Hot Weather Motorcycling

We're in a for a wicked hot weekend in the greater ATL.  Highs are expected to be around 106 degrees on Saturday, the day of our Wounded Warriors ride in conjunction with Crossroads FAITH Riders, Meineke Car Center of Peachtree City and Great South Harley-Davidson in Newnan.  Details on the ride are here.

With temperatures that high the temptation for some riders is to leave the jacket at home and wear a short-sleeved shirt.  Some may even consider short pants.  But by exposing that much skin you're actually going to feel WARMER than if you're actively subscribing to ATGATT (all the gear all the time).

The Magic Number Is 93
That would be 93 degrees (if I was making this up it would have been 93.3).  At temperatures below 93 degrees your body has no problem staying cool while riding, provided you're going fast enough to generate a breeze.  When it's hotter than 93 degrees the wind actually makes exposed skin WARMER.  Yeah, I know, it sounds counter-intuitive, but stick with me.

Your body has four methods of staying cool; evaporation, radiation, conduction and convection.  At temperatures above 93 degrees evaporation (which your body accomplishes by perspiring) becomes the only working method of cooling.  That's because 93 degrees is about the average skin temperature.  So at heat levels above 93 degrees the air is actually transferring heat to any exposed skin on your body, rather than taking heat away from you.  So to minimize the effect of hot air making you hotter, cover up.

Heat Related Health Hazards
The hot weather can not only cause you to feel uncomfortable, it can also cause health problems and, at worse, death.  Cramping in the legs or abdomen is one of your body's earliest signals that it's beginning to dehydrate.  Make sure to drink plenty of water prior to a ride in the heat.  (Stay away from alcohol, caffeine and drinks with high sugar content, these will actually contribute to dehydration.)

If you ignore the cramps the next level of danger is heat exhaustion.  People suffering from heat exhaustion will sweat profusely, experience headache, nausea and dizziness.  After heat exhaustion comes heatstroke, sometimes referred to as sunstroke.  This one will kill you if not treated promptly. Symptoms of heatstroke include rapid heartbeat and breathing, confusion and fainting.  We don't want that.  So be sure to dress appropriately and drink enough water before and during your ride.  

Wounded Warriors Ride

If you're a rider, I hope you'll consider joining us tomorrow (Saturday 6/30/12) for the Wounded Warriors Ride.  Registration begins at 8:00 AM with KSU (that would be "kick stands up" not Kennesaw State University) at 9:30 AM.  We probably won't beat the heat, but we'll get a head start on it.  And the first 50 people to say "I'm a Joy Rider" at registration will get one of the nifty commemorative T-Shirts pictured below.  Hope to see you.

Here's the back of the T-Shirt

And this would be the front, stylish, eh?

 

The End Of The Road

The image of the road conjures up a vast variety of thoughts and emotions.  The Bible uses the road as both metaphor and setting for some key lessons.  There's the road to Jericho where the parable of the Good Samaritan takes place.  Saul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus and had both his name and life changed.  Cleopas and another anonymous disciple of Jesus were on the road to Emmaus when they were joined by a stranger shortly after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  The stranger was later revealed to be Jesus himself.

There's often a sense of excitement when we set off on the road.  Even when we're sure of where we're headed there can be some uncertainty about what might happen along the way.  There could be disaster and redemption, such as was the case of the traveler set upon by bandits and rescued by the Good Samaritan.  Or like Saul/Paul an unexpected encounter could lead us to take an entirely different path.  And there are those trips who's true significance is realized only once the journey is over, like that walk Cleopas and his friend took to Emmaus.

Sometimes the road itself proves as much fun as the destination.  Ask anyone who rides a motorcycle.

And when the road ends we we're faced with a choice.  Turn around or blaze our own trail.  How you handle that one depends on who's map you're following.

Sometimes It Seems Like It Never Ends

My wife Teri and I spent a good deal of the Memorial Day weekend doing yard work.  My son Caleb helped me get a few trees out of the yard.  They'd fallen over the course of the past few weeks.  Then Teri and I cleaned up some of the smaller branches, cut the grass, blew off the driveway.  Teri even found time to plant some flowers. Coming home from work yesterday I was able to smile at how nice the yard was finally looking.

Then just after 3 o'clock this morning I heard that ominous "fooommp" from somewhere outside.  Almost instantaneously the power went out.  I grabbed a flashlight and walked the yard.  A large Georgia Pine had fallen across the street, knocking out the power to the entire neighborhood.  The power company was there within the hour, and nearly six hours later they'd restored the power.  And now I have at least another weekend's worth of work waiting for me in the front yard.

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Blue Light Special

No, this is not about your run-of-the-mill cut-rate department store five cents off a pack of 24 white tube socks blue light special.  This is about the magic elixir that is less than 60 seconds away when the blue light on the Keurig coffee maker is lit.  Now that IS something special.