Originally Posted by
scottfsmith
I'm sure this is a regular topic here but I haven't seen a thread recently so here goes..
I have done lots of suffering in hot weather and as I got older I found I would just bail instead of going out. But I'm trying to counter that with more planning. Here is my current list of things I am trying.
- Biking early, and if that is not possible, biking at night. I'm not an early bird but I am working on getting up early for biking. Today I made it out the door at 8:30AM which is still a lot cooler than a couple hours later. But if I had gotten going at 6AM it would have been 5-10 degrees cooler still.
- Using an insulated water bottle with ice. I just started doing this, it is surprising how nice it feels to take a drink of ice water!
- Bring an extra bottle of ice water to squirt on yourself, in particular on the head. Thought about doing this but have not tried yet.
- Pick routes with more shade and more valleys. Shade is at least 10F cooler than the sun, often more.
- Super lightweight biking gear. I just got a jersey and shorts designed for very hot weather, it is almost see-through. I'm not sure this is really worth it though, it doesn't seem to make a large difference. Or maybe it is just hard to tell. Do be aware that thin jerseys on sunny rides may need sunscreen under them.
- Easing up on heavy intervals in the sunny parts, saving them for more shady or cooler portions of the ride.
So far I have mostly managed to keep riding, but the hottest days are not here yet. Let's hear some tips!
EDIT: new tips I missed and ones from the comments below:
- I left off one of the most important ones for me, staying hydrated! I really screwed up on this a few times, the body loses an immense amount of water in the heat. Now I can tell if I am dehydrating by looking at my heart rate, it is a notch higher than it should be when I am dehydrated. Of course the goal is to never get to that point.
- Stay off of roads with lots of stop lights in the sun. You fry just sitting there with no convective cooling.
- Long, steep uphills all in the sun are also not good for a similar reason.
- Plan rest stops where you know there will be shade.
- Water and/or ice around your neck: ice in a bandana, cold cloth around your neck, etc.
- Re-stock up on ice (and fluids) at convenience stores.. use the ice advantage for the whole ride, not just the first part.
- Wear a well-ventilated helmet.
Maryland is hot and humid in the summer. When I lived there I would go out at 5am this time of the year. Yes the comments about riding in more shaded areas are good advise. Add some electrolyte powder to your water bottles. Don't try and ride full on. In heat and humidity, I try to keep my heart rate at not too much more than 80 percent of max. Remember that there is a lot of ozone in the humid summer air and it will be harder to get good oxygen