cyccommute 

Camelbak packed with as much ice as it will hold. That did the trick in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee for me. I bowed to fashion on a 100 F century here in Colorado and wished I hadn't. You know you went wrong when you start having cramps in the arches of your feet.

DwarvenChef

With ya on that one I miss Alaska

Asphalt Hero

I had expirience of riding in so heat. First of all take care with the drink. Don't drink much mineral water with Mg. It can cause insonmia and digestive disorder. Stock up isitonic flavour for water and use it all the trip to recover loosing salts. The cloves you need is unbuttonned lightest cycle jersey fluttering under wind. It screens your back from the sun and provides good ventilation of your body. Use sun protective cream with enough protection degree. Take a bath in a river or in a lake at afternoon if you don't want to arrive in fried or baked condition.

tarwheel 

Get up early and complete your rides before the temperatures get too hot. We've had record-breaking heat the past few days with highs ranging from 103-105 F. I've ridden each day but left about 7-8 am and temperatures were very reasonable while riding. I don't know what pace you ride, but even if riding just 12 mph, you should be able to ride 60 miles in 5 hours or so. If you left at 7 am each day, you should be finished riding about noon, which is when temps start to really heat up around here.

alan s 

In addition to what everyone has said, slow down if you have to ride in high temperatures. If you ride your normal pace, the heat will wear you out very quickly, and recovery is much more difficult.

Doug64

I have toured for extended periods in temperatures of +100 F peaking at 110F. However, I suspect that the humidity was not nearly as high as you are dealing with. We used many of the suggestions mentioned above.

IMO the recommendation to acclimatize is one of the most crucial to handle heat successfully. The only time we got into much trouble is when we went from the cool/wet 50-60 F Oregon climate to the 90-100's by air travel. On a three week tour last month we rode in California's Central Valley in 95+ temps, but we were ready for it and had no problems. We also found that Powerade is better tasting, and has a better balance of electrolytes than Gatorade.

strangebrou

I did my first tour in this heat a few weeks ago: Jackson, MS to Morgan City, LA in three days. I had too much mileage and started too late on the first day, so it was tough going. Highs of 96, 96, and 97 for the three days in the saddle. I didn't actually feel hot on the bike, but my energy was zapped. I wish I had read this thread before i planned my trip.

Newspaperguy

Start your day early, before it gets too hot. Take plenty of water. It doesn't need to be cold because on a hot day even warm water is refreshing. I'll carry at least three water bottles when the temperature is hot and I've carried as many as six. Sure, it adds weight, but it beats dehydration. Also, it's okay to stop early, rest in a shady park or cool coffee shop for a while and then go on again in the late afternoon or early evening. Pushing on in the hottest part of the day isn't a lot of fun, even if you have lots of water.

One thing I'm doing these days is to wear a cap when I'm outside and off the bike and to have a bandana or head covering under my helmet while I'm riding. This is to give me a little more protection and a little relief from the hottest part of the sun.

Doug64

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This may actually make it warmer, but does allows pouring a little water in your helmet vents for evaporative cooling. If it is cotton, the hat or bandana holds the water and does a better job. I need to do this because I'm bald, and sunburn in the vent areas is a problem

staehpj1

I know that many wouldn't approve, but I find wearing a bike hat without a helmet makes me feel much better in the heat.

spike57

Lots of good advice here on how to ride through the heat. I recently pulled the plug on a tour because of the heat. The problem was not with the riding, though. If you're careful, you can ride in extreme heat. But what about the time off the bike? I started in St. Charles, MO, on June 17, did an out and back ride to Grafton, IL, and then started up the L&C trail toward South Dakota. Temps in the 90s most of the time. I camped for two nights with no rain fly lying on top of my sleeping bag the entire night. After that, I opted for motels for the next several nights. The riding was the only enjoyable thing about the tour. Every time I stopped, the heat made everything else (sightseeing, eating, resting) less interesting and more expensive. I woke up in Sioux City on June 27 with only 2 or 3 days left to my destination and realized I wasn't enjoying the tour. Shipped my bike home and rented a car to get to Mom's for a couple of days of visiting before flying home.

Ekdog

Just got back from a ride from Seville to Setúbal (south of Lisbon) and then down the coast to Lagos. Temps as high as 40º in the interior (though not nearly as humid as many of you in the States must endure).

Getting out early, as several have suggested, worked for me. I'd ride till 2:00 or so, have lunch and then find a shady spot in the town square, where I'd have a siesta and often chat with the old timers who hung out there. This gave me an opportunity to practise my Portuguese and learn about the area and the best roads to take. Old folks are often bored and more than willing to spend time chatting with a foreigner. I'd hit the road again at about 4:00 and ride till 9:00 or 9:30.

A Visor Buff soaked in water helped keep my head cool.

Plenty of water, sometimes mixed with homemade oral rehydration solutions (I can't afford Aquarius and the like), kept me hydrated.

kyselad

I rode the Katy Trail in MO last week with highs of 104-107 each day. Several of the suggestions above strike me as particularly critical: slow your pace, ride in the cooler hours as much as possible, and get a hold of ice wherever/whenever you can. I have to disagree about hot water, as I found it practically undrinkable, but I quickly stopped using my bottle cage and instead stuffed all my water in with my gear to keep it better insulated against the heat.

I also found that forcing myself to take a quick break every 10 miles or so during the hottest parts of the day was a big help; this seems like an awful lot of stops by my (and I'm sure most others') standards, but in the intense heat it made a big difference. It was strangely difficult to motivate for stops, since I felt worst just as I would stop and lose the benefit of air flow, but riding on to heat exhaustion made recovering much harder. Of course, avoiding the worst parts of the day altogether lets your ride more efficiently and without all the sufferin'.

alexaschwanden

I rode 91 miles last Sunday on my touring bike , another 62 miles today. drink a lots of water and take breaks in the shade.

Newspaperguy

Cool or cold water always feels better, but on a hot day when water sources are scarce, the temperature becomes far less important.

spinnaker

kyselad,

I canceled my trip to the katy this week. I figured it is just not worth it and I had nothing to prove. Seems like a really nice trail. I wanted to be able to take the time to enjoy it and not worry about getting to my destination. Plus it didn't seem like too much fun getting there by noon and still having to sit in +100 heat. I hope you were still able to enjoy it.

cbike

I did parts of the Katy trail last year with my family (4 & 7). We went 133 miles in 3.5 days and camped along the way. It got to a 100 degrees one or two days. The heat wasn't to bad, it was the mosquitoes that kept us from taking breaks along the trail. Since the mosquitoes aren't active yet I'd go. Lots of the trail is shaded, especially in the morning hours by the cliff/hills to the northerly side.

BTW, thunderstorms are going through MO this weekend and temperature will drop quite significantly next week.

stevepusser

For cooler water, put some cheap cotton socks around your water bottles, keep them wet, and evaporative cooling will do the rest. That will also make any ice in the bottle last longer from pure insulation, even if the sock is dry.

dabrucru

hi , last week i went for a day trip in sicily, it was 45 degrees, and man it was hot. i coudn t eat, i just drank , drank, and drank....i think you start early and stop from 12 to 15.00...

staehpj1

Water temperature can be important when your stomach is "off" because of the heat and you have trouble forcing down enough water. That has been my experience any way.

A few things I have found that help:

1. If there are cool mountain streams where you will be carrying a filter can allow a ready supply of cool/cold water. That may not be possible many places, but I found it worked very well in the Sierras.
2. Also in the Sierras we found that despite it being over 100 F there was still snow on the tops of passes even in June and early July. Packing bottles full of that snow allowed for cold water for a while.
3. Water stays cooler in a pannier than on a bottle cage.
4. A camelback water bladder full of ice kept in a pannier will stay cold most or all of the day. A hose routed to the handlenar allows drinking from it while underway.

kyselad

It wasn't too bad once I got into the groove. As cbike mentioned, there's enough shade along many parts of the trail, and fortunately or me, the mosquitos weren't out except deep off the trail at camp sites (even there they weren't too bad). I took long lunches to during the worst of it to avoid lingering in the heat.

Still, the next trip will definitely be in the fall

cyccommute 

Most of your list is good. But a Camelbak filled with ice (stuffed as full as it can get) will stay cold most of the day on your back, too. In humid areas, the condensate dripping on your back is a welcome relief. Even in dry areas, the cold against your back is beneficial.

I would suggest caution when using old snow too. In Colorado, our snow turns pink in the summer due to algal blooms. You may not want to ingest that.

staehpj1

Yeah I didn't mention that option only because I had no first hand experience with it.

Thanks for the tip.

fietsbob

Might break a bit over 70F, here, today.

cyccommute 

Try it. It's a very noticeable effect. My wife and I had to ride 10 or so miles in Missouri heat without ice and once we packed them at a convenience store, we both felt cooler and the water tasted better.