You want to take maximum advantage of the evapourative cooling from sweat.

If you want to stay cool, consume cool substances - water or popsicles(not sure about heavy icecream dishes) - and keep yourself damp to take advantage of the fact that water can conduct heat away 20x faster than air(this won't be 20x faster though since the humidity prevents free evapouration until the water reaches a certain temperature). Don't forget to protect your skin from the sun. Wear a light coloured helmet with a visor. Wear light coloured clothing.

Thanks for all the great replies, folks! Keep 'em coming as this heatwave across Ontario, Quebec, and the Northeastern US looks likes it will be staying a bit longer. I especially like hearing from you Southeners who have to deal with the heat & humidity on a regular basis.

Mainly I just ride slowly, and arrive early to cool down a bit before work. It's a short ride, and it's really no worse than walking from the nearest subway station. Actually, better.

I disagree about cotton, it can get really hot when wet and it also gives me rash if it rubs the skin when wet, particularly underarms and sides.

Adam

We had similar temp and humidity yesterday. It was OK in the morning, but in the evening I took a slightly longer route that gave me shade from trees for part of the way. I took 5 min stops at three places where there were bridges over my route. I had two water gottles with 3:1 water juice mix. when the first bottle was finished, I refilled from drinking fountain and used theat to pour over head and back as I was riding. Thet ride took 115 mins instead of the usual 80 mins. In the evening there was a significant headwind, which helped with the cooling.

Yeah, sorry to confuse i changed my post... the reason i put in cotton is because the quick-dry stuff may dry you out too quickly... say for example you were in a desert condition, well you should never take your cotton shirt off, yes it is hot and can rub.. but it also buffers the evapouration process and prevents futile excessive sweating(where the sweat is just running right off ya). In those cases it is good to wear something which can soak up the sweat and buffer the evapouration process.

Oh, in NYC we rarely get too dry :) Today is like 30-40% which is unusual. Most often it's like >90F/>90%. But what you're saying makes but I have no experience with prolonged hot and dry weather.

Hahaha, you're about to experience the other end of the spectrum as we hit 90 by Friday. If you spend any time riding east of the Cascades, you've probably learned the value of an Ice Sock: Plain old cheap tube sock fulla ice cubes, and you drape it over your neck. It's saved many a randonneur on the open plains of eastern Washington from what I've read.

What I do during extreme heat is drink lot's and lot's of fluids. I also ride a little bit slower and don't push myself as hard. I work in a paint shop all day we have a paint baking oven , right now with this heatwave it's hotter inside my shop then it is outside.

... and then 57 and cloudy on Saturday. :cry:

Or wet down your shirt for evaporative cooling without the sweating.

Being from the North and living in the South, I can honestly say that I'm not stopping for anything. However, big dogs do scare me.

+1 on being well hydrated. I drink a lot of water at work and usually have to pee quite frequently, unfortunately. Wearing a backpack sucks. On the way home I put some ice in my water bottle and it stays cold halfway through my commute, however it lasts longer.

I rode through last Winter and I'm riding this week :D

i beat the heat by driving... (but i have a decent commute each way)

:notamused:

I commute 18 miles round trip. Today it was 92F, tomorrow 95F, and Thursday is suppose to be 99F..... What is this "humidity factor" he was talking about? In the south I just pray I get a day where the humidity is LESS than 80% for once!

Anyway, I usually get by drinking 3 liters of water and one gatorade per day. I don't drink anything on the ride because it is so short, but during my weekend rides on the road bike I can usually go through my entire camelback and two waterbottles on a three hour ride.

i knew that would get me at least one emoticon!

My "commute" is more aptly described as a "voyage" 37 miles each way. Unfortunately i am a bit out of shape and am working towards that commute. (should be nailing it in a bit under 2 hours or so in the next month or so). I tend to work 9-13 hour days, so time unfortunately is scarce for me. I will be damned if i dont start biking it at least a few times a week before winter (hopefully every day by then).

Tonight, soak your Jersey in the sink, then put it in the refrigerator in a tupperware container.
At work do the same thing once you get there and change. :)

More seriously though, it's all been covered above. Avoid cotton, drink lots before during and after your ride. Don't push it too hard. Take breaks (especially under shade trees :) )

Heat? Whatz iz that? :p

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/...chType=WEATHER

I used one of these today...a bandana which contains superabsorbent polymer crystals that take in up to 400 times their own weight in water, resulting in a cooling effect.

http://www.ahhcool.com/

Yesterday, I didn't use one and I'd have to say that I handled today's equally bad heat much better overall. I've had one of these for years but only remember to drag it out after a few days of a severe heat wave have already passed.

I'm not promoting any particular retailer of the bandanas, the above link came up with an on line search but these bandans are available at other souces as well.

Drink 3-4 bottles per 2 hours and a wet bandanna helps it keeps you cool by staying wet thanks to your sweat

Gets really !@#$% hot here in Tennessee. My commute is 9 miles each way. When coming home, I go slower and make sure I have a bottle of chilled ice water in an insulated bottle. It still ain't fun and you never "beat" the heat, but I like to think it's at least an uneasy truce. :) Also, for me anyway, moisture-wicking shirts, helmet with plenty of vents, and find the most shady route, if you have a choice.

Roy Curry
Hixson, TN

^^^agree with above about finding the most shaded route. I also read a good tip in another thread about wearing a camel back full of ice. I'm trying that one tomorrow.

I used to work in a factory with someone who used a similar product during the summer months. I never tried one myself (it was provided for him by the company) by he swore by it. A bit more high-tech than ice in a sock but seems to me like it works on the same principle; cooling down the blood being pumped through the carotids.

http://0.tqn.com/d/cars/1/0/c/c/ag_07sebring_hvac.jpg

Ahhh comfy. Say wha? Suckas!!! :lol:

Just teasing. I'm actually riding this week. Gonna be some hot weather. Calling for high 80s.
Drink lots and pace yourself. Cheers!

When I read "Beating the heat" I assumed it was about someone who got away from the cops on their bike.... it's winter here in Oz.

It hit 102F here in DC yesterday, fortunately we didn't get the crushing humidity that typically defines Summers here. I had, at least, 80 ozs of wather/Gatorade by the time I left for my afternoon ride home and, drank about 1/2 a bottle on my 10 mile ride. My wife adised that I eat a bag of salty potato chips before leaving, which I did-even with all that I was slightly dehydrated by the time I got home. I took it easy spinning the whole way, I also removed my helmet near the end of my ride to help cool down and jumped right in the shower once home. My left leg developed a slight cramp and I had to stop once or twice, it's amazing how this kind of heat really shuts the body down. I spent the evening filling up on water and will continue to do so through the day. I think we're also expecting the humidity to creep back up today so, it may be an even more difficult ride than yesterday. In addition, I'm eating light and continuing my daily supplements. Hopefully we'll get some relief by tomorrow.

My primary problem with cotton is it gets saturated and then heavy. Once it's soaked through sweating more doesn't do anything to help cool me down. I've always tried to wear wicking layers close to the body, regardless of what my outer layers are. Cross Country Skiing, Bicycling, etc.

I'm surprised no one brought this up, but, I offer additional advice, free of charge. :)

Ride on the MUP or on dirt and stay away from buildings when possible. There's a lot of heat that comes off of buildings and roads. Blacktop is bad--I rode 18 miles on the MUP Sunday and was fine, but when I got off at Pearl Road, I was steaming my last couple of miles! Four lanes of fresh blacktop and full sun changed my environment dramatically. It felt like 80 on the bikepath but was more like 110 deg. F on the road.

Also, if you have a choice between blacktop and cement roads--take cement. It's cooler.

There is nothing wrong with cotton. The primary advantage of quick-dry fabric is that it "sucks up" and then distributes the sweat over a larger area of the outside of fabric. So with the increased evapouration rate(due to increased suface area) you'll get a better cooling effect and end up more comfortable because your shirt isn't sopping wet. Regarding skin temperatures i'm not sure if there is a large difference, the cotton will eventually get hot because it retains the water and becomes like a second skin, but i'm not sure if cotton is actually increasing your body temperature or just moving the sweating one layer out. Another benefit from quick-dry fabric is it lets air in when it is wet due to the way the fabric is weaved.