After having spent the last 2 1/2 summers working in the Bakersfield
oilfields, I found that the best way to stay cool was wearing white,
long-sleeved t-shirt (100%cotton) and wearing a open bandana under my hardhat.
That way the bandana could shade my ears and neck and protect me from the sun.
Trust me it is pretty darn hot when you have hot flow lines under foot and steam
lines around you and the air temp at 112 degrees. I learned this trick from the
farm workers and it really works. And since I was the work horse and didn't have
a horse to stir the air for me, I needed all the help I could get. You can find
bandanas in your favorite colors and make that fashion statement! I wore a
bright pink one!!
Lori B.
----- Original Message ----- From: Truman Prevatt
To: Glenda R. Snodgrass Cc: Barbara McCrary ; Jonni Jewell
; Ridecamp Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 4:33 PM Subject: Re:
[RC] riding in heat
Absolutely correct. The only way
evaporative cooling can work is when the air can absorb additional
water vapor. When the humidity is high the air is already close to
saturation and will not absorb additional water. When the humidity is
low and it can. The water takes heat from the skin to go from
the liquid form to go the vapor form and absorbed by the air. Each
gram of water will carry off so many calories of heat ( latent heat
of evaporation).
This works fine in dry climates but not in more
humid climates. Swamp coolers work fine in the SW but they sure don't
work in the east.
Many times in the east the only way I have found
to get cool is stick my head into a cooler full of ice. Of course you
have to drink the beer to make room:-).
Truman
Glenda R. Snodgrass wrote:
>>the
helmet. The air flowing through your helmet evaporates the water
and >>cools the head. A soaked scarf lasts about 3 hours
on a hot day; maybe a >>head "cookie" would last a similar
amount of time. >>
>> > >There is no evaporation when you are in
high humidity, which is the >biggest problem. In fact,
putting water on and leaving it on during high >humidity can
exacerbate the problem, as the water absorbs the warmth from
>sunlight and actually insulates the skin, causing higher
temperatures >rather than cooler. >
>Water only helps in hot humid conditions when it is either (1) cold
and/or >(2) poured on and scraped off quickly. A wet scarf
around the neck is >*miserable* in humid weather, except for the
first 5 minutes after it >comes out of the icechest.
> >
