banerjek

Ever since I switched jobs about a year and a half ago, I've been riding much less than I historically do so my speed averages are down. Yesterday just happened to be one of my favorite rides of the year. Great scenery, over 16K feet of climbing.

Aside from forgetting to fill my water bottles when I left (thankfully it was cool and a nice rider gave me half a bottle to get me to the first station) and working with some knee pain starting around mile 75, the first 100 miles or so went well. But as I started the final climb, I felt sick, legs were getting crampy, and I was showing heat exhaustion symptoms.

I didn't need to stop on any of the other climbs, but on this one, I stopped many times. I was feeling so bad that I actually took a half hour nap off the side of the road 1.5 miles from the finish (sum total of all the breaks on the climb including the nap was probably an hour). After the nap, I felt great and finished strong. Legs feel decent today.

Historically, I've had very good heat tolerance, but twice last year and now once this year, I've had problems with heat exhaustion. In all cases, it was on an extended climb after a lot of time in the saddle. I've never had problems like this in the past.

Can you develop a sensitivity to heat? Or is it more likely these problems be aggravated by insufficient conditioning on my part? I've been trying to drink as much water as I can and seem to be consuming as least as much as most other riders.

Pharmr

sounds like the beginning of heat stroke....possibly you were slightly dehydrated

CharlieWoo

Have you gained weight?

mrt10x

We do a lot of desert training in the Marines, imagine that, and we have always been taught that once you experience a heat illness, exhaustion/stroke, you will be more susceptible to it in the future. Do not know if that has any real medical merit...just know it is the mantra here.

dallasmike

It became very real for my parents when they were in a tennis tournament in Phoenix when I was a kid. They told me that since they hit that breaking point of overheating, their tolerance just isn't the same.

merlinextraligh

Sounds like you may have gotten behind on your eating and drinking. I'm thinking the break gave your body a chance to catch up on processing food and fluids.

Also fewer training miles is going to show up on a ride like, regardless how well you eat drink and pace.

RomeRider

You need to drink even if it's cool out. Your body is sweating with effort and evaporating it off so you can't necessarily tell. I think you should drink a couple of swallows every 10 to 15 minutes at the most. If you didn't do that you most likely had a dehydration and heat exhaustion situation going on and it can be very dangerous. Be careful about that next time!

CharlieWoo

I have, personally, not found that to be true. If anything, it may help as you can learn the (subtle) symptoms from the experience.

Brian Ratliff

If you get behind on your hydration, say, by totally random example, you forget to fill your waterbottles when you start, it is very difficult to catch back up on the road. I think you were dehydrated. How many times did you stop to pee? If the answer was zero in the first hour or so, you were dehydrated given a ride of that magnitude.

ericm979

Sounds like dehydration or low electrolytes or both.