bikenh

I'm going to be riding in near desert conditions coming up in a little over a month. I realize one of the reasons I've read to wear a light colored, thin, long sleeve shirt, namely not to get your arms fried. My main question is when to put it on. Is it also for holding moisture into the skin as well. Should I start out very first thing in the AM, sunrise/presunrise with it on or should I wait until the sun gets higher in the sky like 9-10AM?

Also do let the legs fend for themselves and just wear regular bike shorts or something more like tights?

jamawani 

To answer your question with a question - -
"Why don't Bedouins wear shorts and tank tops??"

A loose fitting long-sleeve shirt will keep you cooler.
No direct sun on skin and you get greater benefit from evaporative cooling.
I also bike with convertible pants - lightweight, nylon.
(Boxer briefs underneath to prevent chafing)
I tuck the legs into my socks and look like a dweeb.
But I have fair complexion and don't want skin cancer.

Sometimes I'll do the long thing all day.
Other times, I'll change out if I'm doing late riding.
Most intense sunlight is from 10a to 4p daylight savings time.

stevepusser

How much water do you have access to on the ride? I have ridden in Northern and Southern California on tours when the temps approached 110F, but water sources were plentiful, and I used a heavy long-sleeved cotton T-shirt and would soak it under faucets and squirt water onto the sleeves from my bottles for evaporative cooling. Filling up the bottles with ice and keeping them in my jersey pockets also provides cooling, as well as just dumping ice in the pockets (ice free from fast-food places or convenience stores) A cheap insulated and waterproof nylon lunch bag is also useful for carrying ice and bottles. I usually ride with no socks in black SPD sandals, but this kind of heat makes the straps so hot they burn my feet, so thin white cycling socks come to the rescue.

If water is a problem, then thin material that breathes well and provides as much sun protection as possible is what you need. Your chest will be protected from the sun, so benefits from direct air flow (why jerseys have long zippers) Use your microfleece towel as a neckerchief. Don't worry about keeping moisture next to your skin, you really need to have your sweat evaporate to provide cooling. That will mean you also will really need to replace electrolytes, a whole lot of electrolytes, or you'll get sick from electrolyte imbalance. Using water on the clothing for cooling instead of sweat saves your body's electrolytes, which is why it's preferable.

YMMV, but I can't stand anything on my legs other than shorts in hot weather, but I do use high-SPF dry sunscreen on them and all exposed skin. The worst parts of the legs for sun exposure seem to be the top of my thighs. You may be fine with tights or looser garb, though.

I usually wait until 9-10 AM (daylight savings time) to start with the sun protection. Any riding you can get in before then is a bonus in hot weather. If you can finish with the day's ride before the sun reaches zenith, even better. If not, take a break during the 12-2 pm period if possible to avoid the worst of the sun. I've noticed that many desert locations maintain the maximum temperatures right up until sunset, so you won't avoid a lot of heat by setting out again after 3-4 pm, but you will be avoiding the more direct heat and UV rays from the sun.

If you can find a water hose during your breaks, soak yourself down. Run through sprinklers, take off your shoes and cool your feet in a stream or fountain (did all this in NorCal) Of course, these can be tough to find in undeveloped desert.

Burton

Dehydration is one risk of a desert environment - excessive UV exposure is an entirely different danger. You need to learn how to prevent both. Sun poisoning, like dehydration, can kill you.

https://www.m.webmd.com/skin-problems.../sun-poisoning

Doug64

On a tour across the U.S. my wife was also having trouble with the tops of her thighs. She bought a cheap XXL T-shirt and cut the sleeves off. She just put them on like knee warmers. She has since sewn some out of fancier cotton material, and has used them for the last 6 years. She used the rest of the shirt as a sheet on hot nights.


Her favorite warm weather top is a very light weight Duofold long sleeved underwear top (white) and a sleeveless jersey. The Duofold top is almost like a fine weave mesh. She crossed the Oregon High Desert, southern Idaho, southern Wyoming, southern Portugal, and souther Spain using this system. Temperatures as high as 110F were experienced in all these places. If it got too hot, she would remove the jersey and ride with just the shirt. She is blue eyed and has a light complexion, but has never burned. She also uses liberal amounts of good sun screen.





Eastern Oregon High Desert-- Not much shade

Burton

For blue eyed fair skinned people, NOTHING protects from UVB quite like a good SPF 50 sunblock.

bikenh

I'll try to ask further questions here as I go back and reread the responses you guys left.

No socks vs wool socks. Ever since I was having foot trouble last year when doing high mileage ride I posted over on the Rando forum and they suggested wearing wool socks. I switched over from only wearing them during the winter months to wearing them year round anymore. Last summer when I was on a trip out to St. Louis with temps in the low 90s I was wearing them and was shocked as to how comfortable my feet were in terms of hot feet or sore feet. Why not wear wool socks...since I haven't seen anyone mention it yet.

With the exception of the center of the Big Bend I know water shouldn't be much of a problem...I don't think. Generally I should be around towns every 30-40 miles from looking at the maps. Big Bend could be another problem though. That's the area I'm most concerned with. After some experimenting last year while doing long ride 150-200 milers I finally found the easy way to avoid the dehydration and keep the pace up was to drinking pure salt water. I don't have a sense of taste/smell so the salt water doesn't bother me any. I did buy the real stuff yesterday, sea salt, and plan on taking it with and drinking it probably most of the trip, desert and non desert riding. It does a great job for me of keeping the sodium levels up and then I grab a couple of bananas every hour or two and the difference last year before and after switching was night and day comparison. After reading Raybo posting of his trip down to Big Bend this spring I realize I may switch from bananas to raisins since they are as high if not higher in potassium. I know I still have to get ahold of a decent water bladder so I can carry bigger amounts of water on me for the drier stretch of the trip and probably to also use it for soaking clothing in the dried stretch.

Wouldn't nylon 'cook' the skin? That's the last thing I would think that you would want to have on since it 'keeps the moisture/heat trapped'. I would think something like long johns would be better than nylon pants. Given the color that actually might be better than the tights I have.

I'm already planning on starting each day as daylight starts to break since I'm planning very long days(150+ miles per day). I figure starting out by 6AM I should be able to get over 1/2 of the mileage in before noontime other than in Big Bend. Other than in Big Bend I should be able to take time off in a town during 12-4PM stretch and then continue riding afterwards. Since I won't be getting down to TX until after day 14 of the trip I should be in 'robot riding mode' which should help to keep the pace up in the early AM hours to help get more mileage out of the way before noontime.

It's definitely going to be a rather interesting TRIP. I can't wait to see how TX works out. I may end up having to switch things around quite a bit depending on how things go. I'm hoping to get Big bend in before the second planned break of the trip since I still will need to be doing 150+ miles a day after the planned break for another 14-15 days before I can finally start to slow the pace up a bit and take it a bit easier.

Yeah, this is a TRIP not a TOUR. Roughly 6500-7000 miles in 2.5 months. First 7 days getting from NH-OH at just over 100 miles a day. Then 7 days off with family. Then 14 days of 150+ miles per day OH to western TX. Then hopefully 7 days off helping out at an event down in TX. Then 15 days of 140-150 miles per day to make it up to central SD before the end of the a festival up there. I know if I haven't made it there by the end of the festival than getting there is almost worthless. After the last weekend of August I can start to slack back off and take it easy once again and finish off the 1500-1600 miles at a more relaxed pace as the only limiting factor for getting back to NH is to make here before winter arrives. So I figure I will keep averaging around 100 miles a day for the rest of the trip with maybe 5-7 days in OH with the family again before heading on up to NH. Yeah a bike TRIP not a bike TOUR.

fietsbob

Someone with a prior transcontinental ride bought water bladder bags , to bring a gallon [4L] + of water..

you would put, say, 4 , one in each pannier bottom .. to balance the weight ..

raybo

I recently (end of April, 2013) rode a tour of Big Bend NP (journal here) and suggest you not underestimate how much the wind will play a factor in your calculations. Between the heat and the wind, you may find yourself dehydrating faster than normal. When I was there, a storm passed through and it was so cold that I was shivering on the downhills. Don't know about August, but it was well over 90 in late April. Be prepared for extreme temperatures.

In West Texas there are NO SERVICES between towns, so you have to carry all food and water when riding. Also, there is no shade anywhere and if you are planning to rest in the middle of the day, bring a way erect a sun shade.

One good thing is that the people in Texas are very helpful. I waved an empty water bottle at a passing car and it turned around, drove home, got a gallon of water, and poured it into my Camelbak. While I wouldn't want to depend on getting passed by a car full of helpful people at just the right time, it is good to know that the locals will help you out. I started that day with a full 70 oz Camelbak and 2.5 liters of water in my panniers and I still ran low. And, I was only riding 50 miles a day.

10 Wheels

When I rode in Big Bend I needed 1 bottle for every 6 miles.

It was Hot and Dry.

bikenh

I read through you journal already Raybo. It was definitely a great writeup. I did get the full feel of exactly what you said about no services outside of the towns. Looking back at the data for last year temps down in Marathon hit 100 or more all right around the August 1st otherwise it was a consistent 93-95 degrees everyday through July and August. I don't know of a part of the country that is more consistent with temps than that. I also realize the area can have wind. I know just up north of there as you head east on I-20 it is wind turbine city from just east Big Spring all the way to Abilene. I drove that stretch last year when I was coming back from the hang gliding competition in Big Spring. From what I have been told normally the first week or two of August is when the winds die down the most and that is why until last year the hang gliding comp was normally either the first or second week of August, it got moved back to the first week of August for this year to go for the more favorable wind conditions so that may help out some. I'm not sure if I will end up getting all the way down to Big Bend or not. I'm hoping to but I also know...boy is that ever pushing the mileage...consistently. Being from NH and always riding an average of 50 feet per mile I'm not really worried about the climbing like it seems you were. I know as long as I keep my fed and hydrated I shouldn't have any trouble with the climbing but the overall miles everyday is going to be another story. I did average 113 per day last year on my trip and most of it was in mid August to mid September with a bit less sunlight to work and not as well of a defined route as I have this year. I've already been mapping out what I'm targeting using for stealth campsites each night and have the trip done down to Big Bend already. Just a couple spots down in the BB area that I need to work out. I'll send you a PM as there are a couple questions I'm wondering about. I may not send it until tomorrow though. I may try to get home high and dry since rain is moving in and I didn't bring anything to protect the laptop for the ride home as I thought the rain was going to hold off/not happen.

stevepusser

Rain? What's that? Send some this way!!!

Just wanted to be a bit pendatic in that I live and ride in a desert in San Diego, with under 10 in rain a year, but it's a cool maritime desert along the coast, with relatively higher humidities and lots of low clouds and fog, and it's like that down the Pacific coast of Baja. Heck, the driest deserts in the world in Peru, Chile, and Namibia are the same way.

I do realize you meant the popular conception of hot inland deserts, with badlands, cactus, and cattle skulls, like we have on the other side of our coastal mountains here.

I did make a totally waterproof commuter pannier out of one of these, ( https://www.amazon.com/IRIS-Premium-A..._petsupplies_2 ) and use it on the rare occasions rain threatens on my commute. Used black paint meant for plastic from the auto dept at Walmart to make it look a lot nicer, and so no one could see what kind of expensive goodies I have inside.

Sounds like you are getting a good handle on your trip plans. Remember, out there there's no such thing as carrying too much water.

Tansy

Two years ago at RAGBRAI it seemed a popular thing to tuck handkerchiefs or bandanas around the edge of your bike shorts and wet them. Requires having enough water to spare, but seems to work pretty well. in muggy heat, I think the problem was as much heat-rash as sunburn. I've been out in the southwest on a bike so long I don't really burn so easily anymore, but I usually cycle in shorts and a loose long sleeve tunic. Hiking, I wear loose yoga pants. All my tight-fitting "bike clothing" has long since been left at hostels and campgrounds along the way. Completely useless and uncessesary in dry, hot climates sofar as I'm concerned.

bikenh

I forgot to mention before...I have a Duofold 'turtle neck' that I bought at a closeout store a couple of years ago. It's black, unfortunately for summer/desert wear but I love the thing. Unfortunately from looking at their website and through the stores they don't make it anymore. I love the shirt. I wear all winter long. Normally I'm only wearing it and a double layer nylon wind jacket until it gets down to around 10 degrees F. It's keeps me plenty warm and most importantly it keeps me from sweating...major component to winter survival while biking.

ironwood

Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.

bikenh

I tend to think I would probably try to lay low midday. After a discussion with someone yesterday I think my trip plans may be on the verge of taking a very radical change. Texas is still in the cards for sure but after TX I don't know what I'm doing. I may be going to true desert territory by mid September...namely southern AZ. I may end up spending mid August to mid September out west instead of heading back east. I don't have the slightest clue what is going to happen yet. It must be mid June. It was mid June last year when my entire summer plans took a radical change thanks to an email I received. Yesterday may have been almost the same radical shift for this summers plan. The possibility of southern AZ and even TX for that matter brings up one more area of 'clothing' questioning for desert attire. What do you use, if it's even necessary, for keeping sweat out of the eyes? I realize the sweat is going to evaporate quite quickly, like the second it reaches the skin, especially in an AZ environment more so than a TX environment, is a head/sweatband even necessary out west. I always use a sweatband here in NH, summer and winter.