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Several years ago, while on an MTF activity, Alan Leduc was talking with another member about distance riding. The member was commenting about the difficulty of stringing together 1,000+ mile days, such as in the “big dance” [Iron Butt Rally]. I will never forget Alan’s response, as it was a simple, “It’s all mental.” For whatever reason, the conversation then took other directions, so I was left to only ponder the greater depths of: “It’s all mental.”

Earlier this month, Barb Smith gave me the friendly reminder of, “It’s newsletter time,” and she offered the thought that some words on hot weather riding might be appropriate. I thought that was a good suggestion, and I also commented that given all the things we have going on in the LD community, some safety thoughts on LD riding might be appropriate. So here were two possible topics, and the one thing they share is that I don’t feel very qualified on either topic – I don’t live in, or do hot weather riding in the desert southwest, and my sole SS 1000 was to simply be a legitimate attendee at the IBA JAX Ride-In dinner.

A quandary – then Alan’s words came wafting back – It’s all Mental! ….and it occurred to me that perhaps this is the common thread to both – It’s all Mental!

I have long believed, preached, and practiced that once a base level of riding skill is achieved, safe riding is nearly all mental. It’s anticipating the dastardly tricks that cagers will forever employ, it’s seeing what is hidden as well as the obvious, it’s anticipating the dangers of a blind curve or a crested hill or the forest at the edge of the road, it’s keeping the myriad distractions from affecting our riding focus, and it’s staying sufficiently in touch with ourselves to employ additional margins as any of these skills diminish. How do I know when I’ve crossed the mental line? When these items are no longer my focus, imo, I’m over it.

So, how does this relate to hot weather riding? The relationship I want to make is that our entire mission, when dealing with the elements, hot, cold or whatever, is to take the steps, whatever they may be, to maintain our mental edge. What is right for me may not be right for you, and vice-versa. Hydration both before and during the ride is well documented. Maintaining bodily chemical balances while perspiring heavily is a must. But, more than anything else, being in touch with our mental capabilities and processes is essential. When and/or if my mental processes waver, I must take immediate action. Our hot weather “tool box” and appropriate actions may include many items that have been discussed in many hot weather threads: mesh/well vented riding gear, air flow management on the bike, cooling devices such as evaporative cooling vests or wetted gear, application of cold/iced wraps, bandanas, etc, well placed breaks w/ air conditioning and chilled liquids, extending breaks, changing riding/rest patterns to ride when cooler, rest when hotter, calling it a day earlier than norm, and even calling the ride. I’m sure there are many others. The key point is that the goal of all this is to maintain the mental edge. Once I ride past this point I have greatly increased risk and should not be riding. We all have vastly different tolerances and limits, and what may be right for one can be extremely dangerous for another. I can’t judge what’s right for me by what the other guy/gal feels. We have to know that if we wait too long to make some of these decisions, we’re now doing it with reduced mental capacities. Our decisions are now in question. It’s all Mental!

Barb, in suggesting this topic to me, offered that a rider from the north, while riding through the hot, desert southwest had found it necessary to gradually forgo riding gear as a method of dealing with the heat. Again, I’m not going to offer myself as any form of expert, but last year on the way to the WMR in Montana, I had the pleasure of riding across S. Dakota in a blazing afternoon sun and temps of 114*. My mesh jacket and evaporative cooling performed admirably, and my helmet did its job as an insulator in keeping outside temps out and inside temps in. The HT overpants zipped open to vent were just fine. There is no question in my mind that my body would have had to deal with additional heat loads without the gear. ….and an extended, cool break in Rapid City really “filled the bill.” I can’t say what’s right for anybody else, but for me, ATGATT! It’s all Mental!

I suspect Alan was saying much the same thing when applying the mental statement to LD riding. The potential distractions/bodily stressors of LD riding are non-ending, but once we give in mentally to any of these things we are in the process of losing the ride – It’s all Mental! Correct me if I’m wrong Alan! While preparing this, I re-read the IBA’s “Archive of Wisdom,” http://ironbutt.com/tech/aow.cfm, and I found many of its well respected points to fully support this mental emphasis.

I respect many things around the MTF community, but near the top of this list would be the way MTF members rally around any other member who has seen fit to call an LD ride or any other ride for that matter. There is never 2nd guessing – just solid support for a rider who knows their limits and knows to stop before passing that mental line. They know It’s all mental – whether it’s hot weather riding, LD riding, flower sniffing, RRR riding, and/or …., well, just riding!

Here’s wishing all MTFers a wonderful summer of safe riding while managing and staying within our mental limits. STFJR! It’s all Mental!

- Don

STFJR, and Ride Safely!

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