Dealing with the heat

[marni]

Hello there,

I live in Dallas. I was looking into getting the arm coolers/sun sleeves. Could you tell me if you like them? Do they keep you cool or are they more to prevent sunburn?

Thanks.

I absolutely love them and don't often ride without them. While they are marginally warmer when you first start out, as soon as my arms start sweating they begin wicking and then they are cooler. They also keep the sun off so my arms rarely feel hot- you know that stingy hot burn that you get on your skin under black shorts or on bare arms so I would have to say yes to both questions. I wear them consistently enough that I rarely put sun screen on my arms, which in turn helps with the perception of coolness.

Since I mostly ride sleeveless in the summer, and the arm coolers don't meet the edge of my jersey sleeves, I do end up with an interesting little wedge of farmers tan, sort of like a cap sleeve shadow on my upper arm as it rounds into the shoulder.

I got my arm coolers at trisports.com as they were suggested to me by a tri athelete friend but I'm sure there are other types around as well.

hth
marni