Western US Record Heat

[Bob_Roller]

Extreme heat in the western US has been in the news the last week .
Still riding the bikes to work .
I leave for work around 0410, temps this week have been around 95-97 F, 35-36 C  .
Brought an infared non-contact thermometer to work on Thursday .
Here are the temp readings on my way home around 1630 .
I work at an international airport, the reading at 1630 was 118 F, 48 C at the airport .
The engine temp ( engine had not been run in 12 hours ), 124 F, 51C bike is parked in a covered parking area .
The asphalt temp in the parking lot, 197 F, 92C .
I put a temp sensor on the front of the bike at around cylinder height , air temp 136 F, 57 C on the urban expressway I use, the road surface is asphalt .
Checked tire temps when I got home, front 211 F, 99 C, rear 225 F, 107 C .
Glad I only have an 11 mile, 18 km ride home .
Yeah, it's " a dry heat " .

I kinda wonder what temps will cause tire failure
The roads around here are littered with the thrown caps from heavy trucks, also seeing tire caps from light trucks and cars the past few days .
Probably running with low air pressure in the tires .
From the looks of it, ' kar-b-que ' season is here, saw three car fires the past week on the way home .

[dogshome]

2 days before solstice and traditionally the hottest time of the year in the UK. 15C, overcast and with the odd rainstorm. All day. 27C and sunny last week, which was 20 minutes burn in the sun.

I have worked in some hot places in the world over the years, but those are crazy temperatures   

What do you wear? I have a mesh jacket with armoured corners. Mesh backed gloves. Also an open face helmet for 'hot' days. Our hot is half of yours though!!!

[Bob_Roller]

Mesh jacket, summer lightweight gloves and still wear a full face helmet I've been hit in the face shield too many times with road debris to go to a open helmet, this hot dry air at highway speeds is not kind to the eyes .
Positive note, tires stick like Velcro .
Need to use premium fuel now until October, engine detonation is quite pronounced if you need to go to full throttle .

[dogshome]

I totally agree with your choice of helmet. I only use the open face for nipping across town. Too many feathered and winged pests. Plus flying debris on the open road. I feel underdressed in the open face. Also noticed the very sticky tarmac here last week. Literally sticky.

I really hope you don't hit any traffic you can't filter by and have to stop! 

[Justin B.]

Bob - I would think that navigating those temps would push me toward retirement and quickly!  It's been toasty up here in the mountains but not nearly as bad as what you are experiencing.  Last week temps were in the mid to upper  90s but with the humidity the heat index was in the 110+ deg range.  I am glad I "over-paneled" my solar install here as I can run the AC all day long (until about 17:45) without cranking up the generator.