bluremi
Junior Member
It's getting hot out there: heat exhaustion
This is a bit of a PSA and a recounting of my horrible experience yesterday in the heat:
Riding home from upstate NY to Queens, it was about 90 degrees and very sunny. The first half of my ride was okay since I was going through the mountains where it's shady and cool. Then I hit the interstate and traffic, on a wide black slab of sun-soaked asphalt. The temperature was 10 degrees higher on the highway, and I was also wearing my black leathers instead of my white ones, since I had expected it to rain all weekend. My perforated leather jacket felt like hot tar on the skin of my arms.
Although I felt very hot up until I reached the bridge leading into the city, I thought I was fine. Then I started getting distracted and making bad decisions. I missed my exit and got off at the next one, and then made a series of further missed exits and navigation mistakes that had me going in slow circles through thick traffic. Meanwhile my driving was getting sloppy; I wasn't shifting gears smoothly and several times missed second gear and slammed into neutral. I also noticed I was panting instead of breathing regularly: I had to breathe rapidly and shallowly in order to feel like I was getting enough oxygen.
In retrospect this was classic heat exhaustion. The correct thing to do is get off the motorcycle immediately and walk into an air-conditioned gas station, where you can hang out for 15-20 minutes and drink some icy water or gatorade. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which is a life-threatening condition. After I got home my skin remained hot and dry and I had a dizzy headache, which I put down to tiredness. I stupidly had a beer to relax after my tiring ride instead of having some water. I finally figured out the problem towards the evening and took a long cold shower and drank a gallon of water, waking up fine the next day.
As we get into the hot depths of summer, take care not to overheat on those longer trips. I leave you with this excellent article by Dave Hough:
Motorcycle Tips: Hot Weather Riding
This is a bit of a PSA and a recounting of my horrible experience yesterday in the heat:
Riding home from upstate NY to Queens, it was about 90 degrees and very sunny. The first half of my ride was okay since I was going through the mountains where it's shady and cool. Then I hit the interstate and traffic, on a wide black slab of sun-soaked asphalt. The temperature was 10 degrees higher on the highway, and I was also wearing my black leathers instead of my white ones, since I had expected it to rain all weekend. My perforated leather jacket felt like hot tar on the skin of my arms.
Although I felt very hot up until I reached the bridge leading into the city, I thought I was fine. Then I started getting distracted and making bad decisions. I missed my exit and got off at the next one, and then made a series of further missed exits and navigation mistakes that had me going in slow circles through thick traffic. Meanwhile my driving was getting sloppy; I wasn't shifting gears smoothly and several times missed second gear and slammed into neutral. I also noticed I was panting instead of breathing regularly: I had to breathe rapidly and shallowly in order to feel like I was getting enough oxygen.
In retrospect this was classic heat exhaustion. The correct thing to do is get off the motorcycle immediately and walk into an air-conditioned gas station, where you can hang out for 15-20 minutes and drink some icy water or gatorade. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, which is a life-threatening condition. After I got home my skin remained hot and dry and I had a dizzy headache, which I put down to tiredness. I stupidly had a beer to relax after my tiring ride instead of having some water. I finally figured out the problem towards the evening and took a long cold shower and drank a gallon of water, waking up fine the next day.
As we get into the hot depths of summer, take care not to overheat on those longer trips. I leave you with this excellent article by Dave Hough:
Motorcycle Tips: Hot Weather Riding
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