A few years back I went racing at Willow Springs and it was 110 degrees outside. I was afraid to get out of my RV. When I went outside I saw a few of my buddies who rode there regularly out on the rack having a blast. I thought these people are going to cook themselves. When they came in they all looked at me like I was a *****. I thought I was being smart. One of my friends came up and asked why I was not riding. I said, um it is to hot and I am afraid of getting in trouble. Well, he said no worries we are riding under desert rules. I said, what? I soon learned how they do it. They took around the side of the building where there was a garden hose and short line of people. Each of the people in line were ready to go out for their session. As I watched each of them opened up their leather and proceeded to completely drench themselves to the point where there was water coming out of their boots. My friend looks at me and says "radiational cooling". Get yourself completely wet and as the water is sucked away by the desert it gets cold and keeps you cool.

What a revelation! So I tried it. And damn did it work. For the first ten minutes I was actually cold and it was 110 degrees outside.

And drink a lot of fluids as well.

 

I used to live out west and I can relate to that water cooling method it really works. Out here on the east coast you have much more humid heat which is harder to deal with.

 

I wish I woulda done something like that a few years back when racing. I ran a 30 minute race in full leathers in 104 degree heat. They said the pavement was 130 and I was dragging my boots/knee across that 130 degree pavement while sitting on top of a super hot engine! I actually got a bit of heatstroke, while going down the straight the wind would hit my sweat and I'd shiver with chills... very earie...

-Chad

 

I've lived in the Phoenix AZ area all my life and I swear by this method. I've used it since I was a kid on my BMX, mountain bike, blades, general walking, driving in an enclosed and open shell vehicles without AC, and on the CBR, and it has saved my ***! One thing I recommend is using water around 80 degrees. The reason is because when you're cooking and you soak yourself down in ice cold water, your muscles will tense up and put your body in shock which will significantly increase your fatigue. Keep in mind, it's water, so once a breeze, or 60-200+mph wind force is applied, it cools off significantly not to mention the warm water vs cold water evaporates at roughly the same rate when riding. Your gear will keep the water from evaporating quickly as well. If you go bare flesh or a t-shirt, then you'll only find a second or couple minutes of comfort.

Another thing I came tested out was the face masks you find in the beauty section of most stores like Wal Mart. A picture of one of these is below. I cut off the straps so it was just the gel mask portion and placed that in my helmet under the padding right at the base of the neck, and one right at the forehead. This gives you about 30 minutes (110-120 degree tested) of nice coolness. You keep them in your fridge and pop em in the freezer for 10-20 minutes if you want for extra cooling. I tried them on the sides of the helmet under the padding where the ears are and that didn't create as much comfort as the latter method. The helmet fit was still fairly comfortable and I found the most comfort with the latter method as well.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

 

Right on .......even though it's 7F here in ME atm back in August we had a few
+ 100F degree days (I know ain't chit, prolly winter for you Desert Racers) but
I found just that.

Gel Pad at the base of neck was good for about 40 mins of relief....for real

Sprock

Hey Hoit......... I still ride in Maine down to 15 F.........and yeah you got
to warm the rubber up for at least 10 - 15 minutes