Soberone, I thought about making this post myself as I rode today.

Uphill, on hot asphalt, no shade can make you feel like a chocolate chip cookie. Downhill has only one drawback: it's over too soon!

I take it slower and I stop at a shady spot to sip a cold drink. By the time I've started again, I am drenched with sweat, charged with fluid and cooler from the stomach out!

I also found that ice in a hydration pack cools the spine off very well.

Don't overheat yourself.