bruce19

I ask this because although I generally understand humidity and what is comfortable, I am wondering at what point it becomes a factor in performance. I assume it's somewhat different for different people but there must be some kind of range, no? I went out today and did a 6.4 mi. TT that I do about once a week. I felt OK pedaling and my average speed of 17.5 mph is around what I usually do. But, I found myself gasping the entire ride. Exhaling was especially difficult. I began wondering if I have asthma. When I got home I went to a weather site and it said the humidity was 88%. The actual temperature was 71 F. My gf swears there's a leaf mold issue that could be a factor.

10 Wheels

I call it Heavy Air.

Right now 80*F Temp with 91% Humidity.

One has to be in good breathing health to handle riding with it.

bulldog1935

breathing steam.

Can't pick a specific value, but remember the first humidity morning at the end of May. Everyone out on the greenway, bikes, runners, were suffering and chatted with several who were set back over their performance.

I rode over 500 mi last month and am in pretty good shape even with the humidity, but just last weekend had one morning where I was lumbering up a 2-mi hill.

Looking forward to fall mornings

If you want to get technical, it's all about dew point and perspiration rate. As long as you have evaporation, you have swamp cooling.
When you get saturated (which happens in the weave of lycra as well as merino, Egyptian cotton, or heavy cotton), then you are insulated by a film of 98-degree water. Of course it's always worse when you stop, because you have convective cooling when you're rolling.

OldTryGuy

I guess I'll just ride naked. COOL!!!

bulldog1935

I'm glad my eyes don't work like they used to

sevenmag

I wish I had an answer. I spent most of my life on the Alabama Gulf Coast, it's always humid as hell there. Now I live the South Carolina Low Country and guess what. Every bit as humid. It's all I know.

TimothyH

I don't think anyone on this forum can say that their performance begins to suffer at a specific percentage humidity.

Without testing all anyone can give is subjective observation and anecdotal evidence.

Personally, I like a little humidity in the air. I don't like it too dry and dislike winter riding in the south for that reason.

FBinNY 

It definitely FEELS like heavy air, but the reality is that higher humidity makes for lighter air. The water molecules are lighter than the oxygen and nitrogen molecules they displace.

I also suffer in high heat or humidity. I suspect it's partly because the humidity reduces the efficiency of my evaporative cooling system, so I tend to run hotter. It might also have an effect on exhaling water vapor, leading to a sense of chest congestion, but you'd have to ask a physiologist. I do know that riding hard or long in the heat makes me feel "chesty", a term I use to describe difficulty breathing with a sense of heaviness in my chest (no, not a heart attack).

DaveQ24

Dew point 65-70 is uncomfortable, 70 plus miserable, especially if air temp is 75 plus.

Fortunately not experienced here often.

VegasTriker

It all depends on what you are acclimated to. The humidity in southern Nevada is generally under 20% during the daytime in summer. I was in San Diego in late July. The humidity was normal which for them averages around 70%. It was fine to ride early in the morning but once the temperature got into the upper 80s it felt oppressive. I'm sure the locals thought it was perfectly fine. We had "monsoon summer rains" in the past week in Las Vegas and it's not pleasant. Yesterday was cooler but the humidity was 40% overnight. I really like riding in the early morning when the temperatures are at the minimum and the humidity is low.

wphamilton

I have faster times in hot humid air (thinner), but as for the effect on power production I couldn't say. I'm ok as long as I keep moving.

texaspandj

Not sure. Because it's always humid here, Maybe a better way to look at it is, at which point does your performance improve due to lack of humidity?
Most visitors can handle the heat or humidity but combined takes acclimation.

CrankyNeck

I love hot and humid conditions. Humidity drops some in the dry season but it's still humid by most people's standards. But when that happens, the temperatures rise to near 100. When I go out I don't even think about the humidity. I know that different people react differently to the same conditions, but I'm still a big believer in one's mindset. Embrace it or don't think about it, but don't let your mind defeat you before you even get going. I remember back in the 80s when I was doing a lot of triathlons I used to hear a lot of athletes defeating themselves before races in humid conditions. There were a number of guys close to me in ability that I raced against often who beat me most of the time in cooler and/or dry conditions. But in warm and humid conditions I always beat them. I love coming off the bike and running in high humidity. I can't say why. I just do.

pdlamb

I can't imagine humidity at 71F would have a significant impact. I vote for the leaf mold hypothesis.

bulldog1935

that would be me - I'm crazy allergic to mildew. There's a thread on C&V about vintage canvas bike bags - I couldn't have an old one - I would sneeze the whole time.

so, should we talk about perfume on bikes?

canklecat

My allergies and asthma are always more a limiting factor than heat and humidity. Humidity can feel oppressive above a certain temperature because it feels like the body isn't getting evaporative cooling. But I can't tell that it affects my breathing as much as the other factors do.

SHBR

If its above 30C with more than 80% humidity, I find it gives new meaning to the word "draining".

I lost 2KG the last time I rode in those conditions, despite drinking close to 4L of water.

Artmo 

Draining is the word I would also use in high humidity conditions. I am asthmatic and prefer humidity to dry air, but it's not the asthma which gets me, it's the overall "draining" effect, which makes me feel totally knackered after a ride.

Not being able to exhale fully is a symptom of asthma and as others have said, it might be caused by an allergic reaction or exercise induced asthma. I doubt it's the humidity because steam inhalation, combined with a medication, is one of the treatments for relief from asthma/bronchitis.

jfowler85

This thread is rife with unqualified medical advice that is best ignored.

SHBR

How so?

I have yet to see any recommendations for treatment or medication.

I've alluded to the fact that excessive fluid loss, combined with low sodium levels tends to make me feel drained, not quite sure how this could be considered "medical advice"?

bulldog1935

especially since there is no medical advice on this thread. Just chalk it up to internet narcissism. Thinking he probably intended to mark his turf on the the "Long Time" thread instead of this one. This forum gets a surprising number of pointless contradictory postings that very clearly are narcissistic musings.

A couple of summers ago, my friends were training to climb Donner pass on their tandem, and I was riding with them.
Our ride was 38 miles, 2500' climb including 18% grade at the worst, burned 4000 calories, and sweated 100 ounces.

Here, you feel different effects from the humidity and heat through the day. Early when it's crazy humid, stopping is the worst feeling because you totally lose all cooling. As the air dries out, stopping in the shade, especially if there's a breeze, always feels pretty good. Slow climbs in the sun are very taxing. So there's a comfort tradeoff between more humid and cloudy, and drier and only partly cloudy or bright sun.

bakes1

6%

deacon mark

I am runner too and humidity effects running much more than cycling. As long as there is no wind I have no problem with high humidity. Some of my best rides for time are dew points around 72 degrees. Now if it is really hot and the sun is beating down then it sure does take a toll on anyone. Normally I ride very early in the morning and in Central Ill the humidity is always near 80-90% in the early morning. I actually like it a hot when cycling I feel like I am getting a better workout.

Oldguyonoldbike

I grew up in Oklahoma, and after being away for twenty-five years I find myself living here again. It is usually fairly dry in the summer - not New Mexico or Arizona dry, but nothing like the deep South. The last two summers, though, have been unusually wet and humid. While it hasn't been as hot as usual (only one 100+° day so far this summer, as opposed to months on end), it is much more humid. The air may be lighter, but I'm not used to it and find it harder to breathe with high humidity. Performance suffers accordingly. Just this morning I rode thirty miles in high humidity (around 75%) averaging about 1/2 mph less than usual.

rob214

i hate temps over 65 and humidity over 50% it sucks i live in nola and i'm a welder, you would think heat wouldn't be a problem but after being hot all day it's hard to got the body moving for fun, the humidity just drains me. performance wise i just feel like i can breath in low humidity and low temps, if i lived up north maybe i would change my mind but until i retire looks like i'm stuck in the south


rob