black leathers & heat

[jmazz]

I love the swamp cooler effect of a soaking wet shirt underneath your gear once you get moving. It's amazing how fast the shirt dries out though.

[The Snowman]

I usually wear a long-sleeved under armor shirt under my leathers. Between sessions, hit the rest room and soak the under armor shirt with cold water. It acts like an air conditioner.

[nt650hawk]

Gear - Perforations in the Suit, gloves, open all helmet vents. I don't have them but some boots have perforated sections.


I can afford to loose judgment and not focusing with customers.
I'm right there with Pete on what he said.

I drink plenty of water the day prior. Yea, Taking leak Evey 1-2 hours kind of sucks but I know I'm doing it for a good cause.

Morning of:
I have my pot of oatmeal, banana, an orange and 32oz of water.

I have to come in after the second follow the leader session to let out a few oz.

Throughout the day after I cut Gatorade with water 50/50. I'll go thru at least another 96 oz of this as well as another banana and an orange. I have to hit the bathroom practically after every session.

Have a good sized lunch.

Take any opportunity to get in the AC.

Ive also been turned on to Vita Coco I don't know if it works or if it does not but it does not taste too bad. It can't hurt, right?

[-jro-]

I don't think the black leather suit is the culprit of your heat stroke/fatigue. I ride out here in 110 F in a black suit and yes its hot but doable. Like everyone else said: HYDRATE. Days in advance of a track day, begin upping the amount of water you take in. Bring wet rags and fan to your track day and cooler full of liquids. Would a white perforated suit help? Sure, but it's not the deal breaker. Keeping hydrated and rested will keep the heat sickness away.

[Mr. Kurtz]

[union]

I race in a dark blue and black suit. Worst part for me is waiting on the grid. Short red flags where we regrid are really bad. Other then that its not a problem at all. I tend to drink a lot of water. I probably go through a case or two over a weekend. Ill pee just before a race and usually will have to go soon after. I also avoid the sun until Im done for the day. I run three races a weekend. One is separated by a single race and last weekend it was a back to back deal.

As long as youre hydrated and stay out of the sun as much as possible while off the bike you should do ok.

[CBR929RE]

I specifically had my suit made in mostly white so it would be cooler when sitting on the grid waiting to go. Its definitely much cooler than my old red/black suit. also cooler when riding but that's probably more to do with poor vents on the old suit and full perforations on the new one.

[butcher bergs]

I specifically had my suit made in mostly white so it would be cooler when sitting on the grid waiting to go. Its definitely much cooler than my old red/black suit. also cooler when riding but that's probably more to do with poor vents on the old suit and full perforations on the new one.

It's not the colors of your suit, Buju. You are simply THAT cool.

[CBR929RE]

It's not the colors of your suit, Buju. You are simply THAT cool.

finally someone realizes it

Buju, that's a new one. what nationality/creed/ethnicity am I now?

[butcher bergs]

finally someone realizes it

Buju, that's a new one. what nationality/creed/ethnicity am I now?

Novice until further notice.

[CBR929RE]

Novice until further notice.

what's your email, I need to ask for a bump

[butcher bergs]

what's your email, I need to ask for a bump

I got your bump right here

[CBR929RE]

I got your bump right here

ewwww
could you please keep this on topic

[SVRACER01]

i have 2 pc leathers and last trackday scottie was wearing 2pc as well. he commented on how much he liked it because he could take off his jacket to cool down without the ordeal of removing a whole suit

[Evadd]

Here's what they told me:

Gatorade (which I had been mostly drinking) in really extreme situations can worsen dehydration due to the excessive salts and potassium. They said to drink water, and to drink until you had to take a leak nearly every half hour. I felt like I was drinking plenty (a gatorade in between each run and an additional water or two here and there) and I was still seriously dehydrated.

Moving forward they told me on hot days to head inside the media center or another air conditioned space, get the top half of my suit off and bring some ice packs and towels to put on my neck and under my armpits.

They also recommended pre-hydrating as another poster mentioned. Part of my issue was that I had flown back from Dallas the day before and had not done a good job of taking care of myself on that trip and really sort of over extended myself with all the activity of the weekend + the track day.

-Ed

as others have pointed out, their recommendation to drink only water is wrong. without boring everyone with details, sweat is not water - it has electrolytes in it, and drinking only water will lead to hyponatremic dehydration. Gatorade isn't perfect, and i personally agree with diluting it a bit, but it's better than only water.

pre-hydration and moving out of the heat are good common sense moves, and i personally wrap a cold towel around my neck and chest and it keeps me cool for a long time. i take a damp towel and throw it in the freezer til it's a little stiff but not quite solid; it stays for quite a while.

[Harley Davidson]

black leathers are NOT the way to go on a 90 degree plus summer day. Kinda obvious but at the same time plenty of folks seem to wear them (we both have them, all we could get on short notice). So the question is... if one keeps properly hydrated (he was told water, not Gatorade), and at least gets one's upper body out of your leathers between sessions & ? (other cool-down things to do) should black leathers be manageable on a killer hot day or are we looking at finding some lighter colored leathers?

Science?

So, black will clearly reflect direct sunlight less and absorb more on a hot sunny day, on the starting grid.

Once moving on the track, convective cooling will come into play and I think the venting system of the suit will make much more difference than color.

Once you get out of the sun, particularly into to the air conditioned classroom, heat transfer will be mostly do to radiation and the black suit will cool faster than the white because it is a more efficient at radiating heat.

So, I think it's a wash.

Final Conclusions:

1. The umbrella girls on the starting grid might be more valuable to riders in black suits.

2. Black suits are way cooler (figuratively) , therefore riders with black suits are more likely to get the umbrella girls, so they end up cooler (literally) even on the starting grid.

[Mustang]

I have to hit the bathroom practically after every session.

This. If you're not peeing all the time, you're not drinking enough. If it's lunchtime and you haven't peed yet that day and it's really hot, I'd even say consider sitting out a session (it will be during the hottest part of the day, after all) until you do have to go.

[lrrs313]

Hydrate for several days before, and the day of. Gatorade/Powerade and water 50/50. I always wore Under Armor long sleeve shirts and long pants under my leathers -- really hot days soak them before you go out on track, they cool you down a lot once the wind hits them. As an added benefit, they make getting into and out of your leathers a lot easier. Also, get out of your leathers as much as possible when you're not on the track. Even just unzipping and getting the upper half off helps a ton.

[a13x]

I don't think the black leather suit is the culprit of your heat stroke/fatigue. I ride out here in 110 F in a black suit and yes its hot but doable. Like everyone else said: HYDRATE. Days in advance of a track day, begin upping the amount of water you take in. Bring wet rags and fan to your track day and cooler full of liquids. Would a white perforated suit help? Sure, but it's not the deal breaker. Keeping hydrated and rested will keep the heat sickness away.

+1

Remember reading a CA thread recently about black vs white suits and a few guys laid out a black jacket and a white jacket in the sun with thermometers underneath. The temp difference after a hour or so wasn't really that noticeable. Personally I ride in all black leathers in 90-110 degree weather fairly often. Hell even was motocrossing last week in 105 weather.

Key for me is getting in the shade between sessions. Being sure to take off the top half of your leathers between sessions (my legs can normallyi deal with the heat better, getting out of the top though def helps cool down the core), and staying hydrated. Shade makes a MAJOR difference though. We'll even carry a umbrella around with us when cruising the paddock on foot. Staying at the pit wall watching for 10 minutes with / without umbrella is a huge difference.

You should start hydrating a few days before the event. The fact you flew the day before didn't help. Planes are run very 'dry' and you should hydrate extra when preparing to travel as well. (I'm on planes 4-6 times a month). So plane + hot trackday + so-so hydration = not fun.