used the evaporative cooling to my advantage. Six liters of water in 120 miles. Driving by irrigated corn fields sure felt great. Never want to know what the temps off the pavement are.
  • August 1, 2011 2:59 AM PDT
    two days ago it was 102 degrees with light rain coming down here in South Carolina i think the heat index was 112. I was outside @ midnight and it was still 93 with steam coming off the ground.
  • August 1, 2011 4:00 AM PDT
    No.

    Water is cheap.

  • August 1, 2011 4:13 AM PDT
    102 this weekend with a heat index of 115. I was still out there. Rode up to the mountains for some relief.
  • August 1, 2011 4:59 AM PDT
    It's never too hot to ride but it can get hot enough in the middle of a ride that you wish you had some AC. It gets a bit warm in Texas and I have been known to ride in a tank top & shorts .... (one of THOSE riders). I took off in the AM at around 88 degrees and at 4 PM, I was about 50 miles from home. It was 104 and I passed through a wall of even hotter air. The wind coming off the road hit my shins & caused blisters. 2 lessons learned ... clothing prevents blisters & avoid 104+ riding if possible.

    Remember to take breaks, get in some shade or AC and stay hydrated. If your in the heat and start feeling nauseous, tired, light headed, weak or like something is not quite right. Stop ASAP, You are dehydrated. Worse case get in the shade, and drink, drink, drink, whether you are thirsty or not.
  • August 1, 2011 6:22 AM PDT
    What is Too Hot?
    SoCals summer temps can get up to the point that it's downright uncomfortable when sitting in traffic.
    But once yer movin' it cools right down.
    Even when I lived in Yuma, Az. it was never that hot.
    • 0 posts
    August 1, 2011 7:33 AM PDT
    stopping every 50 miles or so and jumping in a lake or river for minute helps a lot.
  • August 3, 2011 1:43 PM PDT
    I went to lunch today and it was 101. Heat index had it up to 108. At 60 mph I had no relief from the wind at all. Had I been going much further than the mexican joint down the road I would've been doing like Boof suggests... stopping as often as I could for beers and waters! My only worries in this heat is whether my brand new set of Metzeler Marathon 880's would melt!
    • 2072 posts
    August 3, 2011 1:57 PM PDT
    Always throw a bottle of water in the freezer at work for the ride home. My bottle holder on the bike allows it to slowly melt as you ride giving you quick cold sips on the ride home. Left work today with the above mentioned "Ice Cube" neatly stashed on my handlebars. I only live about 20 miles from the hospital I work at. Traffic was rather heavy coming home so I didn't get to "Hit the bottle" on my ride. When I pulled into my garage I went to get a nice refreshing drink before going into the house (for a different kind of refreshing drink !!!). 20 miles in this God-forsaken heat and I had a bottle of HOT water !!!!! Yea, it was hot today !!!!!
  • August 3, 2011 3:14 PM PDT
    On this note: Do the neck wraps you see sold work to help you at least feel cooler?
  • August 7, 2011 3:44 AM PDT
    Too Hot! No way! I still wear my leather jacket, I was told by my partner years ago you just unbutton or unzip the sleeves, leave the main zipper bout 3/4 up and Bingo Motorcyle Air Conditioning! Lite sweat! air runs up your sleeves, and out the front of the open jacket! Plus the air doesn't have a chance to dehydrate the exposed arms! And plenty of water to feed the system Alot of us old farts been doing this a loooong time!