Whether you describe “Hot Weather” as 80 degrees or 110 degrees, if you are riding for several hours in heated temperatures, the main thing to prevent is also the most obvious: DEHYDRATION. Dehydration is excessive loss of water from the body.
Motorcyclists should not think too lightly of this malady. Dehydration can lead to a range of “bad” to “very bad” things that are listed below. As a rider, you may be surprised at how fast dehydration can effect you on the road, especially since there are a surprising amount of motorcyclists (and non motorcyclists) who live their non-riding lives in a near-hydrated condition anyway. (Although I’m sure that does NOT include YOU!!)
What’s the easiest way to tell if you are dehydrated?
If you’re thirsty?
Well…OK…that’s true: you should definitely drink water when you are thirsty. But there are riders who are so used to ignoring their body’s thirst signals that there’s another way: check the color of your urine. A DARK yellow color indicates you are dehydrated. Which means you are well past the point of not drinking enough water.
That may not sound too revelatory, but here are some of the hazards and symptoms that can impact any dehydrated rider anywhere in the world:
- Heat Cramps: If you feel cramps in your legs or abdomen, you need water. In fact, you’ve passed the point you need water. And things are going to get worse until you get some of that H2O.
- Heat Exhaustion: If you kept on riding in spite of the cramps, or even if you didn’t experience cramps, but are riding beyond your body’s normal need for water, you are now motoring into the realm of becoming a prime candidate for heat exhaustion. Some of the symptoms that you may expect include lots of sweating, headaches, nausea, dizziness, weakness, tiredness and even fainting spells. Obviously these are the kind of symptoms that can badly effect your motorcycle control and reaction time to routine threats to motorcycle survival. So, “Heat Exhaustion” means “bad” news for bikers.
- Heatstroke (also known as sunstroke): To put things in proper perspective, heatstroke is a medical emergency and the person should be taken to a hospital. This is well beyond the stage of feeling uncomfortable simply because it’s hot out. Signs to watch for include rapid heartbeat; rapid breathing; confusion or incoherence; blanking out; hot, red, dry skin; elevated body temperature; and even hostility (more so than normal for any of your easily aggravated companions). Note that the rider has now passed the sweating stage. The dehydration is so advanced that there is not enough water in the body to perspire (which is the normal way the body cools itself).
A rider experiencing heatstroke might even appear to be intoxicated.
As heatstroke continues to advance, the face may change colors, moving from red to a pale or bluish tint. Unfortunately, if heatstroke is this far advanced, things can still get worse, including the failing of body organs accompanied by unconsciousness and coma, and in rare circumstances, death. In short, you don’t want to come near the possibility of experiencing heatstroke.
It’s worth re-stating that you don’t want to get yourself anywhere near the point of heatstroke.
However, if a rider you know does get heatstroke, you need to help them fast, no matter what objections they may offer: Their body temperature must be lowered immediately. Begin by getting the rider out of the sun, and ideally into some air-conditioned area. Their clothing should loosened and/or removed to allow more ventilation. Even better would be to get the rider into some cool water, such as a bath, or even a lake or river if such is possible.
OK, now let’s look at what you can do to enhance your safe travels through hot weather. Let’s start out with the most obvious:
- Drink lots of “water.” WATER is emphasized since refreshments like soda, coffee (or any caffeinated drink) or alcoholic drinks can actually contribute to dehydration, instead of helping to alleviate it.
- Insulate your skin from the heat. It may seem counter-intuitive to wear protective clothing on a hot day, but you NEED to cover your exposed skin. Think of the desert nomads that spend their whole lives traveling in the desert with their camels: They ALL wear garments that cover their entire body and head. In real simple terms, exposed skin on a hot day is not only subject to sunburn, but bare skin soaks up MORE heat from the sun. If the outside temperature is higher than your normal body temperature (36.8°C or 98.2°F), and if your bare skin is exposed to the heat, your body temperature has no where to go but up. On the other hand, if your skin is covered, you are insulating yourself from the heat. It may “feel” good (particularly on shorter rides) to take your jacket off on hot days, but it is pushing your body into the range of dehydration symptoms even faster. (Of course, riding without proper motorcycle gear on a hot day could also result in considerably more severe circumstances should you take a tumble on searing asphalt with bare skin or without a helmet).
- If you are riding in areas of low humidity, for example, in the deserts of the American Southwest (or any place that is hot and “dry”), you can cool yourself by dowsing your cotton shirt with water and zipping up your jacket on top of it. Your closed jacket will keep your shirt wet, longer. Of course, if you happen to be wearing a mesh jacket, you can feel quite comfortable for only a little while, as the water evaporates from your shirt under the mesh quite rapidly. In other words, it won’t take long before your shirt is thoroughly dried out and you need to do it again.
Now, if you try this in a part of the world that is hot “and” humid, then you will simply be hot and wet with this tactic.
- If you are motorcycle touring and you know the temperature is going to be uncomfortably warm for you in the direction you are heading, then don’t ride in the hottest part of the day. Hit the road before the sun rises, get several hours of riding under your belt, and then get to a hotel or make camp before the heat becomes unfriendly. Additionally, if you are one of those folks who is not an early riser, then hit the road in the late afternoon, and ride through sunset and into the evening. (Of course there is a risk in finding “No Vacancy” signs at motels, hotels and campgrounds if you want to end off your riding too late in the evening.)
- Perhaps the simplest tactic is to take regular breaks and get into some shade (while drinking plenty of water!)
Enjoy safe riding!
Also forgot to mention … when hot-weather riding, avoid huge protein meals. Protein heats up the metabolism. Instead, eat fresh vegetables, salads, fruits, nuts, yogurt. Your buddies may think you’re being a panty-waist eating rabbit food for breakfast and lunch, but your tummy will be full of nice, cooling foods to prevent your body from creating a lot of heat digesting while they’re busy sweating their butts off after eating the steak, sausage, eggs, etc. Save the heavy protein foods for dinner after the ride.
When riding in heat, it’s a good idea to pack some salted nuts & apples. Folks focus on the water a lot, but sometimes neglect the electrolytes (potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium). For extreme riding, you can buy Pedialite…it’s a dextrose-based solution full of electrolytes you can buy at most grocery stores. It’s recommended by doctors for children (or adults) that have diarhea and too much fluid loss. You can mix it 1/4 to 3/4 water, to ensure all the water you’re sucking down from your camelpak is also helping you replenish electrolytes and some carbohydrate for energy (because sweating uses a lot of energy, too). The dextrose in the pedialite is better than gatorade’s sucrose/high-fructose corn syrup, because dextrose (glucose, actually), is primarily used by muscles for fuel (or converted to glycogen for storage in muscles as quick energy later). Meanwhile sucrose & fructose are primarily used by the liver, and since it can’t use too much at one time it’ll conver the rest into triglycerides (fat) and store them in your body fat. Bottomline, the dextrose / glucose is a better fuel source for your body & muscles than gatorades sugar-water. But, salted nuts and fresh apples also make a world of difference on a rest stop. They help top out your electrolytes, and the fat in the nuts will help provide a slow digesting energy source to help even out your blood sugar if you’ve been sucking down too much gatorade or sugary things.
You do NOT want to go through a heat stroke; axe me how I know.
Being ‘cool’ is not nearly as important ans being ‘alive’.
Here in the summer heat of East Texas I was taught by some very old-school bikers . When you wake up in the morning , start drinking water . Keep drinking water constantly till you have to take your first leak . After you use the bathroom , drink about one more quart of water before heading out . I’ve seen riders fall-out at stop lights from lack of water . Stay on top of it . We have a lot of rallies down here in Texas and , we also see 100+ summers weather for months . Ride Safe ! We don’t want too have to scrape the yankees off the asphault before calling it a night .
Here’s a pretty simple solution: Stop once an hour! Get off the bike, get a drink, take a leak, stretch your legs. Riding is for fun. It’s not supposed to be an endurance contest.
I’d suggest that you should not ride if you are in a hurry. Enjoy the ride!
A camelbak is a very useful accessory while touring. We can carry water on our back and easily sip without stopping.
No problem Antonio. You are welcome to translate the articles to Portuguese for your website. Just include a link to the original article on this website. Good luck with your motorcycle touring company! MCg
Hello there, i hope you are having a great week.
I live down here in Miami, FL and I just begin to run a company to bring tourists to ride motorcycles in USA. Your article is very interesting and if you allow me, I would like to translate it to Portuguese to be used in my company’s website.
Please let me what you think about it.
Regards,
A very useful article.Riders ought to know & respond to their body call. We in India generally have hot & humid climate.So we gotta have plenty of liquid before we leave for riding (in afternoon).
And for those of u who believe in indian methodology, try the following:-
1.take chilled yoghurt (curd) shake before leaving.
2.try green mango shake i.e. heat the mangoes until they get pulpy soft and mash them , mix with water to make a shake(of course u can give it ur flavour salty or sweet).
3.place a hankie dipped in chilled water under ur helmet.
4.drink chilled water with lemon or mint essence.
OOPS, my bad.
The first paragraph below is better stated;
“There is another factor contributing to dehydration from riding with exposed skin”.
Charles
Another thing that riders, or most anyone does not realize is that the exposed skin in the wind also is “air dried” by another process not realized. If you were to take a wet sponge and blow 60 mph air onto it, the water would evaporate considerably faster than if it were covered by clothing or some type of barrier.
Dud you say!!! read on…
The point here is that the sponge is porus, ahhh, just like our skin…hmmmmm, there fore unprotected skin in the wind will substancialy contribute to our dehyration.
Ever hear of windburn?
Last year on a group ride in high 90 degree weather, I wore a long sleeve wet shirt under my mesh jacket. it would last for about 45 min. At stops in the later part of the ride (in the heat of the day), the others started showing signs of getting heated. I and my wife were fine. they thought I was possibly crazy but they were the ones that were getting hot and heated.
One more point, studies have shown that as our body gets dehyrated, our blood actualy thckens there by placing a increased strain on the heart and circulatory system.
Cheers
Most riders here in Indonesia usually have one of those bottle holders attached to their bikes, me included, as an extra precaution. we usually attach these to a place where wind would pass easily to keep it from heating up. we do this since the heat around and near the equator could get unbearably hot quite fast after 8.30 in the morning. of course this might be because I live in a very dense city with no city-planning what-so-ever.
and forgive me for being a little bit out of topic, but what type of jacket do anyone of you recommend in an area with the condition almost similar to arizona? my last jacket is already shredded in an incident I need a new one but I have to order it from the US, there just isn’t any size for me here.
I spent several days in southern Utah on my 2007 RoadKing this August. I wore under my regular vest a hydration vest which I purchased at Harley Davidson Timpanogos (worth a visit) after talking to a cool couple there. It kept me comfortable all day long. (It did stain a few shirts, though.)
I see riders all the time wearing LESS clothing in hot weather. This is a mistake as a riders body cannot take advantage of it natural cooling system. The body is technically water cooled. The body sweats, and the evaporative effect carries away heat. Riding in a t-shirt does basically two things; it eliminates that water from sweat by blowing it away before it can carry away any heat, and the skin heats faster as there is no barrier between the skin and the sun.
I don’t like mesh for much of the same reasons. I wear an Aerostich Darien zipped to the neck with vents open, and a wet shirt. I can stay very comfortable for very long stretches without over heating, even in 100+ degrees. Higher humidity causes more challenges of course, but it still works better than nothing!!!
Stay cool out there…