Originally Posted by
MMACH 5
I've lived in Texas my whole life. We get the 100+ temps every summer.
Dealing with the heat is three parts hydration and one part acclimation/conditioning.
I used to think that whole acclimation thing was an old wive's tale. However, studies have now shown that the more time you spend in the heat, the better your body gets at conserving fluids.
Also, for every molecule of glycogen your muscle cells take in, they take in a certain number of water molecules, (sorry, I don't know the ratio). So, the more you work your muscles, the more fuel they need and the more water they take in, thus helping you to stay hydrated and cool. I've seen this in my own body. If I take a few days off from commuting, I'm usually feeling dehydrated on my first ride in to work. But I'm feeling fine, by the time I ride home that evening.
So...
Hydrate
Hydrate
Hydrate
and
Acclimate
I agree as a transplant to Texas from Mi about 15 years ago, it took awhile to acclimate, but now I sit in my 76 deg office and am cold. I have commuted for seveal years here and now 100+ is no big deal if I Hydrate. But a few things I have found that also help is to drink room temp water before the commute, and have cold water as I ride. This keeps my body at "room" temp befor the ride and doesn't fool it into thining it's cold, and during the ride the cold water lowers my internal temp.