Originally Posted by
tandempower
How do you sweat out heat when the air temperature is higher than body temperature? Was the humidity low enough for the wind to cool you? How much water did you go through? I tried hiking with a fairly heavy pack last summer in the high 90s and it was all but impossible. I had to stop so often and I didn't bring enough electrolytes so I started getting numbness and muscle cramps. I was drinking filtered river water, which some people don't seem to mind, but I found it hard to stay quenched with all the tanin.
We use electrolytes, drink lots of water, and pace ourselves ... and, where possible, try to adjust to the temperatures prior to cycling long distances in them.
Originally Posted by
tandempower
Did you go to sleep without washing, or did you have shower options? Did you hand wash clothes and, if so, how many days would you leave them dirty before washing them? Were you able to keep them as clean as you'd like, or do you just settle for what you can achieve with hand-washing?
When I was touring in Queensland, my cycling partner and I were following the coast so we'd go for a swim in the ocean in whatever we were wearing to cycle once a day. Then we'd rinse off in the beach showers. We also camped in designated campgrounds most of the time, or stayed in hostels about once a week. I rarely handwash clothes. I use the laundry facilities in the campgrounds or hostels.
In Germany we did camp now and then (designated campgrounds, of course) but usually stayed in hotels.
On Vancouver Island, our "tour" was an overnight thing with a 210 km randonnee the first day, an overnight stay in a lovely B&B, and then a ride back to our starting point.
Most of the other hot weather situations were randonnees or in Manitoba, we called it "summer" and I experienced that for 13 years from where I lived.
Originally Posted by
tandempower
Was it humid? Was it sunny or shady where you cycled? Did you find the sunlight particularly direct, or comparable with other sub-tropic regions you've toured?
Sometimes humid, sometimes not. Sometimes sunny, occasionally shady. I've done a whole lot of cycling and a lot of rides in hot weather. I've also cycled in hot weather in many parts of the world: Australia, Canada, USA, Taiwan, Germany, France ...
Many of the hot weather rides I remember were on randonnees. On randonnees, you take what you get and deal with it. That's all part of the randonneuring experience. If they weren't randonnees, they were training rides or tours ... and again, I just ride in whatever's there.