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Wouldn’t you know it, just when we have enough daylight in the evenings to go on a nice ride; it’s so hot you can hardly stand to go.    Who wants to stop every 15 minutes of so for a drink?  And if you shed all the riding gear, won’t you end up sacrificing safety just to keep cool?

Here are a few ideas to help you enjoy those summer rides.

We don’t want to sacrifice safety to keep cool, but a lightweight jacket can improve your hydration by preventing your skin from drying out due to sun and wind exposure. And should the unthinkable happen, while it won’t give you the protection of leather, it would afford you some protection.

Always wear light colored clothing. Light colored materials will reflect the suns rays rather than absorbing them.   So the difference in temperature for you in a dark colored jacket or helmet as vs light colored would be quite significant. Many people have summer and winter helmets. Wearing a white or light colored helmet, jacket and pants in the summer just makes sense.

Start hydrating your body several hours before you start your ride. Your body needs half its weight in ounces of water each day. In other words, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink 75 ounces of water each day to stay hydrated. And that’s on an average day. If you’re going to be doing manual labor or riding a motorcycle out in the heat you’ll need to replenish the fluids you lose to keep you cool.

To remain hydrated on a long ride you’ll need to make frequent stops to have a drink. You can carry bottled water in your saddlebags – some people freeze the bottles so they’ll be cool – or you can store them in an insulated bag to keep them that way.

But remember, you’ll need to stop for a drink every 15 to 20 minutes if you intend to keep your body properly hydrated. If you’re planning one of those really long trips, you may want to invest in a Camelbak.   This would be a way to drink without having to stop so often for a break.   But even though they may seem inconvenient, stopping frequently during very hot weather is still a good idea.

Remember, even with the best laid plans some times people will find themselves getting dehydrated. If you begin to suffer from dizziness, confusion, mental fog or just diminished reaction times, or if you stop sweating, get off the road and out of the sun. These are the signs you’re headed for a heat stroke.