As it is now next year my thoughts are turning to a bimble to the Dordogne again with the missus. We've been there twice by car and are quite smitten with the area, this year with some gentle subliminal suggesion, (but without eliminating the possibility of eventual escalation to forceful arm twisting) I'm hoping to persuade my wife to come on the bike.
But there is one major snag: the heat and humidity. Last August I had a chat with a couple from Merseyside who had stopped for a breather in a shady lay-by in the middle of France and asked them how they were coping with the heat- on the thermometer in my car it was showing 102 Farenheit. They insisted it wasn't too much of a problem as long as they kept moving. They were both dressed in black leathers and I did find it hard to believe them, they were so obviously roasting.
So, with that sort of temperature how do you cope? Perhaps you wear textile instead of leather? Now I've read about the BMW Venting Machine (what a silly name), can that possibly make you cool, or is it just that it's not quite as sizzling as an ordinary suit? Or is it that you can happily put up with the heat? If you regularly go to hot places, and yes, there are far hotter places than France, how can you possibly enjoy having to peel off soggy, sticky clingy suits at the end of the day?
Oh, and can a cool suit still be rainproof?
I really want my wife to enjoy the trip so I would appreciate any feedback, not just on what suit to wear (or perhaps it really is all down to that) on how you cope with the problem. Thanks.
But there is one major snag: the heat and humidity. Last August I had a chat with a couple from Merseyside who had stopped for a breather in a shady lay-by in the middle of France and asked them how they were coping with the heat- on the thermometer in my car it was showing 102 Farenheit. They insisted it wasn't too much of a problem as long as they kept moving. They were both dressed in black leathers and I did find it hard to believe them, they were so obviously roasting.
So, with that sort of temperature how do you cope? Perhaps you wear textile instead of leather? Now I've read about the BMW Venting Machine (what a silly name), can that possibly make you cool, or is it just that it's not quite as sizzling as an ordinary suit? Or is it that you can happily put up with the heat? If you regularly go to hot places, and yes, there are far hotter places than France, how can you possibly enjoy having to peel off soggy, sticky clingy suits at the end of the day?
Oh, and can a cool suit still be rainproof?
I really want my wife to enjoy the trip so I would appreciate any feedback, not just on what suit to wear (or perhaps it really is all down to that) on how you cope with the problem. Thanks.
That and the pain of hitting large insects at 70 mph.... worse still if they fly up your shorts 
) and for ultimate cooling, the HG suit wins. It has a waterproof and thermal lining for cold or wet days. However, in summer showers, I simply put lightweight waterproof trousers and jacke tover the top untilt he rain stopped.
no...water
