Originally Posted by
GrainBrain
I wear a under armour long sleeve compression "heat gear" shirt in white. I find the UA brand to be lighter then a similar looking champion brand. It helps reflect sunlight and has really helped me out. If this isn't for you consider sunblock.
I wear something very similar (bought oversize to fit more like a t-shirt) in a hi-vis yellow. Bought a white one recently when yellow was out of stock, promptly fell over sideways into mud in the first ten minutes of the first ride wearing it ;-) And it just doesn't come out of those fabrics.
Unfortunately over a long day it chafes/burns my lower back, ended up using as much chamois butter there as in the usual place. Haven't figured that problem out yet, just decided I could live with it again to get this ride in. It didn't happen on comparable rides last year, unfortunately I weigh slightly more this summer so it might be a change in fit driving it.
Also how fast do you travel? You might consider a large Panama hat to keep the sun off. On my bike I go fast enough to always have a breeze.
Fast enough to have a breeze, slow enough to wear a giant da-brim helmet brim. Something I do keep meaning to do however is to figure out a sun cover for the helmet vents that still permits airflow, unlike my current stretchy one. Ideally I'd also figure out a solution to use the centerless brim as a sort of hat if I ended up having to hike out of circumstances where I couldn't ride, while the sun was still up.
I also am a huge Hammer fan. They have a really nice beginner endurance package that comes with a variety of their products and some pamphlets on how to fuel for endurance. I really like their fizz tablets and HEED mix.
Seems like it may be time to try this.