Commuting - Sub 40C riding with humidex!

How do you people cope with riding in such high heat temps? I got blasted with some steamy heat while riding and it was so hot, sweaty, and sticky I almost wanted to rip my top off and ride the 20km up hill ride but I'm not a fan of riding topless or in my bra. :o Tho I could not take the heat and ended up riding almost topless in my bra home.

How the heck do you riders manage the heat and sweat? I was looking like niagra falls the whole time soaking wet from head to toe. Gah I probably could have squeezed 1/2 a cup of sweat out of my top and pants. :mad: I am known to ride harder to go faster when I can.

How do you people cope with riding in such high heat temps? I got blasted with some steamy heat while riding and it was so hot, sweaty, and sticky I almost wanted to rip my top off and ride the 20km up hill ride but I'm not a fan of riding topless or in my bra. :o Tho I could not take the heat and ended up riding almost topless in my bra home.

How the heck do you riders manage the heat and sweat? I was looking like niagra falls the whole time soaking wet from head to toe. Gah I probably could have squeezed 1/2 a cup of sweat out of my top and pants. :mad: I am known to ride harder to go faster when I can.

Take the bra off. I never ride in a bra...
/ ducks

How do you people cope with riding in such high heat temps? I got blasted with some steamy heat while riding and it was so hot, sweaty, and sticky I almost wanted to rip my top off and ride the 20km up hill ride but I'm not a fan of riding topless or in my bra. :o Tho I could not take the heat and ended up riding almost topless in my bra home.

How the heck do you riders manage the heat and sweat? I was looking like niagra falls the whole time soaking wet from head to toe. Gah I probably could have squeezed 1/2 a cup of sweat out of my top and pants. :mad: I am known to ride harder to go faster when I can.

Well, I take it considering the heat and your units of measurement, that you are from Ontario....so hey, its legal to go topless, so don't hesitate... lol


Besides...you'll get a nice tan too :)

Well, here in Phoenix, where it's 40 or above for several months in a row...

I just put it out of my mind as much as possible. Just like the pain in my legs. Yes, I sweat... and yes it drips into my eyes and on my sunglasses and down my face and off my chin. I just concentrate on other things, like smooth pedaling; cadence; speed; etc.

Well, I take it considering the heat and your units of measurement, that you are from Ontario....so hey, its legal to go topless, so don't hesitate... lol


Besides...you'll get a nice tan too :)

I'm only going to reply to this subject just once as I don't want to go off topic much. I'm from Toronto. Yes I know of the topless law thing but I'm not that type of girl. I had to keep moving as it was nearing night time and I wanted to keep moving but had to keep from overheating thus why I took it off to cool down while still moving. Also I ride rather agressive and not fond on the bumps and such which is obvious why I keep it on. Sucks if you're on a on a bumpy route taking advantage of the legal law. :P :P :P Also not a fan of tanning.

So lets keep it back on topic. I posted here because I wanted more feedback and a wider reach of people to source ideas and links.

That is pretty much what I did the whole ride to keep moving.

Does anyone know of any clothing that will keep you cool while riding hard? Like temp regulating or actually cooling you down?

Strangely the thought of Mr Freeze from Batman came to mind.

Does anyone know of any clothing that will keep you cool while riding hard? Like temp regulating or actually cooling you down?

Strangely the thought of Mr Freeze from Batman came to mind.
If you're an incredibly sweaty person like myself, then not much will help. I sweat through most synthetic and wool jerseys. The only thing I've found to not be completely unbearable is putting ice cubes in my pockets of my jersey before I leave the house.

If you're an incredibly sweaty person like myself, then not much will help. I sweat through most synthetic and wool jerseys. The only thing I've found to not be completely unbearable is putting ice cubes in my pockets of my jersey before I leave the house.

If only that made some refridgeable jersey that stays cool that would help.

I've read that a Camelback (http://www.camelbak.com/sports-recreation/spring-summer-hydration-packs/2010-aurora.aspx) filled most of the way up (allowing enough room for expansion) and frozen overnight will help keep one cool.

Wicking poly shirts/tops help speed evaporation but don't help so much in high humidity conditions. Beats cotton, though.
The discomfort is always the worst stopped at urban red lights.

I'm impressed that no posters have mentioned anything about pics in this thread.:lol:

Yes the heat and humidity has been brutal around here for this past month. Honestly I don't think that there is any magical formula or clothing to prevent sweating in this type of a heat... especially when riding agressively. Drinking a lot and staying hydrated is the most important thing.

There are no easy answers. I'm from the south, so I would guess that it bothers me less, but it's still a pain.

If you can ride earlier in the morning or latter in the eve, it helps (but just a little). Wicking clothing, and drinking to stay hydrated are always a good thing.
It's mostly mental, you KNOW that you are going to get hot and it's going to be humid, so accept those things a pedal your bike.

BTW; Cold bothers me more than the heat.

I've also heard good things about these Ahh Cool Bandanas (http://www.ahhcool.com/index.php?main_page=index). I've seen people using similar products in one of the factories where I once worked and it seemed to do the trick for them. The theory is sound; it cools the blood flowing through the carotid arteries in the neck as it heads to the brain where, of course, the body's temperature control center is located.

Drink lots of water, take frequent rest breaks on long rides, make friends with the neighbours with the swimming pool!

I'm in Toronto too and today is quite sweltering. I froze my water bottle and will enjoy an iced espresso later. Probably will go swimming later today too.

A thin coating of liquid HEET and an artic mucluk set in the "Ice Station Zebra " position will really jump start that sweat and then the blessed cooling begins.







JUst seeing if this thread is done....

I say just keep riding as best you can and drink more than you sweat. Although it is mostly a dry heat where I used to live, typical summer daily highs. ranged from 38-46C. Generally, the first day in the spring that topped 30 seemed really hot, and the first day in the fall that had a high below 32 seemed really cold. Somehow, your body adapts if you get out in it often enough. One June I rode from central CA to the Canadian Rockies. At one point, I was wearing pretty much all the clothes I brought while the locals were in shorts and T-shirts enjoying the "summer" weather.

Also, like most issues of comfort and health, the less extra weight you carry the better. If you're like me and you ride to eat more than you eat to ride, good luck with that.

I wouldn't ride in a bra either. Ba-doomp-BISH

Okay, sophomoric joke out of the way.
I do golf course maintenance, so I'm either on a tractor or on the ground working with hand tools 6-10 hours a day. Either way I'm outdoors all day. By comparison my bike commutes to work before daylight in the morning and going home in the middle of the afternoon are quite pleasant. Stay well hydrated and start drinking water before you need it. I am quite comfortable on the bike even then the mercury is pushing triple digits, but I soon as I stop my t-shirt is soaked with sweat in a matter of minutes. One thing I do that I think helps is we almost never run the air-conditioning in the house.

I live in Atlanta but was Born in Detroit. I have been here since 79 and still the heat gets me at times. It was supose to be 98f here today. It was 84f at 1:30am this morning and the humidity was sucking. We got a pop up thunderstorm that lasted a couple hours and it is the coldest it has been in 24 hours at 78f. I'm thinking about getting a ride in.

Tech fabric shirts are a life saver and a tech head band or beanie and keep moving. Its worse when you stop. LOL

Oh I found a solution for a humid hot day -- a rainy day. Yup, today it rained and my bike commute was a soaking wet event. At least it was fresh outside and I didn't have to cook in my own steam.

Dunno. I ride in mid to high 90s for hours and it doesn't bother me. But today it was high eighties and very humid (my glasses fogged up later coming out of the grocery) and I had to hold my pace down because I couldn't cool off even with a good headwind on me. So for me in very humid conditions - don't get your furnace up too high as you may not be able to cool down. I think I was off 2 mph from my regular speed.

Also, of course, plenty of water and electrolytes. Another hot and humid 90F day a few weeks ago I found my body weight dropped by four pounds even though I had drunken much more water than normal and thought I was OK.

Gene