Author Topic: Dealing with the heat and sun.  (Read 7971 times)

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Offline gschuld

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Dealing with the heat and sun.
« on: October 19, 2018, 08:40:07 PM »
I guess it seems like a dumb question.  But my understanding is that assuming the bike is functioning as it should, the vast majority of each day is spent out in the sun waiting in line to get the next run in.

Temperatures in the 90s plus, glare from the white salt, and hot sun beating down at you while wearing a thick black leather suit of armor sounds like a challenging situation.  I’m a pretty hearty guy, I work outdoors my fair share, and work with my hands.  I enjoy hiking, camping, and being in nature in general.

My biggest weakness is my apparent low resistance to very high temperatures.  Maybe my heavy Danish background has something to do with that.  I simply start to melt down at some point😏

Clearly keeping under shade as much as possible is the most obvious start.  Drinking plenty of water/fluids is a must.  For those hours long waits, is it common to have the bike strapped on a small trailer and relax in the truck with the A/C on or is that unwelcome to have a truck idling the whole time?

So what is everyone doing to stay cool?

George

« Last Edit: October 19, 2018, 08:43:03 PM by gschuld »

Offline donpearsall

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2018, 09:10:34 PM »
George, I have the same concern as you. No too heat tolerant. Luckily I do have my bike(s) in the trailer while I wait in the truck with A/C on. I have seen some riders waiting hours in the sun just sitting on their bikes in full leather gear. Heat stroke city!

But the staging areas have shade tents with lots of water available if you don't have your own shade. You can leave your bike in line and wait under the pop up tent.

The volunteers regularly walk along the lines and if they see that you have passed out from heat stroke they will pull your body to the side so the line can move up.

Don
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Offline DRW

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2018, 09:20:54 PM »
In 2016 it was in the 90s at BMST, I saw a lot of guys in the know with thin white cotton long sleeve shirts.
I thought it was a good call
But if im in my leathers ,Waiting on deck with 2-3 guys in front of me, There is nothing better than sitting in the van with the air on 
Doesnt Mean That Much To me, To Mean That Much To You !

Offline gschuld

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2018, 09:30:48 PM »
In 2016 it was in the 90s at BMST, I saw a lot of guys in the know with thin white cotton long sleeve shirts.
I thought it was a good call
But if im in my leathers ,Waiting on deck with 2-3 guys in front of me, There is nothing better than sitting in the van with the air on 

So hanging out in the support vehicle with the AC on is an acceptable and common practice?  That’s a relief😉

Good to know about the heat stroke disposal system.  Very thoughtful😁

George

Offline Doc B.

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2018, 11:19:34 PM »
My experience this year as a heat intolerant ginger was

#1 Black leathers are a bad choice out there. White is best, followed by any light color. Mine are mostly yellow. I redyed them (actually an acrylic coating) from a darker color. I do this for local racers and would be willing to do a redye for fellow salt racers for a reasonable price.
#2 Keep the top half of your leathers off until you are about third in line. I tried a mesh undersuit and it did seem to help keep the leathers from soaking and clinging to my skin so badly.
#3 Water yes, gobs of it. But make sure you are getting electrolytes during the day too. We had an ER nurse on our team and she made me drink one or two bottles of water with electrolytes every day along with the regular water after told her I was having brutal leg cramps each night. Cured them. Nuun tablets work great.
#4  110 SPF sunscreen. Our team of 6 went through two spray cans. I only got a one inch wide stripe of sunburn where I missed one ankle. And a gnarly pipe burn when my bare knee hit a hot exhaust. Dumb.
#5 Bring your floppy hat along to the starting grid. Bring a big reflective golf umbrella in your support vehicle. The volunteers are absolutely wonderful about making sure everyone gets water and a chair, but sometimes the canopy shade can get a little crowded if there are 10 riders waiting to run. If you are just riding out to pre grid without a support vehicle you obviously can't do this.

If you can get some training done in warm weather before hand it will help. I did a lot of running in 70 and 80 degree weather during the summer and spent one afternoon in leathers at the drags on an 85 degree day a couple weeks before.

Offline gschuld

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2018, 07:24:46 AM »
Thanks for the thorough response. 

For a number of reasons, I’m unlikely to be able to make it out to Bonneville for more than an event or two.  I have a brand new custom made two piece Vanson VO-93 RR race suit in all black.  It’s top shelf protection, and dying it wouldn’t be my preference.  I went with all black strictly for aesthetics for vintage road racing purposes.  It includes black supertech R boots and a matte black Arai helmet.  It was rather pricey gear😳. And shooting for north of 150mph, safety first👍

To get around this, I could park myself in my support vehicle with my wife(she IS good company BTW👍) and a “chew chief” friend with my jacket off until I’m close to the front correct?  Being in the A/C among friends sounds to be a LOT more comfortable😉. 

Fluids, sunscreen, light color clothing, big brimmed hat, etc no problem. 

George


Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2018, 09:56:22 AM »
George, Nancy and I had our suits made by Z Leathers in light colors - on purpose.  Vintage appearance is all fine and dandy but I was to be awake and alert to enjoy the colors.  They're two-piece zip-together suits that allow us to wear the pants, therefore partially dressed, but hot the top - staying cool 'til we're only a few vehicles from next (BTW, we do not race at AMA events so don't know the routines there).

But of most importance for our comfort:  We both have full-body Kevlar underwear from the Draggin' Jeans company.  They're a coarse-weave mesh that is surprisingly good at letting breezes in (when not wearing the leather jacket).  Yeah, we looked kinda funny in long-sleeve yellow thermal underwear (or so it appeared) but dangit, we were very cool.

Of course there was the time that Nancy crashed and they tried to cut her underwear off.  That created quite a stir in the ambulance, I'm told -- "WTF?  This stuff won't cut!!  Get some tin snips!!"

Other stuff:  Russ O'Dally, chief bike inspector back a year or four ago, would walk around to his inspectors (me and others) and ask "When's the last time you peed?"  If you hesitated or said a time more than an hour or two ago - - he'd hand over a bottle of water and have (us) drink it right then and there.  Prevention!!!!
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Offline gschuld

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2018, 02:27:47 PM »
I hear you about the leathers color.  I originally had these leathers made for the purposes of vintage road racing.  15 minutes races at speed and you are in the shade or inside an air conditioned building or RV for as much of the rest of the time as you want for the most part.  The classes are on a schedule and constantly announced and updated so you know when you are getting ready to go. Bonneville is a whole different ball of wax.  It’s more like open test and tune night at the local mid summers day dragstrip in the desert.😳

If I was buying leathers today with Bonneville in mind, yes I sure would go with a lighter color.  Too late now...  Good top regarding the Kevlar undergarments.  Extra abrasion resistance as well.  Safety bonus as well.👍

Offline mc2032

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2018, 04:18:54 PM »
I have black two piece leathers (heavy weight with armor) but don't put them on until I am 3rd or 4th in line at the USFRA event (yes I do it in line on the back of the trailer but the one dollar bills collected help pay the entry fees).  So far (since '12) I have not gotten too warm in line.  I do have the Kevlar long underwear (thanks to a suggestion from SSS).  They were kind of spendy but still cheaper'n a skin graft.  The open weave does seem to help keep you cool(er).


« Last Edit: October 20, 2018, 04:21:50 PM by mc2032 »
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Offline gschuld

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2018, 04:24:54 PM »
I have black two piece leathers (heavy weight with armor) but don't put them on until I am 3rd or 4th in line at the USFRA event (yes I do it in line on the back of the trailer but the one dollar bills collected help pay the entry fees).  So far (since '12) I have not gotten too warm in line.  I do have the Kevlar long underwear (thanks to a suggestion from SSS).  They were kind of spendy but still cheaper'n a skin graft.  The open weave does seem to help keep you cool(er).




Good to know the show you put on helps defray the costs of racing😉.   Good plan.

George

Offline edinlr

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2018, 05:35:13 PM »
I will ditto what Doc B said about proper hydration and add my own tip.  I live in Arkansas where it is often 90+ temp wise and 60 to 70% humidity.  This is almost impossible to stay hydrated in, no matter how much water or Gatorade you drink.  I tried some of the newest Pedialyte and it is a huge improvement in getting your body balanced back.  It also helps with the leg cramps when you cool off.  Buy it at Walmart for $3+ and notice the difference.  It doesn't taste as good as the sugary Gatorade, but it is much healthier and gives a ton more relief.  The new formulas taste much better than what we gave our kids twenty years ago.

My plan on bike is similar to what of the other guys have said.  I pull the bike off the trailer about 6 or 8 to go and then get pants on and about 3 cars/bikes before I get the top zipped on.  An umbrella is nice if you have a big enough crew, but the best thing is to just stay hydrated and in the a/c before you run.

Peeing isn't an issue, I always run to the Honey Wagon a few times as the line gets short.
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Offline DRW

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2018, 06:12:00 PM »
Oh, One more thing to EVERYONE, Buy a COOL Undersuit, Mine is an Alpinestar, Its a Onesy Cool Suit, It is the Best $ 100
Ive invested, Makes puttin on an taking off leathers a breeze , And when you wait keep the top half of your suit off, Its
A long sleeve and just keeps you cool,Amazing stuff its made out of !
Doesnt Mean That Much To me, To Mean That Much To You !

Offline Doc B.

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2018, 06:17:57 PM »
Yeah the undersuit is nice in terms of getting the gear off. Mine is an RS Taichi. Should probably note here that the AMA suit requirements are a little different than SCTA in that vent holes and stretch Kevlar panels are legal. They can help a lot to keep you cooler. I had a choice of an older Vanson one piece or my favorite Dainese two piece and ended up going with the two piece because I could tuck in better and I feel like the armor is a little better design.

Offline gschuld

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2018, 10:55:15 AM »
Keep the comments coming.  I was looking into the average weather at Bonneville in August.  It appears that 90 degrees with 22% humidity is a average for the peak and high 60s in the evenings.  90 degrees with such little humidity is not too bad.  I’m use to FAR more humidity at that temperature.  So perhaps I am overly concerned about the heat thing.  It should be within my general limits.

George

Offline tauruck

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Re: Dealing with the heat and sun.
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2018, 12:28:34 PM »
George, Nancy and I had our suits made by Z Leathers in light colors - on purpose.  Vintage appearance is all fine and dandy but I was to be awake and alert to enjoy the colors.  They're two-piece zip-together suits that allow us to wear the pants, therefore partially dressed, but hot the top - staying cool 'til we're only a few vehicles from next (BTW, we do not race at AMA events so don't know the routines there).

But of most importance for our comfort:  We both have full-body Kevlar underwear from the Draggin' Jeans company.  They're a coarse-weave mesh that is surprisingly good at letting breezes in (when not wearing the leather jacket).  Yeah, we looked kinda funny in long-sleeve yellow thermal underwear (or so it appeared) but dangit, we were very cool.

Of course there was the time that Nancy crashed and they tried to cut her underwear off.  That created quite a stir in the ambulance, I'm told -- "WTF?  This stuff won't cut!!  Get some tin snips!!"

Other stuff:  Russ O'Dally, chief bike inspector back a year or four ago, would walk around to his inspectors (me and others) and ask "When's the last time you peed?"  If you hesitated or said a time more than an hour or two ago - - he'd hand over a bottle of water and have (us) drink it right then and there.  Prevention


Sorry to butt in on the Kevlar issue. A new good scissors works but not for long. I buy a new pair every time I have to do a Kevlar job. Box cutter but you'll need to be super careful or a large blade scalpel. :roll: