Shadow Hopping.
My commutes have gotten a few times longer since I moved. I have also been spending a lot more time on the expressways. Plenty of that time was spent idling under the blistering sun. Most cagers don't notice the effect the sun can have, protected by their wind shields with their air conditioning blasting into their faces. But for me, with only a plastic shield and sunglasses, staring in to the sun is surprisingly draining. The stop and go traffic, eating the car and truck exhaust, even sweltering in the heat and humidity (some given off by the cars in front of me) is nothing compared to the constant abuse I get from the sun as it's rays beat down on me for an hour every morning. How do sun worshipers do it?
I end my ride to work exhausted, soaked with sweat, slightly dehydrated, and with a mild case of sun stroke - or at least it feels like it. Certainly not something I would like to continue to do day in and day out.
In any case, I have resorted to something I call "shadow hopping". Shadows are my friends. Without a visor or sun shield, the only thing that will block the sun on a clear day are the shadows cast by bridges, buildings, and especially transport trucks. At highway speeds, the effect of the sun is not as pronounced as the wind tends to soothe my face enough to survive the pounding I get from up high. But in stop and go traffic, the sun is the only thing I notice. So I try to get into the shadow of any vehicle tall enough that could block the sunlight. I sometimes leave gaps in front of my just so that I can stay next to a van just a few seconds longer to stay out of the sun. I rejoice if I can tailgate a truck at low speed to give my face (and left hand) a rest.
Cloudy mornings have been rare of late and the cumulative sun exposure has had an affect on my health, if my dizzy spells are related to all that UV I have been soaking up. I will need to run a few experiments to see where this leads, but once the snows come and the bike is put away, I will gauge the effect the cage will have on my road sanity. Riding around stopped traffic avoiding cagers is still preferable to being idle in a cage.
I end my ride to work exhausted, soaked with sweat, slightly dehydrated, and with a mild case of sun stroke - or at least it feels like it. Certainly not something I would like to continue to do day in and day out.
In any case, I have resorted to something I call "shadow hopping". Shadows are my friends. Without a visor or sun shield, the only thing that will block the sun on a clear day are the shadows cast by bridges, buildings, and especially transport trucks. At highway speeds, the effect of the sun is not as pronounced as the wind tends to soothe my face enough to survive the pounding I get from up high. But in stop and go traffic, the sun is the only thing I notice. So I try to get into the shadow of any vehicle tall enough that could block the sunlight. I sometimes leave gaps in front of my just so that I can stay next to a van just a few seconds longer to stay out of the sun. I rejoice if I can tailgate a truck at low speed to give my face (and left hand) a rest.
Cloudy mornings have been rare of late and the cumulative sun exposure has had an affect on my health, if my dizzy spells are related to all that UV I have been soaking up. I will need to run a few experiments to see where this leads, but once the snows come and the bike is put away, I will gauge the effect the cage will have on my road sanity. Riding around stopped traffic avoiding cagers is still preferable to being idle in a cage.
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