Early this summer I will be riding a century in south Texas with expected hi's in upper 90's. Five years ago I did the same ride and bike computer recorded over 100 at the end of the ride. No chance to ride in similar temp's before the ride. Any ideas on how I might simulate/acclimate myself to riding in hot weather? Have done quite a few centuries so I understand hydration, nutrition etc. I will not have a problem with the 100 miles. As an 80 year old I just want to have a safe ride.

Riding in hot weather is the only way I know of to acclimate one's self to it. I think dropping any excess weight would help, and not doing the ride with a bad hangover, but that's about all I got.

Sauna 5 days/week. Really. My Finnish friend has his at 100° C. 175° is OK, but you stay in longer. You need to stimulate the production of HS1 - heat stress protein. Google heat shock protein adaptation.

Even in the PNW it's possible to try to ride in the hottest part of the day, which helps. What I do.

Yep, other than getting seat time in on the local hot days there is not much one can do otherwise to adapt to long hot days on the bike.
That being said using long training rides in the heat of the day to determine which kit is most comfortable, what sun screen/lip balm is effective and how to carry a reasonable H2O load is realistic testing.
Not much fun to find that a jersey sags uncomfortably w/ two full water-bottles stowed, there are hot spots from mile 50 in the shoes and the new sun-sleeves are a chaffing annoyance during a LD timed ride.

We S-TX locals get stared as early as practical, stop as little as possible and get LD rides over with before the heat of the day bears down.

Good Luck, be Safe & have Fun.

-Bandera

Jump in a Sauna for 30 minutes right after a workout when your core body temperature is already elevated. Overdress for your workout. You need to elevate your core body temperature for about 90 minutes for a couple weeks worth of workouts. Then to maintain it you will need to do the same once a week. The heat adds extra stress so you need to remember that when you taper and for your workout weeks, that stress won't show up in your TSS numbers for the week but it is very real. Don't do more than endurance paced rides for the heat training, you won't be able to put up good numbers for anything at higher intensity.

WOW! The more I ride the more I learn about my body. Kinda above my paygrade for reading but I think I get it. THank You.

Dropping weight is part of my plan but the most difficult so far. Riding every other day but eating for every day rides. Just have to focus on the goal and resist temptation. I did move the beer to the basement. Outasight outmind.

Overdress - I can do that - arm warmers, knee hi socks and keep the jersey zipper UP. Maybe even a cotton tee under jersey. I will play around with that.

Bandera - This ride is in your backyard. Shiner Gasp 100 starts and ends Shiner this year - also they added 25 - 50 rides.

Yep, a local-ish ride with a May 4 7:00 AM start will usually offer great riding conditions in S-TX with (hopefully) early cloud cover, a S-E wind and temps starting at ~70F and climbing to 85-90F.
With the wettest Sept-Oct in '18 the TX wildflowers should be spectacular all along the route.

With 5 weeks to prepare I'd get seat time in on the bike in whatever conditions CO offers for endurance, wouldn't bother with overdressing but would get event kit sorted/tested and stay with your weight loss program.
Being fit, properly equipped and adapted to the machine should get you up and over within your time goal (relatively) unstressed.

Enjoy the event, stay hydrated and have a Shiner Bock post ride.

-Bandera

After thinking about all of the above - I have one question about core body temp. Checking what it is should be easy with oral thermometer. With a little searching I find that exercise can raise core temp by several degrees with 104 being the upper limit. Any ideas on what kind of increase should one aim for? Gee wonder who will be first to market cycling computer with body temp and sensor. Seems to me that would be more valuable in knowing when to back off or stop than heart rate info.

It's the New Garmin Rectal Thermometer with built-in Bluetooth/ANT connectivity and Rapha bib shorts with Probe-Pocket!

The Cardiovascular Challenge of Exercising in the Heat

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2375553/

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320226.php

I ride in 95+ days for quite a few weeks every summer. Just make certain you'll have enough water or other hydration drink. I'll do a 20 ounce bottle in less than 10 miles if I'm going hard.

And be aware of where you stop. If possible you want to stop in the shade. When you do stop for longer than a minute or so, then consider if you need to pull off your helmet to let your head get better cooling and if using sunsleeves, get them off too. When you stop, the cooling from airflow and sweat is gone, so you can really heat up quick when temp are high and no breeze.

EXCELLENT points to remember especially sunsleeves - never thought about that. Thank You.

This is really important in hot weather. Even more important is to make sure to actually drink it, even if you don't "feel thirsty." I live in the PNW, but on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. Last summer it averaged maybe 95-100F where I live (central WA), and I often rode my bike during peak temperatures (1pm-4pm or so).

I did a lot of solo riding between April and June in preparation for a Seattle to Chicago ride with some family members who live on the west side of the mountains right near the Puget Sound where it is significantly cooler. First day riding with them we went about 100 miles from Anacortes to Lake Diablo (western foothills of the mountains) and everything went great. All three other riders mentioned how much water I drank and how I was always "glistening with sweat," which is completely true because 1) I naturally sweat a lot (even when I'm cold) and 2) drink a lot of water when I ride. The next few days of riding went a little differently:

As we descended the eastern side of the mountains and made our way through "my part of the state," temperatures rose significantly and we were putting in long days in high heat. On the second day, all three of my riding partners started experiencing some complications due to heat and dehydration. Of course they weren't as acclimated to the heat as much as I was, but I think the bigger factor was really that they just weren't used to putting as much water through their bodies as I was. I was carrying two 25oz. bottles on my frame and a third 21oz. bottle in my jersey, and ensuring that I was making my way through at least 50oz. every 25-30 miles. Hot weather sucks, but not drinking enough water is definitely worse.

If you currently only drink when you feel thirsty, I suggest incorporating a drinking schedule into your training rides to avoid dehydrating.

"Drinking schedule" is problematic for many of us. My cool weather schedule might be 1 swallow every 15 minutes, while in hot weather it might be 3 swallows every 5 minutes. I go by peeing - must pee at least every 3 hours. If I don't feel like peeing, I drink until I do. Peeing every hour or even more often puts one off the back if it's even possible to find a non obscene location. If you keep a particular schedule regardless of conditions, how do you handle this? Basically I take enough Endurolytes so that I am thirsty enough so that I drink enough to make me pee at least every 3 hours, thus solving the hydration and electrolyte problems. It's all based drinking to thirst and urination. Oh - and color doesn't matter, only quantity.

I once did a Mazama out and back, climbing Washington in 105°. Thankfully, Lone Fir Campground has water.

amazing human endurance! good luck!

I understand, and perhaps "drinking schedule" was the wrong choice of words. I really just meant to encourage the OP to increase their fluid intake as they move to hotter weather. A strict "drinking schedule" probably isn't necessary, just whatever helps you drink more than usual. I don't actually set a timer that tells me to take a sip every ten minutes or anything like that, I just try to drink whenever it's convenient to grab for my bottle, even if I'm not feeling particularly thirsty.

Monitoring pee seems like an effective way to gauge this as well. Never really paid attention myself, but I can see the merit.

Last summer was my first time over Washington Pass. Great ride! I don't think it hit 105 for us; probably more mid to high 90's. 105 sounds rough! We went west to east, so looking at a map right now it looks like we rolled right past Lone Fir on our way down. I'm hoping to go east to west this summer, so it's good to know there is a water stop between Mazama and the top.

Here in Seattle the hottest temperatures come in the evening, probably 6 or 7 pm. Whenever I've been anywhere east of the crest it's much closer to what you say. I hadn't actually noticed that until now.

[QUOTE=csaxby;20878425] family members who live on the west side of the mountains right near the Puget Sound where it is significantly cooler. /QUOTE]
Wow - we spent four or five summers in Sequim WA. FANTASTIC place to ride and GREAT weather. Almost never rains.
I am finally in TX - now maybe I can get ready.
Carbonfiberboy. Re: Pee stops - glad to hear your plumbing pipes aren't rusty and plugged up. In a hundred miler I'm looking at almost hourly pee stops. That makes riding in populated areas a real challenge.
I have decided to make this ride extra special by raising money for a Colorado Search & Rescue command center. Will ask all friends and relatives to donate by the mile and a bonus if I finish in less that 7 hours ride time. The bonus should motivate me to work harder. One of my grandsons will be riding with me for the first time. Maybe I can draft him all the way and make it in under seven.
Thanks to all for the training ideas. Will let y'all know how it works out.

I actually do use a timer on my Garmin set to 15'. I vary the number of swallows according to thirst. I only drink more often if I sense I'm getting into trouble. There usually a creek near the PCT parking lot between the passes. The water's OK.

If I haven't already mentioned this . . .if one doesn't wear sunsleeves a good thing to keep an eye on is the moisture on one's forearms. If you see them dry up, you need to find shade and lots of water, stat! You're about to have a medical emergency. Been there. One isn't always rational. Some friends of mine once had to restrain a rider from attempting to continue a ride. Luckily the aid car came pretty quickly.

[QUOTE=ctpres;20881382]Good plan.
Get as much time riding together before the event as possible to get used to each other's riding style/pace and work on communication.
It's windy out there in the S-TX spring, having a reliable safe wheel to follow will make a big difference in time and enjoyment w/ someone to share the experience.
Be sure he knows that he's your diesel motor and guardian to ride your pace not his and keep you safe in the always unpredictable gaggle of big century rides.
Sounds like an excellent bonding experience: "Pull son, and ride a straight line!"