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Heatwave and riding

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 15, 2022, 2:38 pm

Looks like it is going to be pretty hot for the festival of 1000 bikes, hopefully it will not get cancelled - seems to be talk of some things being cancelled due to the weather as well as schools possibly closing.

According to the latest met office forecasts the extreme heat will be confined to Manchester / Midlands and London - not forecasting it for my neck of the woods......for the time being.

I shall probably still go out anyway - certainly plan on another early morning ride this weekend, if I go out in the heat of the day I'll take some water with me as I usually do.

I have lots of outside DIY to do, some of it involves concrete - way too hot for that, some of it external painting, but have to wait until the sun has moved around.

Doubtless all too soon we will be talking about it being too cold to ride, so make the most of it, and keep the fluid intake up - and Jerry that does not mean beer

but I may have a couple this evening.

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by Will <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Will' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 15, 2022, 3:14 pm, in reply to "Heatwave and riding"

I'll be riding over the weekend but will make damn sure I'm home in the shade before the hottest part of the day. I reckon by 2.00pm it will be getting dangerously uncomfortable on a bike.

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 15, 2022, 4:00 pm, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

I do most of my riding around the minor roads - if I was riding in built up areas I would definatley think twice.

Plenty of places to pull over in the shade on those roads.

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by geoff the bonnie <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=geoff+the+bonnie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 15, 2022, 4:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

Just ride faster Andy.. I kept to near 80 mph going down to Paignton and it kept me cool but the engine a bit too hot when stuck in the Paignton traffic.
Even had to use aircon in the car Today which is rare for me. Usually open the windows

Re: Heatwave and riding

Only 80 Geoff

.

The aircon packed in on my old Golf a few years ago, so have to go old school..........windows.

The pump has gone west, and is about £350 to replace, cant really justify that price for something I rarely use.

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Heatwave and riding

80 is enough now on the old T120r. Its quite hard work keeping up a good speed on old bikes although i do have a comfortable seat and the tyres have improved the ride. So easy to ride fast on a new bike without all the buzzing and rattling

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by Al Sation <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Al+Sation' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 16, 2022, 9:17 am, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

i shall be riding in my shorts and tee-shirt

on my combo tho'! i live near Mallory,shan't be attending though. Founders Day next Sunday folks

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 16, 2022, 5:17 pm, in reply to "Heatwave and riding"

Well I went out, according to the Him temp gauge the ambient varied between 28 and 30 degrees C.

As I was riding mostly open roads I kept reasonably cool, only when riding with the sun on my back or through built up areas did I really notice the heat.

Drank nearly 2 litres of water whilst out and about, but yes a decent ride.

Also took an early AM ride lovely and cool, probably more of the same tomorrow.

I just never seem to tire of riding....

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by jimmy <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=jimmy' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 16, 2022, 5:30 pm, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

Heatwave my arse, 17° and cloudy

Re: Heatwave and riding

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by calidavid <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=calidavid' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 16, 2022, 10:08 pm, in reply to "Heatwave and riding"

Well I was going to the air show at Fairford with a friend on my bike to annoy the car drivers tomorrow. (The abuse one gets is incredible.)But I’ve just tested positive for Covid and so confined to bedroom/office. Saves me from collapsing with heatstroke I suppose.

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by geoff the bonnie <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=geoff+the+bonnie' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 16, 2022, 10:10 pm, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

After doing the woodworm treatment to the garage, the bikes were out so i took the Thunderbird for a ride around and up to Exeter. A bit warm when i got back.

Re: Heatwave and riding

Posted by wittsend <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=wittsend' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 17, 2022, 2:27 pm, in reply to "Re: Heatwave and riding"

Wimps,,,just like the mrs,,only happy when its cool,,,bring jt on,hotter the better.

Not always warm is it?

Posted by Beezabryan <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Beezabryan' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 17, 2022, 3:05 pm, in reply to "Heatwave and riding"

foto hosting

BeezaBryan

He knows not where he's going, For the ocean will decide,
Its not the destination, It's the glory of the ride (Edward Monkton, Zen Dog)

Re: Not always warm is it?

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 17, 2022, 5:54 pm, in reply to "Not always warm is it?"

Could do with a little bit of that.....

Who needs a signature anyway......

Found my limit

Went out this afternoon, the temp gauge on the Him was reading 31 deg for some parts of the ride - even on the open road it was near unberable.

Luckily for most of the time it was 29/30, that extra 1 degree over 30 is about my limit.

I drank 2 litres in 40 miles - great things those insulated drinks containers, and what a difference it makes having a long cool swig of ice cold water on a day like this when out in the heat.

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Found my limit

Posted by Nigel B <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Nigel+B' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 18, 2022, 8:48 am, in reply to "Found my limit"

As it is quite normal for the parts of Europe we tend to holiday in (Southern Germany / Austria / Northern Italy) to get into the mid-30s, I found a couple of things that make riding in such temperatures bearable. One is a bit more affordable than the other.

First off is hot weather riding gear - ventilated suits that are not water resistant in the slightest, but are basically an abrasive resistant mesh to keep the bugs out and hold armoured protectors in the usual places. My first was a Hein Gericke Air suit - I still use the jacket, but the trousers inexplicably shrunk over the winter a few years later & were replaced with IXS Air trousers. Mrs B got an IXS suit later. It has to be at least 22 C to use mine (so I don't use it much in the UK) & it allows reasonably comfortable riding into the mid-30s. I have an unlined shell water proof jacket & trousers that can be used in lower temps to block off the mesh & also provide waterproofing (after periods of very high temps come the inevitable thunder storms ! ). You still get a bit warm in slow traffic, but when you get going again the airflow through the suit evaporates off the perspiration and gives noticable cooling.

The other tip for riding in high temps is gain altitude - 1500 metres or more is best, but that is a bit of a challenge in the UK ! In 2019 we were staying on Lake Iseo in Northern Italy and it hit 43 C with high humidity. Even with the Air suits that was unbearable - in shorts & teeshirt and doing nothing it was unbearable ! IIRC Iseo is at around 200 metres, so we relocated North to Vipiteno at the Italian side of the Brenner - IIRC around 1200 meters - temps dropped to 34 C, but low humididty and a breeze made the temps bearable. Riding the Timmelsjoch Pass the next day (up to around 2400 M) was just pleasant.

Just back from "over there" & rode a couple of times in the mid-30s without too much discomfort - typically 130-170 mile days.

Nigel B

Re: Found my limit

Posted by Will <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Will' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 18, 2022, 9:16 am, in reply to "Re: Found my limit"

100% agree about mesh suits. Brilliant bits of kit. There's also some "smart fabrics" = soak in cold water, wring out & it stays cool for much longer than soaking ordinary fabrics. I have a scarf but t-shirts are available too.

Personally I've found altitude doesn't help much. In Portugal at 2000m it was only a degree or two cooler. Not really significant enough when it was still 40+ C at the summit. And at altitude the sun is more intense so you burn easier & get sunstroke quicker, and there's no shade because its above the tree line. Best solution was to start early and get back to base before 2.00pm when it became dangerously hot.

Re: Found my limit

Not ridden in Portugal, Will. Nearest to there I have been would be the Picos & then over the Pyrennes, which wasn't that hot when we did it.

The Alps / Dolmites have always been cooler for me the higher up you went. Usually still snow banks at the side of the road near the summits on the higher passes. Got to do the Oetztal Glacier Road this time - the highest road accessible to motor vehicles in Europe. Still snow around there (as you would expect of a "glacier road" ). That day it was 35 C down in the valley but around 20 C at the top - the half mile tunnel to the highest bit (around 2800 metres IIRC) was positively chilly. !

Nigel B.

Re: Found my limit

I was in the Portuguese Serra da Estrela in September so it had had all summer for the mountains to absorb the heat & the snow to melt (and as bizarre & unlikely as it may sound as it may sound there really is a ski resort in Portugal!).

Re: Found my limit

Posted by martin in the USA <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=martin+in+the+USA' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 18, 2022, 9:45 pm, in reply to "Re: Found my limit"

...(and as bizarre & unlikely as it may sound as it may sound there really is a ski resort in Portugal!).

Believe it or not, there are ski resorts in Hawaii.

Lock him up!

Re: Found my limit

Believe it or not, there are ski resorts in Hawaii.

And there is a ski slope in Dubai.

Nigel B.

Re: Found my limit

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on July 18, 2022, 5:56 pm, in reply to "Re: Found my limit"

Without doubt I am sure that the right gear makes a huge difference.

Unless this is a permanenet change to our UK climate I'll grin and bear it.

Who needs a signature anyway......

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