Riding a motorcycle instead of riding inside a car is better any day, or is it? Here in Southern California, the weather lately has made riding much more difficult. With temperatures soaring around 100 degrees, and humidity seemingly 100%, riding a motorcycle with “appropriate” riding gear can be a miserable experience. If that gear includes, at a minimum, a suitable motorcycle jacket, helmet and gloves, and the ride takes you through congested Southern California traffic, this is a prescription for dehydration and heat exhaustion.
It is times like these that I can look at automobile drivers, listening to their stereo blaring (and their in-car temperature likely in the 70 degree farenheit neighborhood) and feel envious. Sure, I can still cut and thrust through traffic in a way they can only dream of and arrive at my destination earlier, but perhaps my age (48 years) and nationality (Norwegian — makes me prefer cooler weather) and my unwillingness to wear the latest “flow through” street jackets, makes me feel half dead when I arrive.
I suppose your mother has already told you to drink plenty of fluids when you ride in weather like this. If she hasn’t, just look at how much water your body has lost (in the form of sweat) when you remove your gear at the end of a ride.
