Fifty Plus (50+) - A Spot of Bother

Well, summer has arrived in south Florida. This week we did our first long Sunday ride in 70% humidity and 85F-90F temps and as Phil would say I found myself under pressure from the Sun and had a spot of bother toward the end. I took (3) 24oz bottles of gatoraide and two gels with me. Knowing it was going to be hot and it was already humid at 7:00a we focused on keeping the pace between 17-18mph for our 61mile Sunday ride. The first 30 miles we were in the shade and I felt pretty good although I was sweating rivers. The second half of the ride my HR steadly was increasing and I was feeling the heat more and more. I ended up cutting the ride short at 57 miles and spent the rest of the afternoon drinking water and I am still gassed today.

Take a look at my HR chart and you can see the steady climb in the second half. My HR really tells me when I need to quit. Based on Sai's threads I also did a BP when I got home, I figured being exhausted this would be a good time to check it out. My pulse was 105 and my BP was 107/76 so I felt pretty good about that. Its going to take a few weeks of riding to get use to the heat/humidity again.

Taking your blood pressure immediately after riding is an indication of what? Mine always seems lower then normal if I take it right after a ride, so I'm not sure it really means anything. Also, what is meant by a "spot of bother"? I grew up in NYC and that comment would have gotten my ass kicked.;)

I've heard there is a 2 bottle per hour rule for longer rides but it is not clear what size bottle. Perhaps a Profile Designs Aqua Rack (2 more bottles behind the seat) would allow you to carry more.

As a soccer ref I used to do summertime tournaments where I would drink a bottle every 30 min and still go 4 hours without a break in the men's room. In 90+ weather you can sweat that much.

A spot of bother is a British expression that Phil Liggett uses when he describes a cyclist having problems. The BP was done because other threads mentioned that while your BP at rest may be fine it could get dangerous under stress. Since it is pretty hard to check it during the ride I did so just after, nothing special just to see what it read.

The typical pattern for BP after a ride is for a significant reduction.

As I have heard, during the ride you stretch (put pressure on) your blood plumbing, and after the ride it takes awhile to "unstretch," thereby giving a lower BP reading.

I would imagine that the body dilates the blood vessles to assist in cooling. This will result in a significant reduction in blood pressure.

That spot of bother you had was the Humidity. Providing you take enough liquid- the heat will not be such a major problem. Not being a lover of gatorade- I use an energy boost drink made by leppin and this is also Isotonic. web site at

www.leppin.com

It tastes good aswell.

Dnvrfx has it on the low blood pressure after exercise. Don't know how long you would have to wait for it to normalise but check it the morning after a ride to get a rough idea.

Frank Spencer also has "A spot of Bother" In "Some mothers do have them". If you see this comedy- then please realise that not all of us in the UK are Frank Spencer's-- but they do exist.

Yes, the humidity does take some time to get use to. Last year I rode with 48oz on this ride and got into major issues wih cramping and such. Now I take an additional 24oz which worked all of th time last year. This year we have had pretty dry weather until recently so I have not gotten in many daily rides in the heat/humidty which helps me aclimate. Even when you get use to it you can find yourself having bad days which is why I like to watch my heart rate for trouble.

I took my first really hot weather ride of the year on Saturday. I only had time to ride in the middle of the day, so it was 85 to 95 degrees during my 36 mile ride. I downed four 24 oz. bottles, alternating water and Gatorade during the ride. I stopped at an artesian well to fill an empty bottle and to stick my head under the cool flowing water. Man that sure felt good! :D

For some reason, I don't mind riding in the heat so much as long as I'm not riding to someplace where I'll have to function normally off the bike. The profuse sweating would make commuting this time of year very difficult. But as long as I can sweat and replenish, I can take the heat pretty well.

That sounds familiar, stonecrd. We had a high here of 93 degrees with a high humidity Saturday, and I was really feeling it the last 40 miles of my brevet. I try to use my heart rate to pace myself, and I noticed that when I tried for power on an incline, I just seemed to get a higher heart rate and no additonal power.

I think you are right: getting used to the heat again is what we need.