Road Cycling - Riding in the Heat

I am wondering if there are any benefits to riding in the heat. I can see the downsides...risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration etc. But, is there any proof that riding in the heat, say 95degrees and up, is bad for you? I have a friend that swears that suffering in the heat of the day on his bike makes him tougher. Maybe, but, will it actually make you stronger?

No idea here

I ride in the heat because I have no choice. I live in Arizona where the day time temps are 100+ June through September and sometimes into October. Night time temps are often 90+

I do think it may make you mentally tougher (or maybe just prove we are stupid ;) ), just knowing you can ride in the heat. As long as you hydrate properly.

G'day,

easy answer...No!. Riding in such temperatures may not necessarily harm you, provided you keep hydrated etc....but it won't provide any long term benefit. The onlypossible benefit would be an adaption to riding in similar temperatures...ie: someone who constantly rides in extreme temperatures would likely be better adapted to riding in extreme temperatures, than someone who wasn't as used to it.....word of advice...be careful,

cheers,

Hitchy

Well.....riding in the heat conditons your body so you'll be able to ride in the heat!

oh gawd. don't whine about the heat. get used to it. i haven't had an a/c (i'm cheap!) all summer and when i look for a new job (mowing sucks) i ride in slacks and a golf shirt with an undershirt (drawers too) and it isn't that bad. don't be a wuss. just keep yourself properly nourished and adapt to it. 90 degree heat doesn't even bother my sleeping any more. you get used to it. if you're hard core you'll go without a/c... or if you just want to save money.

Hydrate and wear sunscreen. You'll be fine. We've done this down here forever.

I am wondering if there are any benefits to riding in the heat. I can see the downsides...risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration etc. But, is there any proof that riding in the heat, say 95degrees and up, is bad for you? I have a friend that swears that suffering in the heat of the day on his bike makes him tougher. Maybe, but, will it actually make you stronger?
I have no proof but I think that my muscles work better in the heat. They feel more limber and elastic. As long as I drink a lot I feel great.

Isn't it possible for the body to overheat and cause some fairly serious issues?

If you're not properly hydrated, you'll dehydrate and then overheat from the lack of sweat. That can be dangerous. Just be sure to drink plenty of water (even when you're not thirsty of it's hot out!).

here's a thought, move to canada. Wait, it was 90 degrees F last ride here

In Florida the temp right now is in the mid 70's when I leave for work around 7AM. On the way home it's in the 90's, often with afternoon storms. I sweat in the morning, but usually don't drink a whole lot on the half hour ride. I always drink a good bit before I leave though. After work I often ride an hour to and hour and a half and even with the high humidity I get dry mouthed after ten to fifteen minutes. I drink at least a quart of water ater lunch, and go through my 22 oz. bottle before I get home. It's never caused me problems, but then again, I have no other conditions to compare it to. Does it make me stronger or tougher? I guess I'm used to it. A few days ago I walked about a half mile during my lunch hour, and I will say I felt worse than after my usual ride home. I was definitly sweatier too. Even with the high humidity retarding sweat evaporation, the breeze from riding makes a huge difference.

Well, I think it depends on the person. Some people are better at "dumping heat" then others. At high heat and humidity on a long ride, I can hit a point where I sweat and it does no good, so I just sweat harder. I have to slow down so I can at least take in water at about the same pace I sweat it out. But I am an extreme case.

The way the human body gets rid of heat is by shunting blood flow to the skin and by sweating. Blood going to the skin can not go to the muscles. Cycling is largely an aerobic activity. Aerobic muscle performance is limited by the blood flow to the muscles. So less blood flow available, less performance. I would think that on very hot days, you can not sustain the kind of workout you could on cooler days.

So no. I don't think there is any physiological benefit to riding in excessively hot weather. But riding under nearly any conditions even less then optimum conditions is better conditioning then not riding at all.

It's just a matter of getting used to riding in HOT conditions but it doesn't make you any stronger. I live in Florida and ride in hot temperatures but when it gets colder (below 55F) I seem to struggle. For many people 55F would be a nice riding temperature so it's all a matter of what your used to IMO.

Dan.

Here in Hong Kong its hot, but its the humidity that kills you. You need to stay well hydrated. And thats basically impossible using bottles on the frame. They simply don't make them big enough.

I use a 2 litre camel back back that is specially designed for cycling. Its basically only a small pack containing a bladder full of water with a small pocket thats usefull for tools, spare tubes, etc. You suck the water through a conveniently located tube so you can drink while climbing without upsetting your rythm. After a while it feels like your not even wearing it and it allows you to get through long rides, not that I do those very often :-)

[QUOTE=Pat]Well, I think it depends on the person. Some people are better at "dumping heat" then others. At high heat and humidity on a long ride, I can hit a point where I sweat and it does no good, so I just sweat harder. I have to slow down so I can at least take in water at about the same pace I sweat it out. But I am an extreme case.
QUOTE]

I sweat like a animal when I am riding in the heat. however, I have noticed that once my jersey is soaked, I really dont sweat any more. today, I took in 6 bottles of water in a 60 mile, 3:15 hour ride. however, the first four were in the first hour and a half. I dunno, riding in the heat really doesn't bother me that much. I would much rather have the 99.99% humidity and 90 degree heat of our summer than the 20 degree weather of our winter.

We have such short summers so I make the most of it. I actually like the hot weather. However, when it gets to be 35C and it's really humid, you have to go out really early, like 6 am or forget it. ALso, the air quality can be really bad. But i love the jungle heat of summer and I actually feel my strongest in july.

Summer mornings beat winter mornings hands down. Ah, summer....

I use to live in desert regions of California (Bakersfield & Mojave desert area). You obviously need to hydrate while riding, but not with just plain water; because when you sweat your loosing electrolytes, so you need to drink Gatorade diluted 50%. You should be drinking about 1 24oz bottle per hour. Also it helps to pre-hydrated the day before with about 48oz's of extra fluid; and then about 1 hour before riding drink 24oz's; then pee just before riding. One of the ways you can tell if your not getting enough potassium is muscle cramps; if you start getting those and your drinking enough you may need to take a potassium supplement before riding (Stim-O-Stam is what I use).

Also there is a pro and con to using sunscreen; the pro is that the sun won't burn your skin as fast thus protecting you from skin cancer; the con is that it makes your skin hotter because the sunscreen won't allow your skin to breath as well. I think the pro outweighs the con!

I usually tried to ride in the evening hours to get the cooler sunless hours, problem with evening riding there's more pollution, and morning there's more pollen!

I found that loose fitting jerseys worked better than form fitting because the loose jersey allowed the air to bellow into the jersey. Also wear a white jersey, it's a cooler color. By the way, Walmart sells white polyester jerseys (loose and form but no rear pocket) called DriStar between $9 to $12 and it works just as good as my expensive ones!

oh gawd. don't whine about the heat. get used to it. i haven't had an a/c (i'm cheap!) all summer and when i look for a new job (mowing sucks) i ride in slacks and a golf shirt with an undershirt (drawers too) and it isn't that bad. don't be a wuss. just keep yourself properly nourished and adapt to it. 90 degree heat doesn't even bother my sleeping any more. you get used to it. if you're hard core you'll go without a/c... or if you just want to save money.

He wasn't whining, he was asking a question. Next time, don't try and show off.

In Southern Arizona one either rides in the heat or doesn't ride, at least not during the day.