Back when I was employed and on occasion commuting by bike out of Brooklyn, I learned that a temp over 85 was too hot and riding in that would really do me in for a few days. I’m a bit of a wimp I guess and I read of folks riding in the 90’s, but for me, no thanks. I got up today to ride at. 7, it was already 84 and headed to over 90 so I opted to not ride, went and did a pool workout instead.

This is the first summer in years that I haven't really acclimated well to our convection-oven summers, even though I've lived in the Merciless Desert my entire life. My mileage this summer has been wretched, even though this summer hasn't been all that bad (with some days even in the 'chilly' 90s). I typically start rides at dawn and go until late morning, so I miss the worst of the the broiling. And although it is very true the (relatively) lower humidity here makes it more bearable, it's still frugging hot. And the most demoralizing part is not a 118° high, it's a 90° low, where It Just Starts Going Back Up Again From There as soon as the sun reappears.

I remember commuting uphill in 117° heat and it not bothering me much, although the best days were the ones that stopped by the public pool for my son's swim lessons. Now at a mere 105° I'm on the edge of heat exhaustion, even with a spray bottle and lots of hydration.

The fall riding season is looming soon, so I may need to start some 4 am lit rides a few times a week to start rebuilding my base.

Looking forward to mid-September, when the evenings will start cooling off again. Only 6 or 7 searing weeks to go...

It’s interesting to see all the variations from place to place. Here in N. New England (Vermont), many more hot, humid days than usual. The Dog Days of August started in June. The heat isn’t so much the problem as the humidity. I’ve been trying to acclimate to it rather than avoid it, mainly with lots of hydration and some electrolyte tablets in my water bottles.

Going for another lap through the playground sprinkler.

Riding in the city is sucky, but rolling through a park sprinkler and getting a bottle refill at the drinking fountain is pretty nice. Clean bathrooms too. Thumbs up to our Parks Dept!

cold front (?) drove out the heat - temporarily at least - next few days lookin good !

Now THAT is how you do a cool front.
We have one stalled here in North Texas. Right now it’s only 81° and the high should be down to 93°. 😄

on a weekend!!!

I tried to shout, but the new SW doesn't allow all caps.

Back when I rode STP every year, some households would place lawn sprinklers so that they watered the road on very hot days. Riding through them was a delight. Don't know if this is still the case.

Most probably try to conserve water and not spray pavement.

The four H's of bicycling: heat, humidity, hills and headwinds.

I sure don’t want to be a member of the 4H club, at least not all at once.

On truly hot days, I'll take headwinds over tailwinds. Nothing worse than pedaling along in a miasma composed of the ambient heat and humidity plus the heat and sweat I'm generating.

Look on the bright side of this heat wave -- heat acclimation.



If the heat doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger.

"One study showed that just 10 days of heat acclimatization improved time trial performance, power output, plasma volume, and maximal cardiac output in both hot and cool conditions."

-- Heat Training for Cyclists, TrainingPeaks

It kind of depends on how much heat you are talking about. Here in Texas and most of the South we have lows temps around 80° and highs of 95°-100° with enough humidity to shrivel your soul.
I could tolerate working outdoors in the heat and playing softball after with no problems until I hit 60. Now the heat can kick my butt.

Yup, you just get use to it. That being the heat . There was never an issue before AC. You turned on the fan and slept in the outside porch and that was that. But I confess in my older years I crank down the AC. Having the experience of no AC was good for the spine.

I hope you get some answers soon about your heart. Having lived in the DFW area yes, it gets hot…too hot for me. It does get a bit warm here in Melbourne, Florida too. Staying hydrated is key to me riding, mostly in the mornings, but I feel like a wet dishrag when I’m done.

I grew up without ac but houses were built differently long ago. Larger and more windows. Bedrooms had 2 large windows to help get a draft coming through.
Schools didn’t have ac either, or carpet. There was a big fan the teacher turned on after giving us instructions- we couldn’t hear her over the noise of the fan. All windows were open too.
But I will admit I do like ac now.

Schools typically had 20' ceilings as well, which allowed the hot air to rise to the ceiling away from the students.

I don’t remember any 20’ ceilings, just normal 8’.

The temperatures have dropped here, but every morning the relative humidity is at 100%. So it's foggy with low visibility now. At 70F (21C) with that humidity, it's like biking in a cooler sauna. Doable, but not pleasant after 5-10 miles (8.3-16.7 km) since there is zero evaporation.

I never say things like, "I wish it was cooler". Because I know it will come and be just as bad.

The yearly high on my weather station is 100.6 F (38.1C). The yearly low -11.9 F (-24.4 C). A 112.5 F (44.7C) swing.

We just had a cool front pass through Fort Worth this morning. We got some rain and it has cooled off to 85° but it is still very humid. This isn’t right! It’s supposed to be dryer behind a front from the north. Somebody up north left a steamer on or something. 😄

Still feeling the desert heat here with temps at/around 108-110+. Almost 8 pm and it's still 104F

what riding in the desert feels like in August....

We had a/c for a short time in the early 60s but after that it was a swamp cooler. Still remember trying to sleep with a window fan. The first time I saw a/c or carpet in school was high school. One building there had a/c.

Supposed to be 104 here tomorrow and for the next few days. frack

My grandparents had swamp coolers. They worked a little but mostly made the sugar clump.
Dad got a window unit in the early ‘70s in the living room but I kept my door shut and my window open. There was a field of alfalfa hay just south of my window and I loved that smell!

Swamp coolers work best with low humidity. Ever see those round coolers you hang on the window of a car? It had a cylindrical straw pad and water in the bottom. You pulled a string which rotated the straw into the water. The air blast from driving forced air into the car.