Interesting phenomenon - should I be concerned?
 

It's been mid-90s for the past few days on my ride home. Obviously, I get hot. Today, because I had to take a large item into work, I drove in the morning and decided to go home for lunch and ride back.

It was about 12:30-1:00 when I rode back, and already hot. So I leave at 5:00, my ride takes about 45 minutes (10 miles each way), and I am super exhausted when I get home. I felt like stopping for rest during the trip (slightly nauseous), but pushed on because I was almost home. As soon as I get in the house, I start shivering. Nothing severe, but definite goosebumps and shivering for several minutes. I feel fine now, but I'm still really tired and considering skipping my commute tomorrow. Or at least shortening it.

You skipped the key part of your story.

How much did you have to drink on your commute, and while you were at work.

Are you drinking plenty of water? Perhaps you should drink more.

If you are an overall healthy person, then it's likely that your body overheated.

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/heat-exhaustion

Edit: though proper hydration is important, dehydration usually causes headaches, not nausea in my experience.

You overheated. Drink plenty of water and make sure you get electrolytes. If you find yourself freezing when you should be hot, you are not that far from getting loopy and passing out.

BTW, you'll be fine for your commute tomorrow. Just make sure you're hydrated.

Sounds like warning sounds for heat stroke to me (nausea, shivering). Don't mess around with that. Drink a lot (water, electrolytes wouldn't be bad either), and take it easy.

I drink a ton of water at work. I always have a cup of water at my desk and I go through it like 4-6 times during the day. But I don't drink anything during my commute. Either coming or going. I guess I should.

Good. :) Thanks for the advice.

Yep ... especially when it's hot. In 45 minutes you could comfortably drink 500 ml.

My commute of 15 miles each way has me leaving the house at noon. On hot days I freeze one water bottle. By the time I am done with the first bottle the second one is melted and it is usually still pretty cold. Before I leave for my commute I slam at least one liter of water sometimes two. I have a jiggly stomach for the first couple of miles but that goes away quickly. At work I drink at least 1 liter of water an hour. On the way home it is midnight so I only need one bottle of water to get home since it cools down to the 70's by then. People at work are amazed that I still ride in when the temp hits the mid 90's One other things to consider is to make a mental note of places that you can get water from parks or stores that have public drinking fountains. I noticed on my ride the other day that the local Saturn dealer put a sign up stating that they have water fountains and restrooms available for bikers and hikers. They also put a path in from the mup to the dealership.

I've had similar experiences, owing to dehydration. When it's that hot, you need a LOT of water. And sometimes, even when it isn't that hot out. But when the mercury reaches the 90's you should be bulk loading throughout the day, especially if you're to be doing exercise later.

A gatorade or similar "sports-type" drink doesn't hurt either.

I appreciated the timely information about hyperthermia issues. This can be very serious, and I think very high temperatures along with high humidity and exercise can be a deadly combination. It's not only the traffic rain and lightening that can pose a threat to commuting cyclists. Be ware and take care.

http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic236.htm

In the summer, when I'm doing my homebound commute (21 mi), I go through 2 whole 24 oz bottles of water on the way home. In the morning, it's not so bad, but I try to drink a lot the whole day, and ensure that the bottles are cold and full before I pull out on the homeward leg.....I'd rather have to stop to take a leak than start to get dehydrated.

When it is 90 in CO it feels like 75 in TX. I appreciate your story, but the OP lives in Temple, TX. I live in Austin, just 80 or so miles south. I rode home yesterday at 5:30 and it was 100 degrees on the nose, sun blazing, humidity probably 80 percent plus.

My favorite thing to do these days is ride and all I wanted to do all day was ride home and let me tell you -- It f**king sucked. I didn't even feel like I was riding hard, but it was unbelieveably punishing. I could barely speak when I walked in the house. I think the OP was heat exhausted and dehydrated, but I can't imagine how to avoid it doing any distance at all. I left with an iced down water bottle. 1/2 way thru my ride it was as hot as the water coming out of my sink. I'm hoping the stainless bottles I ordered may be better, but I bet they get pretty warm on the outside! :eek:

For some perspective: I rode in yesterday morning on a balmy 75 degree overcast morning and barely broke a sweat. The ride home is the uphill direction, but it ain't SF, CA or anything.

I drove today, maybe b/c of some errands I had to do on the way home... maybe the errands were b/c I wasn't up to the same ride today. :(

I have to drive tomorrow, but I'm riding Thursday and Friday. I'm afraid that here in Central Texas (and probably where lots of you are too) it only gets tougher from here until about October. :twitchy:

Starla,

I commute about 15 miles each way in Atlanta. Very hot in summer. Some tips to avoid overheating (heat exhaustion is bad, but heat stroke can kill you, it will cook your brain like an extreme fever.)

--Do your faster riding in the morning before the sun comes up.
--In the afternoon, ride home slowly, don't worry about what people think. You might enjoy the ride more than you think.
--Carry icewater. Keep it in an insulated place where it won't melt. Drink it before you get hot. Don't get the idea to ride fast when the icewater makes you feel better.
--Never risk heat stroke. Google it. Avoid the symptoms at all costs.
--Drinking lots of water does not mean you'll avoid heat stroke. Keeping your body temperature down is all that will help.

Sounds like rules to live by. Atlanta indeed be hot.

Ugh...I know. :( I have to ride now if I expect to acclimate myself to ride through summer. Otherwise, I'll never be able to stand the heat. My ride to work from lunch was probably during the most intense sun of the day...I felt good and fresh starting that ride, but could definitely tell a difference four hours later when I started my ride home. That one was tough from the start.

I definitely plan drinking plenty of water, and not pushing myself on the ride home. I plan on it. But for some reason that is really hard for me. I know intellectually when I have pushed my body too far. But my heart (or whatever it is) tells me to keep pushing because it's making me stronger. Pretty sure I've reached my limit, though.

Still better than driving.

That imagery is just scary.

Thanks for the tips...haven't done much summer riding, so I definitely appreciate words of advice from anyone with more experience.

It really depends totally on how much heat bothers you. It varies widely by person. I know people who can't stand to be outside if it's above about 80. I can wear corduroys in 100 degree weather and not be bothered too much. I ride the same even if it's 105 outside, I just make sure I have a full bottle of water for every 10 miles or so. But that would probably be dangerous for some people.

Actually, it sounds like heat exhaustion, which is another heat-related illness, less severe than heat stroke, but will lead to heat stroke if the conditions that caused it aren't corrected. The treatment's right on, but you need to be careful that the drink isn't too concentrated -- you want maximum absorption. Cool, not cold water with a very small amount of sugar and salt is the way to go, plus any action to cool you off: remove clothing, take a cold shower if you can, stand in the breeze of the 'lectric fan, get into a cool place.

Today, I stopped 2 miles from home (14.5 mile homeward commute) to lounge around under the shade of a tree. Letting the wind cool me down was a nice treat, even if I was so close to home I could taste a nice cool beer in the fridge. Know when to say when, and keep the fluids coming.

10 miles each way might not be enough to warrant electrolyte replacement drinks or anything, but having some water is always good idea. It's hard to drink too much water. I mean, you CAN drink too much water, but it's not pleasant and you almost have to be trying to bloat yourself. If you drink just enough to keep from getting thirsty, you'll probably stay hydrated just fine.

Always a good idea :innocent:

Hilarious story about a good friend who had his brother in law (or something) in town. This dude was a serious cyclist or runner or something and was really into chugging tons of water and touting the benefits. My friend is very competitive and easy to influence and decided he was going to get into this water chugging thing too. One day he apparently chugged too much water. Went to take a whiz at work and woke up in the hospital. He had apparently passed out at the urinal from water toxicity.

How do you explain that to co-workers?

If you're going far enough to need more water than you can carry in bottles a Camelback might be an options. Use the hydration pack for drinking and bring bottles for pouring over your head. (Obviously on the homeward bound portion.) Evaporative cooling, even if the water is warm works great. See the pros do it on hot stages in the Tour.

That's fascinating. I'm not sure if someone has already mentioned this...I didn't read every post...but a side affect of hypothermia is a feeling of being very hot. People have been found dead and naked in freezing climates. Interesting that the opposite is true for over hearting.