5 ways to Stay Cool on the Road...

Countdown - 6 days!

Got my haircut today (yes, both of them), and realized how much cooler I was (both literally and figuratively) as I walked outside.

I was packing up my bags and making sure I had everything necessary,and deciding which clothes to leave readily accessible and which to bury at the bottom of my bags.

Even though high temps in Hyder, Alaska are only in the upper 50's right now (and lows in the low 50's), temps in Montana are expected to be in the upper 80's each day. Since I expect to spend many hours per day in that heat, staying cool is important.

So how do you do it? I can give you five ways:

1. Wear breathable clothing - the wick-away shirts and undergarments available today keep moisture away from your skin, and allow you to stay cooler. I've found that if you wear a wick-away shirt under a t-shirt you can actually feel just as cool as if you are wearing one shirt (even though technically you are wearing two).

2. Use water-soaked doo-rags around your neck - this is the cheap and easy way to stay cool. Keeping your neck cool will help your head feel cooler. Of course, this will create some humidity for you and will soak your shirt and other clothing too. Riding in wet clothing isn't the most comfortable ride.

3. Cooling vests - Yes, you can actually buy vests that circulate water or contain removeable frozen packs that actually keep you cool. Heck, you can buy anything. But I've been told that these work great. I haven't tried them but I can only imagine that they might actually cool you down too much. Nothing like a freezer pack stuck to your back for hours.

4. Rehydrate regularly - Even if you don't feel like you are sweating a bunch or seem particularly thirsty, you have to replentish with plain old water. My thing is to drink at least a full bottle of water at each stop. I might have a Monster energy drink as well, but I try to also drink water. If you find that you are having to stop more often to ...relieve yourself, that's a good thing. It means that you aren't getting dehydrated.

5. Get some shade - Use the shadows created by other vehicles, notably semi trucks, to stay out of direct sunlight. Be careful though that you stay out of the "No Zone" which is directly alongside a semi truck. If he has to come over, he's got no where to go except to move you over. It's also a bad place to be when a semi loses a retread, or blows a tire. But aside from riding in shadows, use a tinted shield on your helmet, and clothing that will reflect light, instead of attract it. (Unfortunately, most chaps only come in black leather. Not much you can do about that.)

So, there's five ways to stay cool. And how often do you get to be cool like me?