More comments about extra hot blacktop asphalt

[Daniel W. Rouse Jr.]

I'm noticing an increase in parking lots that are being paved with the extra
hot blacktop asphalt. Extra hot means it's darker asphalt that stays dark,
rather than starting out dark and then getting lighter over time. In some
cases, even parking lots that used to have gravel asphalt of various
roughness are getting repaved with the extra hot blacktop asphalt. Even the
ones paved just a couple of months still feel somewhat sticky, and it makes
the feet dirtier faster.

To be clear--extra hot BURNS at temperatures earlier than afternoon peak
heat, and stay HOT HOT HOT for longer than afternoon peak heat. Even as the
air is cooling down, the extra hot is still plenty hot to the point where
I've still found it burning hot to stand on--until the heat equalizes to
less than painfully hot--as late as 6:00pm.

In general: by 1:00pm the extra hot is already too hot to stand on for long
without rolling on the feet, while this usually occurs around 2:15pm to
2:30pm for lighter color blacktop. By 2:00pm the extra hot is already
painfully hot after walking just a few tens of steps, while this usually
occurs during the 3:00pm to 4:00pm hours of peak heat. Walking on extra hot
always keeps more intense burning on the feet even if they don't increase in
burning that much more, and the feet never cool down from how much they
burned from standing before walking before quickly burning even more, or
even if the burning doesn't get any more. By 4:00pm the extra hot still
burns HOT even in the *shade* to the point where it becomes necessary to
slowly roll on the feet, it burns very quickly when standing full foot out
of the shade needing faster rolling on the feet and even lifting feet in the
air while rolling on the feet when rolling on the feet isn't cooling fast
enough, and walking for more than a short distance is still PAINFULLY hot
after a few tens of steps. Finally, extra hot reveals the lesser heat
tolerant areas on the feet as well--for me that's just behind the balls of
the feet aligned with the gap between the second and third toe, the balls of
the feet behind the little toe, and the edge of the feet just in front of
the heel when walking. Now, all this is for what it feel like in the high
80's to low 90's--but hotter temperatures high 90's to low 100's are coming
soon, starting during a week or so during the "July Fry" summer months.

Still, I find the extra hot to be the BEST EVER surface for increasing
getting used to the heat. As long as I can find shade (that still burns but
remains standable when rolling on the feet even more slowly than out of the
shade) then I don't need to have flip flops with me; otherwise I still need
to have flip flops with me when walking longer on extra hot. It also means I
can start out later and still get many of the benefits of getting used to
heat that even lighter blacktop couldn't provide. Lighter blacktop is
essentially useless for getting used to heat by 4:30pm where peak heat is
over and it's starting to cool off, but I can still get ample getting used
to the heat all the way up as late as 5:30pm for extra hot, and in some
areas its still burning hot enough to have to stand on the edges of the feet
when its too hot to stand full foot but not so hot to need completely
rolling on the feet.

In general, unless it's too far out of the way, I'll choose a shopping
location with an extra hot parking lot over one with lighter blacktop or
gravel asphalt. For example, if I have a choice between two Walmarts that
are about the same distance away, I'll choose the Walmart with the extra hot
parking lot, even if the one with the gravel asphalt has a longer parking
lot. Or, if I know of a Ralph's that has both a longer parking lot and extra
hot, I'll make it priority to always go shopping there. Add crosshatch lines
from callous building and that's more than good enough burned feet for that
much more getting used to the heat: white callous patches with diagonal
lines over red burned leathery soles, and some of the callouses not even
accumulating any dirt and just remaining white. I just have to watch for
blisters, but if they are going to occur then it's better for them to occur
on extra hot so the blistered parts are forced to be used to that much heat
when they heal.

The only disaster would be replacing longer concrete sidewalks with extra
hot. Walking up to a mile on extra hot would just be way too much constant
burning even earlier at 1:00pm or later starting around 4:00pm, in which
case I would definitely have to have flip flops with me to prevent blisters
(and not just in a waistpack when walking, but actually in hand to put on as
soon as the burning got to near the blistering point).