suggestions for riding out west/colorado/utah/ ect. | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

suggestions for riding out west/colorado/utah/ ect.

You just showed to the gate attendant? You didn’t have to hand it over so they could check that it was actually issued to you?

” Asking for a friend”? ;)
 
Wonderings.......I have been looking at my Colorado map but I keep thinking I would probably find Utah more interesting. Or New Mexico.....Santa fe! Something that is dramatically different from here. I have done mountains , in Europe, in Mexico, in WV, western Canada, and they are fun and all but I’m slowing down in my old age and I get tired quicker pass bagging all day now. Lol
 
I have another question.....since I have never ridden out southwest, am I going to die from heat in my Klim overland? The venting is decent, better than the latitude, imo, but will I still find it unbearable? I don’t currently own a mesh jacket so I’m thinking I should pick one up.

I have no idea what to expect temp and weather wise. “Yeah, but it’s a dry heat”

i dont even know what what that means or feels like. I rode down to key west a couple years ago in April and I found it pretty hot in my Klim and a t. I left key west wearing all my gear except pants, I was wearing a “skort” that lasted for approximately 10 minutes before I realized I was way hotter without the pants and the grit and dirt kicked up off the road was stinging my legs. As soon as possible I pulled over and put on my pants. Plus it’s kinda scary riding with my bare skin exposed.

i have no idea how people in the states ride in shorts, tshirts and flip flops.

Before i forget, I have a airbag vest and I’m concerned if I wear it in the heat down there, it may block the jacket vents....
 
I have another question.....since I have never ridden out southwest, am I going to die from heat in my Klim overland? The venting is decent, better than the latitude, imo, but will I still find it unbearable? I don’t currently own a mesh jacket so I’m thinking I should pick one up.

I have no idea what to expect temp and weather wise. “Yeah, but it’s a dry heat”

i dont even know what what that means or feels like. I rode down to key west a couple years ago in April and I found it pretty hot in my Klim and a t. I left key west wearing all my gear except pants, I was wearing a “skort” that lasted for approximately 10 minutes before I realized I was way hotter without the pants and the grit and dirt kicked up off the road was stinging my legs. As soon as possible I pulled over and put on my pants. Plus it’s kinda scary riding with my bare skin exposed.

i have no idea how people in the states ride in shorts, tshirts and flip flops.

Before i forget, I have a airbag vest and I’m concerned if I wear it in the heat down there, it may block the jacket vents....

I wore my Klim Badlands everywhere I went. Vents well though I am sure a proper mesh jacket would be much better. Does the overland have a bladder pouch in the jacket? My badlands does and I will fill about half of it with ice in the morning and the rest with water. Gave me cold water most of the day and helped keep the temperatures down.
 
No it doesn't but last year I put a zip lock bag of ice in my back protector pocket but it didn't work as well as I would have like, it was way to low on my back.
 
When I went last year around labor day I packed an extra jacket which was mesh. I'm glad I did because it was HOT. I also have an underarmor shirt I wore when it was hot out. Everytime I stopped somewhere I bought a bottle of water just incase.

Another thing I tend to do is I wear a sock/scarf thingy around my neck made of thin material. Keeps the wind and sun away from my neck when I'm wearing my mesh jacket which has no collar. I also soak it in water to help keep my temps down. It's amazing what a cool cloth around your neck can do for your body temperature.
 
We just got back from an Arizona fly-and-rent trip (Phoenix & Sedona). There's a huge temperature variation there this time of year based on elevation: Phoenix was 35+ during the day, while Flagstaff was 0 first thing in the morning. For the hot stuff I used a full mesh jacket and kevlar riding jeans, and threw on a jacket shell for the cooler stuff.

The "dry heat" thing was helpful off the bike since it was actually comfortable in the shade despite the heat, unlike in Ontario where you're just sticky and miserable all the time. It didn't help much on the bike though, as even at highway speeds I could feel the tops of my thighs baking in the direct sun. If it gets really bad I'll soak my pants and/or shirt in water to cool off, but you need absorbent material like cotton to hold the water for a while. There was a guy in vented textile Klim gear stuck with us for a few minutes in Sedona traffic and you could tell he was unbearably hot even with all the vents open. Very few riders in Phoenix were wearing any kind of gear at all.

As mentioned, 89A southwest of Jerome is excellent, but the fun section is only about 20 minutes long, so I did it twice. The 191 south of Springerville looks pretty good too, but we didn't get over to that part of the state.
 
We were in Joshua Tree Park area and then Santa Barbara area in California in February and the variation in temperatures morning noon and night went from -2C to 25C. Prior to leaving we looked up a few of the major towns we were going to pass through on Wikipedia to get some sense of the historical monthly temps and also looked up local 2 week weather forecast just before we left, so there were no surprises and we had the proper clothing.

On a bike I'd very definitely bring my Airglide mesh jacket + heated liner + the windbreak liner as well. Heated gloves + regular ones. JR Ballistic non mesh pants + a set of woolies to wear on cold mornings. Spring or Fall boots. Key things is layers that one can adjust just the day as things warm up.
 
After the last few days in my Scott I'm seriously thinking of going back to my mesh and layers. I really don't like to be hot.
 

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