Texas & Arizona cyclists -- a question?

And for any who deal with heat and blistering sun in August --

Is it possible to find a light enough long-sleeved jersey to wear in the summer to block my arms and shoulders from the sun, or is that simply not possible?

I don't tolerate the heat well, so it would have to really be "cool" if such a thing is possible. Otherwise I'll just have to let my cancer-prone skin take its chances with sun block.

I notice some women talk about using UV blocking long sleeved jerseys in the summer, but I haven't noticed anybody saying this from our neck of the woods.

Experience? Opinion?

Thanks!

Pooks, there is Gentleman in our club. that uses the Solumbra line of clothing to avoid the sun. We're not in Arizona or Texas, but if we get an inch less rain a year, we would be desert (I'm about 50 miles east of Downtown LA) and it usually getes 100+ every day in July and August. I've had decent luck avoiding getting burnt via heavy duty sunscreen

Are you out toward Joshua Tree? That's hot! Thanks for the feedback. I'll check out Solumbra.

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Originally Posted by pooks

Are you out toward Joshua Tree? That's hot! Thanks for the feedback. I'll check out Solumbra.

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Well , parts of Joshua Tree are in the same county I am. OF course, this county(San Bernadino) is larger than 8 states;) .
I'm 30 miles west of "San Berdoo". "Sandy Place Ranch" is Rancho Cucamonga (although I prefer the translation of "Cucamonga" as being "sunrise over the mountain") We're on the La/SB county line, at the base of the San Gabriel mountains

Hmmmmm, not sure what the brand is but I know that you can find uv blocking clothes at REI. My friend wore a long sleeve shirt while hiking the Grand Canyon a couple of years ago and even when the temps were in the tripple digits he didn't shed the shirt. He thought that the sleeves kept his skin cooler.

I haven't seen anything in a bike jersey. Good Luck!

pooks.. michellem or withm ordered a long sleeve w/ spf from boure. i really like mine as well but i haven't tried it in the sun yet. but i liked the look fo their stuff better than the solumbra.

also someone from the forum said their friend had tried the solumbra and didn't like it at all.

try boure: http://www.boure.com/8604W.html

oh.. and someone also mentioned that ground effects had a long sleeve w/ spf and it was better priced that the stuff state side... http://www.groundeffect.co.nz/produc...il-STA-SUM.htm

Roguedog...thanks for the link. I think I'll be checking this jersey out myself!

Pooks,

I live in Texas and I rally don't care about the heat... but I agree, we have to push the industrie to produce more sunprotective cycling close. I have a cycling jersey called Solarace from Jaggad, I got it over Bikemania.biz, it is great, it is snugg on the body, you don't want to bike in a big flappy thing, it will slow you down. Also Terry has a sunprotective Jersey (longsleeves) ... or check Team estrogen, they have arm cooler from Desoto...

Also be careful, there are not sunblock creams... it is just again, moneymaking...

You take care

Resi

I live in Colorado. It can get hot, but the sun is the real enemy.

Last year Terry sold a UPF jersey. Bought one of those. (UPF is the clothing equivalent of spf.) I have 6 or so REI, Hind, Patagonia UPF long sleeves that I wear cycling, but none of those have jersey pockets. If I am wearing those on long rides, I use a hydration pack to carry keys, etc.

If it is really hot (for here) 100d F, I use a buff or bandana, get it wet, and wear it under my helmet. I never abandon the sun protection.

We DO need more UPF long sleeve jerseys! I am always shocked and amazed by women (or men) riding at altitude with bare skin.

sarah

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Originally Posted by roguedog

pooks.. michellem or withm ordered a long sleeve w/ spf from boure. i really like mine as well but i haven't tried it in the sun yet. but i liked the look fo their stuff better than the solumbra.

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Nope wasn't me, but I'd be curious to try something like that.

I lived in the Phoenix area until we moved to N. Cal. a little over a year ago, so I understand the heat with which you are faced. Anyway, my hubby bought the Solumbra jersey, and while it does a good job blocking the sun, it is not moisture wicking (sp?) and he ended up soaked after our ride here in N. Cal. with temps only in the upper 70's. Bleh. I love my Boure jersey and we'll be getting one for DH as soon as he lets me measure him! :p

Lots of great suggestions here. The boure doesn't come in an XL for women so I guess I'll have to figure out what size for men.

I want to check out the NZ company, too.

And I guess I could always get the jersey wet before riding, too.

I don't have any advice - but I've been looking. On a multi-day ride last year, I got 2nd degree sunburn on my shoulders, through my jersey. I put suntan lotion below the jersey and got no color whatsoever - but the sunburn on the shoulders oozed by the last day of the trip and my jersey stuck to it. The jersey had a pattern on it, so the sunburn had a pattern, too.
There was a couple on that trip that had long sleeved white coolmax shirts they wore every day. I've been looking for them, but haven't been able to find them (the shirts, not the people).

Growing up in New Mexico, the local news and state magazines always had "one of our states is missing" segments. :rolleyes:

I bought the Boure UPF 50 jerseys. One for me and one for DH. I tried mine this weekend and it was fabulous! We were in Tempe and the sun was very, very strong. I put sunblock on underneath out of an abundance of caution. I stayed so nice and cool and I rode for about 3 hours. I had SPF 50 sunblock on my face and reapplied SPF 30 at the halfway point and I still got some sun on my face. The jersey, on the other hand, completely protected me. I usually wear a women's medium and I bought the men's small. (The sizes look to be unisex.) I liked that it was a bit longer in the back, compared to my other jerseys, because it covered the mesh on the back of my Shebeest shorts.

DH wore his Boure jersey for the Ironman yesterday. He was delighted with it and just ordered another one. He gets very hot, so if he stayed cool in it, it must be good. ;)

Alex

Thanks, Alex -- that's great feedback!