Tips To Keep Yourself Cool While Riding This Summer

These tips should help you enjoy a safe, stress-free ride this summer

Riding a motorcycle is usually a fun, relaxing affair. However, more often than not we end up commuting from our homes to our workplace. This can get particularly taxing during the summer as the heat gets unbearable in most parts of our country. So here are some handy pointers to help you keep your cool while riding:

• Invest in gear that is apt for summer. This includes a mesh jacket, casual short riding shoes, perforated summer riding gloves and a well-ventilated helmet.
• Most of helmets have vents. Remember to open them up before your ride. The visor can be left open at low speeds, or when you’re crawling through traffic. However, at high speeds, it is advisable to keep it closed to protect the face from flying debris as well as dust.
• Mesh jackets allow maximum airflow when compared to textile and leather jackets. If you have a textile jacket, open up all the ventilation zips. Avoid wearing leather jackets in the summer.
• Quick-dry shirts work wonders while riding in summers. They wick moisture in an instant and allow your body to breathe freely.
• If you’re riding on the highway, wear a buff soaked in water to keep your neck cool.
• Riding on the highway dehydrates you a lot quicker than you think. A hydration pack (it’s a backpack that can carry water) comes quite handy in these situations. Keeping a bottle of water in your backpack also helps big time.
• Take plenty of breaks if you’re doing long distances. Riding with a fatigued mind and body is a recipe for disaster as it compromises your judgement and reaction times.
• There are a number of products that are designed to keep the insides of your helmet cool. We’ve even tested one of them. Called the BluArmor BluSnap, it works quite well for what it’s intended, notwithstanding the boxy design. The company has launched the second iteration called the BluSnap2. Read all about it here.

These tips will go a long way in keeping you relatively fresh after a hot day’s ride. It goes without saying that you should not compromise on your gear for the sake of convenience. A sweaty head is always better than an cracked skull!