Helderberg

I am 69, weight about 191 and ride three to four times a week. Many hills and about 45 min to an hour eah time.
I decided to make my Sunday ride a longer one. On leg seven of the eight legs of my ride I got a call from our daughter. Stopped and while talking to her I felt myself getting weak and dizzy. I had drank almost all of the water I had on the bike and had to cut the call short so I could sit down. Carried the bike up to the grass and knelt down and lowered my head until my head cleared. After about ten min. I was able to stand, raise the bike and consider my options. I had about 200 yds to reach my intended goal to finish my ride then turn and head for the hose but decided to start back with a walk and hopefully resume myride. I did about 25 yards later and was able to slowly ride home where I was able to park the bike and walk around a bit before entering our home. I realized at than point that I was drenched with sweat and felt very cold, odd considering it was so hot and humid. Sat at our dinet and let the central air lower my core temp and then took a shower. After I laid on the floor and relaxed for a while and thought through my day. I'd been a plumber for 43 years and worked in many homes new and old that had drained me but I never had this experience or lack of recovery. I realize I am not 40 and I also realize that I would have had some conditioning to help me as a younger person but this truly had me concerned while going through it. Checked my blood pressure after my shower and it was low, very low. So now I will not push so hard on those extremely hot and humid days and try to take advantage of the cooler ones. Just a cautionary tale of an old guy that does not want to admit, to himself, that he isn't young anymore.
Be safe, Frank.

berner

Weather here in Rhode Island does not reach into the 90sF. I did live for over 10 years on the MIssissippi Gulf Coast where temps did reach that level daily. At first I thought I would die but I did get used to it. In fact I began playing tennis while living there but I did drink a great deal of water. Professional tennis players are out training in those temps regularly. What I have found helpful on the bike is to freeze one water bottle totally and the second bottle only about half frozen and half filled with sport drink. In addition, I made sort of bottle parkas to protect them from hot air flowing over the bottles and speeds up melting. I can have cold drinks for 5 hours or more and this makes a big difference in comfort.

pdlamb

Might be worth making sure your ride goes by a convenience store every so often. Carry a $10 bill and don't be afraid to spend it on drinks when it gets that hot!

wphamilton

I've only felt something like that when I was badly dehydrated and then the heat wore me down. Having the cold drinks would benefit if it encourages you to drink enough, but I would be leery of depending on it to help cool your core temperature. It doesn't take that much of the heat to raise the temperature of that amount of water, so it physically cannot cool you that much.

I think that the thermosensors in the throat and mouth interpret ice-cold water as a cool temperature and inhibit the sweating as a response. That may or may not be what you want to happen.

Steeljag

VegasTriker

It is often not the heat but the humidity that gets you. It is far easier to maintain your body temperature in low humidity conditions. Morning temperatures here have been in the upper 80s at dawn and pretty quickly reach 90 degrees but it is not uncomfortable to ride. I have regular water stops along my routes but don't often use them. It is mainly making sure water is available if needed.

rumrunn6

reminds me of one commute home several years ago, I had to stop 1/2 way of the 17 miles home to lay down in the shade. I passed out briefly, aka nap? probably best to avoid those situations altogether if possible

TimothyH

These are classic symptoms of heat exhaustion.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-...s/syc-20373250

My guess is that you simply overheated. There's no shame. I did it on a ride to see the great eclipse of 2017. It was 95° and I was lying on the grass pouring sweat and shivering like it was winter.

The good news is that it isn't a sign of weakness and somewhat preventable with common sense tactics. Don't be afraid to stop for an ice cold beverage, fill your bottles with ice at the convenience store and pour water over your head while riding. Quickly downing a large cold beverage can lower core temps quickly.


-Tim-

MikeDD

Buy an e-bike, it will get you home. You can still get the exercise you need.

Monoborracho

Rootman

Sounds just like my story. I'm 58 and decided to take an extra long ride. Made it down to the turn around and headed back, felt strong the clouds were heavy and there was a merciless breeze even though it was getting hot I was OK.

I made it to 45 miles the clouds broke, the sun burned down and temps immediately started to climb, as did the humidity. It was like I hit a brick wall. The MUP I ride has a lot of water fountains and I stopped and refilled my bottles and drank from them.I was on my 8th bottle of water. I had to stop at a bike shop and take advantage of their snack bar and air conditioning for an hour. I started to slowly ride home and made it 56 miles with another 5 to go and called my wife to come pick me up. I've never been a very good rider, I can stick it out for miles but my pace is slow. That day I was especially slow. That day I decided to get an ebike. I hope to have it Friday and take it out a few times over the US Labor day holiday. It should make it easier on the hills and allow me to take a longer ride and get in sooner out of the heat.

So, yes, be careful. Heat prostration can sneak up on you and before you know it you can land in a heap feeling like you are going to die. So if you feel dizzy like Helderberg mentioned then STOP and rest, drink water and seek shade and get out of the heat if you can. As always, drink plenty of fluids, stay in the shade if possible and always have a backup plan to get picked up should you need to stop your ride. I know this grinds a lot of your guy's gears, but slow your pace too. Your on a race headed to possible death by pushing yourself too hard in high heat.

jppe

jon c. 

Sounds like mild heat stroke. I live with 90+ degree weather for 3 or 4 months a years and you definitely acclimate with time. I love riding in hot weather and have never had heat stroke problems, but I tend to ride at a moderate pace. But I do encounter issues doing heavy yard work from time to time. When you start to feel chilled or feel cold sweat, you know you need to stop and rest and cool down.

Helderberg

Thanks all for this good advice. I moved here in 2014 and had lived on central NY for the 65 years before that. I did live in Maine and Thailand during my time in the USAF and I can tell you it got hot in Thailand. I have only one water bottle rack on my bike but I can stop and refill it on my ride so I will drink more and slow my pace when it is hot and humid.
Thanks again all for your input, Frank.

ironwood

Early morning before dawn is the best time to ride when it is hot, as it has been in NE recently.

One of the things I learned in Thailand from watching the Thais, is to stay out of the sun.

Helderberg

"One of the things I learned in Thailand from watching the Thais, is to stay out of the sun."
Try explaining that to my CO.
Frank.

SylvainG

Like I said in the commuting subforum,bring enough water not just to quench your thirst but to cool you down by squirting water on you. If you wear wicking arm sleeves, you can squirt some water over them and the evaporating effect will cool you down while riding.

davester

I agree with the posters above about having a water bottle for drinking AND a water bottle (or perhaps hydration pack) with iced water for spraying yourself down. That is far more effective at reducing body temperatures than drinking. Geigerrig makes a really nice hydration bladder that you can pressurize for a power shower. Not cheap, but crashing your bike because you passed out from heat stress is not cheap either.

big john

I think the key is acclimation. If you work outside in the heat then hot rides aren't as hard as they are for those who stay in air conditioning all the time.
If you don't have to work then riding more often in the heat will help, provided you stay hydrated and are healthy enough to begin with.
It's been near or over 100 degrees here for 2 months. I'm sick of it but I can still ride in it for hours and I'm 64 and 210 pounds. Just need to guzzle that water.

IronM

I ride in the heat and humidity a lot here in Georgia. Others mention hydration and acclimation - I 100% agree. I hydrate well for hours before-hand; I often carry a 3rd bottle, and plan routes around parks, stores, or churches (water spigots) to refill mid-ride as necessary. I try to avoid being out between 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, where the solar loading and reflected heat is the worst. I also wear a high-quality, wicking summer kit that, as long as I'm moving, really does a fantastic job cooling me off. Oh - and post ride I also focus on re-hydration.
I use to use a 3rd bottle for spraying myself down, but now I really value any water I carry for internal rehydration - mostly because I'm sweating so profusely I could've just stepped out of the lake. I couldn't possibly get any wetter. It's not uncommon me to lose 3+ lbs of water weight from sweat. It's not really good to do that.

Hoopdriver

Hi Frank, I'm in Durham and know what it's been like here lately. It was over 90 when I finished my morning ride today at 1030.

I am glad that you only had a wake-up call this time and nothing worse. I recommend doing some googling for heat acclimation, which is a physiological process of building a tolerance to high heat conditions. Given time and (gradual) training you will find that you will be able to handle it a bit better. Other advice was already stated but worth saying again: 1) drink water even if you aren't thirsty, 2) wear wicking clothing, ride in mornings or evenings when the solar load is not bad. 3) check your heart rate occasionally to see if it is elevated more that you would expect given your power output and (most importantly) don't be too proud to call for a ride home.

RickShelton31

big john

I usually weigh myself before and after hot rides. I will typically lose 5 or 6 pounds through dehydration on a 65ish mile ride with climbing. If it's hot and I am climbing I can't keep up with the loss so I start drinking early and often. I once dropped 11 pounds on an 85 mile climbing ride where I was trying to ration water early on. I didn't want to stop to refill for fear of losing the group. I felt pretty bad that day.
Two weeks ago I went on a 4+hour mountain bike ride. It was hot and humid and I drained my 100oz Camelbak and refilled it and drank most of that. Lucky there was a water stop, I got tired but didn't feel bad.

I have drank over 200 ounces on numerous rides, I sweat a lot.

CliffordK

Sounds like significant dehydration and heat exhaustion. I'm glad you're OK. Do you carry 1 or 2 water bottles? Camelback? 33 oz (1L) bottles?

Low 50's here. I've been doing some riding in upper 90's weather, and even around low 100's a couple of times, but the humidity is usually low here. It actually may feel a bit cooler riding than standing still (so the sweat can evaporate, at least in our low humidity).

I've never done it, but I have believed that if I ever got into a severe crisis, I could get life saving water from anywhere, streams, irrigation ditches, sprinklers, or knocking on the door of the nearest farmhouse.

My last "century plus" ride, I was hot and tired around 3:00 or so... so I took an hour or so break at a park, refilled water, then got back on the road as it started cooling off a bit. I think I know all the water stops between Eugene and Portland.

Kabuki12

I live in Southern California and it has been HOT here as well.I am almost 64 and weigh 150 at 6' tall.I also have low blood pressure and heart rate so I know what it feels like to get dizzy. I drink a lot of water and my Dr. reminded me that it is also important to replace electrolytes when exercising and it seems to help. i.e. sports drinks. Joe