Neverseconds

Cycling in summer in burning, so how do you guys do to make yourself comfortable and safer cycling?

Homebrew01

Go in the morning, or later in the day. Stay hydrated. Wear appropriate clothing for cycling. Not cotton t-shirts that get soaked & feel horrible.

Neverseconds

can't agree more! But on weekends, sometimes I would like to cycling for a long distance(just can't stop)in the morning, and it's burning on my way back

SpeshulEd 

Wear proper cycling clothes. Drink something with electrolytes.

Neverseconds

any suitable cycling clothes recommendations?

SpeshulEd 

Just bibs and a jersey. The chamois in the bibs helps wick away sweat from your "undercarriage". The jersey will help wick away sweat from your body. The dampness of the jersey will have a cooling effect. Some people even suggest a wicking baselayer for more wicking benefit.

nobodyhere

Suggest a white jersey

Neverseconds

thanks for your tips

Neverseconds

Why is that? It seems most jerseys are black

TheManShow

Up at 0500, one the Road by 0530, Home by 0900, light jersey, mucho H2O.

rm -rf

I'm fine in the heat as long as I'm moving. The worst part is climbing with a tailwind, I'm in a bubble of hot air moving at the same speed, no breeze at all.

I think my body adapts to the heat and produces a lot more sweat. I really notice it if I'm working outside in the summer, I'm instantly soaked in sweat.

Neverseconds

in what kind of jersey? or just bib?

EricSteven5

White will reflect sunlight and in effect be cooler. Also lighter colors are more visible. I'm a big fan of white jerseys.

Neverseconds

Machka 

Go with light coloured jerseys.
Nashbar - Short Sleeve Jerseys


Use sunscreen and/or arm coolers.


Drink lots of water. The general recommendation is one 750 ml bottle every 1 to 1.5 hours, but you might want to up that a bit.


Consume electrolytes. If you're drinking extra water and if you're sweating, you should be taking electrolyte tablets.


Freeze your waterbottles the night before. Then the morning of the ride, put them into a small sock. Soak the sock. Keep soaking the sock when you can along the way, even in streams or whatever you happen to go by.


Try to ride early in the day or late in the day.


If you have to ride the whole day (i.e. you're riding a century), plan to take a break mid-ride to get something to eat and drink in a cooler spot. Eat something with sodium and potassium.


Stop in at a shop along the way to get a fresh cold drink. See if you can fill another sock (a long one) with ice. Wrap that sock around your neck when you set off again.


If you're going to stop for any reason, stop in a patch of shade.


Spend quite a bit of time in the heat when you are not on the bicycle. If you work in an air conditioned office, get out at lunch for a walk. Go cycle or walk after work, etc. Acclimatizing yourself to the heat helps a little bit.

MichaelW

Cycle in the UK.

Today's max = 24C (75F)

doctor j

When air temp. gets to mid 90's, for longer rides, I wear a small Camelbak. Before the ride, I pack the CB with as much ice as it will hold, and I pour cold water over the ice. The CB keeps my back cool, and I have cold/cool water available for quite a while. Typically, I still use the bottles in the cages as well.

BobbyG

I know this isn't standard but in hot, dry, sunny weather I wear a light cotton blend oxford shirt with the collar tuned up and the sleeves rolled down. It gets moist, and the evaporative effect keeps me cool. But note, this summer has been one of the wettest and most humid in Colorado Springs and on muggy overcast days this approach has not been as effective.

bikecrate

As mentioned by Machka, I partially freeze my 2 water bottles and fill the rest with ice/water. It melts during the ride providing cool water for about 3 hours. I also have some water fountains pegged out along the way to refill. My DNA is from N. Europe so I can overheat in the FL sun, therefore, I do pour some of the water on my head, face and neck during breaks. If it is an afternoon ride I try and remind myself to take it easy.

JerrySTL

While I love bib shorts, I find them hotter than regular shorts. Hot weather is one reason that I keep a couple of pairs of regular shorts around.

Ditto on the sunscreen. Those little beads of sweat can focus the sun's rays and cause burns. Sunscreen with Titanium in it works by reflecting some of the sun's rays. Seems to keep me cooler.

Drink lots and cooler the better. I have some Camelbak insulated bottles and they keep the fluid noticeably cooler for at least an hour.

Make sure to drink something with electrolytes such as salt and a little potassium as you lose electrolytes when sweating.

This past Monday afternoon it was 97°F and humid after work. I chose a route that had a lot of shade. It's a rails-to-trails MUP that is about 50% covered by trees. It allowed me to put in 31 miles.

Take it easy and stay within yourself. Choose a route that you can cut short if you start feeling bad. Also one that has plenty of places to cool off.

Bonus Tip: If you are taking a beta blocker for high blood pressure or other reasons, talk to your doctor about it! BBs work by reducing your heart rate. Your heart acts like the water pump in your car in that it circulates cooling fluids (in this case blood) through your body. Having your 'water pump' work slower is not a good thing in heat. My cardiologist allowed me to skip taking the BB the night before exercise in the heat. Better yet she took me off the horrid things a few months ago!

Marcus_Ti

Only happens in the summer in places where it is dry.

Here in Nebraska, in summer sweat water doesn't evaporate during summer. So your high tech wicking $600 Assos jersey and $600 Assos bibs become sopping wet rags that cease water wicking and are just wet rags wrapping your skin in a grand total of about 5 minutes of just standing outside in the garage during your pre-ride check and pumping tires (not even putting out an effort).


Only thing to do is ride at dawn and hide from the Sun. Heat and humidity lingers long into the night, so dusk riding isn't advisable much. I personally hate sunscreen for how it feels (love what it does, ofc), clogs the pores and makes me feel hotter in addition to making me a walking bug collector.

Looigi

FWIW: So far, not a single base layers in evidence in any of the hot stages of the the TDD and TDF where riders have their jerseys partially or totally unzipped.

Hypno Toad

I quoted a few of Machka's recommendations to +1.

I will share a couple additional pointers

Work up to temps over months. There is not easy way to get your body in condition for hot temps, simply put, you need to keep riding as the days get warming. As the body gets accustom to hotter conditions, it produces more plasma, this additional plasma is critical to help the body cool in hot conditions.

reference: Getting Your Body Used To The Heat ? Inside And Out - Competitor.com

Also in the comments above, cooling sleeves. I was a skeptic, but I got some this spring... WOW, I'm a convert!

I'm in Minneapolis, we don't have the same heat as the South, but do get some very hot temps and humidity. As a daily bike commuter, I've seen temps in the mid-90F, with heat-indices in over 120F during my PM commute. So I have some real-world experience.

Marcus_Ti

Heh, most are wearing onesies that don't even block UV. Several riders have posted funny looking sunburns on their backs under their onesie since they became popular in the peloton.

Up North

Cotton sucks as far as evaporation is concerned. Much better material today, avoid cotton at all costs. Most of good tips have been covered above. If you feel like you are overheating find shade take a break. Unzip jersey for more airflow - cool core down. Freezing1/2 of drink bottles helps keep fluid cool which also helps lower core body temps - cool fluid.

I also leave at 0530 and this allows you to avoid the sunscreen - which also hampers sweating and body cooling. If you have all day cycling plans then sunscreen is a must but I avoid it when I can. On a really long day trip a camel back with frozen fluid in it does a great job of keeping back cooler until it melts.