JoeyBike

It's only the middle of June and we are paying the price down in New Orleans for mild winters.

Do any of you stop riding at a certain summer temp? By July here in NOLA it will never drop below 80°F even at night until mid September. Our humidity is 100% at sunrise and drops to maybe 70% mid day if we don't get a T-storm. Then the humidity shoots back up to 100%. Like putting water on the furnace. Steamy!

How hot do you ride, or when do you give it up?

Here is our forecast for this week:



I ride through the worst all summer.

DataJunkie

I have ridding in 110F quite a few times. However, I have always lived in low humidity climates.
If humidity was factored in I have no idea how far that would drop.
I detest high humidity.

AlmostTrick

We've yet to have our hot weather here, but there's no line for me. I've riden in over 100, and we get plenty of humidity too. I just bring more water, not only for drinking but also for showering my head and chest. I also try not to push myself as hard, but that never seems to last. Get home and lie on the floor in the basement with the fan on me. Ahhhh....

manicmike

that's just sad.

Junkdad

was about 100 today, and felt pretty good. As long as you are moving the breeze keeps you cool. Stoplights are insufferable though (even more than usual).

manicmike

doesn't affect me, i ride when i want.

KitN

I can take the high temperatures. (I'm not too happy about it but I can handle it.) It's the HIGH HUMIDITY that's killer.

I'll take 110 degree DRY heat over 85 degree HIGH humidity any day.

dwr1961

I live in the arid, low-humidity desert west. I'll ride in any temperature, but I'm always aware about sun exposure (I'm pigmentally challenged - too white for unguarded summer adventure) and hydration. I try to drink steadily both before and during rides.

Out here the heat will kill you if you're stupid. In New Orleans the heat will kill you no matter what. I've had opportunities to live in the South, but the humidity was always a major deterrent.

Be careful down there.

Big_e

Hot weather doesn't affect my bicycling, no matter if it's a commute or long weekend ride. I do hate cold weather and freezing temps will get me to suspend my commuting.
Ernest

EKW in DC

This will be my first summer commuting. Not sure what the line will be, or if there will be one. I'm assuming temperature-wise no line. I can shower when I get to work and, obviously, the same when I get home. My commute's just 7 miles each way, too, so it's only 30-40 minutes of riding for me... I figure I'll just try to stay hydrated and cool off in the shower when I get to where I'm going.

The question that has me thinking, though, is about the dreaded code red air quality days. What are people's experiences with the air pollution issues that always seem so much worse in the summer heat? Code red=no ride for you? Do you drive/take public transportation instead on those days? Do you just take it a little easier? Or do you ride as you normally would?

zephyr

I live in Orange County, CA which has a mild climate in both summer and winter. I usually leave home on my commute at 6:30 am and in summer the temps are in the low or mid 60F range, cool compared to many places. Mid afternoons can be scorching hot under clear skies with few shade trees around. By the time I start pedaling home around 4:45 pm the sun is heading lower and most of the time I get a hint of the late afternoon ocean breeze kicking in. That's usually the ticket to keeping the temps below 90F for the ride home. A few dozen times a year we have offshore wind patterns that send super hot dry desert air towards the coast. No afternoon ocean breeze, temps in the high 90s or low 100s F. That's when I take it easy and typically ride my most direct (but boring) 7 mile route instead of the scenic 14 mile or so route.

When I lived in Auburn, AL it was a similar drill, avoid pedaling in summer during the peak heat of the day. Although it was more humid and generally hotter in summer than southern cal, the terrain was less hilly. As a result I could cruise around town at a moderate 13 to 14 mph pace and keep from working too hard at it. The afternoon rain showers in the southeast do a good job of knocking down the temps too, but that's why it's so green and humid.

aley

My personal limit is somewhere above 110F - that's the hottest I've ridden in, but somewhere above that I'm sure is a point at which I'll decide against it. The dry heat here makes such a difference, though - 105 here is more comfortable than 90 where I grew up in southwest Missouri, because of the humidity there. Thinking about it makes me remember why I'm so glad to live in the desert.

zonatandem

Have ridden a century in Maryland at 98 degrees with 98% humidity. No fun.
Have ridden in Arizona at 117 degrees with 2% humidity. No fun.
Think high humidity is worse than 100 degrees with single digit humidity.
Just our preference/experience.

imi

I love sweating!

svtmike

Hot weather in Chicago hasn't stopped me yet.

bugly64

Okinawa is all about hot weather and humidity. They don't even broadcast the humidity in the hottest part of the summer. I ride every day no matter. I only use the van when it's mandated by the Base Commander because of a typhoon.

cooleric1234

Out here in Denver and in Dayton Ohio I've never had an upper limit. I imagine if I lived in Arizona that might be a different story. Once it gets to 120 degrees that can be dangerous, I hear they have hikers die every year from hiking in too hot of conditions without enough water.

DataJunkie

+1

Cyclaholic

Last summer I commuted in >108f for almost 2 weeks, a few days it hit 110f. Fluid intake went up significantly, like 5lt (170 oz) per hour, otherwise OK.

TrekJapan

Ditto on the Okinawa weather and humidity. I either run or ride every day, just have to deal with the sweat. Fortunately there's a shower at work. I end up showering a lot every day but I have to get some PT in. It doesn't curtail me but you have to work around it.

Ran to work today at 6 AM and I came in soaked totally. So wet that I was foaming from detergent left in the running clothes.

John

Bike-Bum

One day I was at work and became somewhat concerned as it was turning out to be a blazing hot day (110+). I drank as much water as I could and decided to use extra low gears on the way home, just take it easy. I got home within 8 minutes of my normal time. I've loved low gears ever since.

norskagent

when it goes above 74 or below 68, I have to take my climate controlled car.
haha - actually my cutoff temps here in humid nc are ~40 to ~100.

Spanky-G-Master

The city I live in has the nick name "the air conditioned city" due to the cooling effect of Lake Superior. Our average high in July is 76, only about one week last year did it get uncomfortably warm (90+). During the time at which I commute (9pm and 6am) the temperature even in the dead of summer is usually in the 40-50's. There is no upper line here, even on the hottest days you'll still find me riding my mountain bike or rolling down to the video store.

CCrew

I'd rather ride in cold than hot, but I've not hit an upper end when I'll stop. Highest I've ridden is 102. My nads start to shrivel below 20 degrees We get high humidity and I sweat like a pig, so have to be careful about hydration.

mjw16

I haven't yet had a cutoff temp (cold or hot), in my 7 years of commuting. DC can get pretty hot and humid in the summer but, we don't have the extremes that other regions do. I prepare for summer heat with extra fluids and, when temps approach 100, I'll pull off and take a breather when necassary. In addition, I take it much more slowly and am extra cautious to monitor my: exertion level, sweat, temp, etc-simply exposing oneself to extreme heat for even short periods of time seems to really take a toll on your body. I will immediately get in a cool shower once I get home then lie on the bed, under the ceiling fan. I've had heat stroke, or heat stroke-like, experiences in the past, had to be immersed in a tub full of ice water once--no fun.