Riding in the Heat

[AlexHuggs]

I plan to ride in the Perth heatwave tomorrow... wondering if there's any advice beyond the obvious - take it easy and stay hydrated. It's a 1 hour ride, expecting light tail wind but still 40+ in the afternoon... or is it a really bad idea. I seem to have been missing so many days lately for various reasons I don't want to let a bit of weather put me off.

[Robinho]

I rode through most of the hot days last year, the obvious is obvious, sun cream, couple of bottles, I tend to ride with a hydration tablet in my water anyway. Take it a little easier, but I found once moving the air cooling effect is reasonable. If you're pretty fit already you should be fine, but don't be afraid to stop and have a breather if you're feeling any way odd and have a contingency to fill up on fluids if you run out quickly. I find it easier than walking in the extreme heat. As long as you not out in the middle of the day you'll be good.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Maybe a bit late for this time but for tomorrow and following...













Protect the back of the head/top of the neck from too much sun. That is the bit that can dangerously send your bodies various regulators (including heat but much more) into a spin if itself gets overheated, potentially deadly, potentially brain damage. Doff the helmet occasionally and drip a bit of water over it. Even better hang a damp hanky over there.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Btw the ears are, I'm told, the bit where males most commonly get cancer from exposure to the sun. That's fine if you don't think half an ear is a bad look.

[Thoglette]

Stay hydrated; don't try to set PBs on Strava; keep the sun off you as much as you can (even if it means looking a little silly).

Or wait until dusk. Cooler then too!

(as our dew point is quite low, sweating is still an effective way of keeping cool. The challenge is keeping the water up)

[g-boaf]

The trick is to not go too fast, but also not go too slowly. If you go too slowly, not enough air flowing around you and you end up cooking pretty badly.

I have pretty decent cycling kit, especially the jersey that is quite well made, it seems to do a great job of keeping me cool - but it is very thin, which is by design. Things like that are really important.

Keep drinking enough water, but don't drink excessively either. Make sure you use sunscreen. The others have already given good suggestions.

I don't mind the heat too much, I've ridden fast in 36C or higher before, so I'm fairly used to it. I find the most important thing is to keep the speed up, if I slow down to much I start to overheat.

[Calvin27]

Above 35deg, I just wait until the afternoon. Some days however are too hot to ride and that's when I crank the split unit and get the trainer out.

[AlexHuggs]

Thanks everyone. I managed fine. Took a couple of breaks - one at a LBS for new tube and another a couple of kms from home because I was starting to feel a bit dodgy. Discovered the wonder of pouring water on the head! I had a tale wind most of the way so made good time with little effort. Sun on the face was a bit more of an issue in places - quite unpleasant.

One question re sunscreen. According to my weather app UV is really low around the times I'm riding - the lowest on the scale. I've been riding without sunscreen for months with no sunburn. Is there some reason I don't know at that time of day?

[AlexHuggs]

Above 35deg, I just wait until the afternoon. Some days however are too hot to ride and that's when I crank the split unit and get the trainer out.

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

[Thoglette]

According to my weather app UV is really low around the times I'm riding - the lowest on the scale. I've been riding without sunscreen for months with no sunburn. Is there some reason I don't know at that time of day?

No. I tend to get burnt if I'm late for work. But it's a rare day when I'm home before the sun is under the yard arm and, while hot, the sun is not such a problem (heat or UV wise)

[Calvin27]

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

Serious question, how do you stop sweating? I drip all the way to at least 9.45am. I've tried cold showers, allowing more time etc. It seems the only thing that works is 45 minutes in an air conditioned office.

[RyanA]

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

Serious question, how do you stop sweating? I drip all the way to at least 9.45am. I've tried cold showers, allowing more time etc. It seems the only thing that works is 45 minutes in an air conditioned office.

This was discussed last year: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=87366" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interestingly, it seems that a cold shower is the wrong thing to do. A warmish shower is best...

[trailgumby]

Regarding sun protection, I'm finding the Sun Sense 50+ lotion to be remarkably good.

In prior years I've had an issue with getting itchy welts from sun exposure despite not getting sunburnt, and having to resort to long sleeve jerseys with high collars.

This summer I've been expecting a recurrence and have been pleasantly surprised. And I'm not getting overly tanned either. Been using it n arms, legs, back of neck, ears and face below the eyes I've avoided eye level and above to stop getting irritated eyes from perspiration carrying it in. I've dealt with that by wearing a cycling cap under my lid.

However, there is a downside. I missed a spot up near my sleeve cuff on the weekend. It got more than a little burned.

[Mububban]

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

Serious question, how do you stop sweating? I drip all the way to at least 9.45am. I've tried cold showers, allowing more time etc. It seems the only thing that works is 45 minutes in an air conditioned office.

This was discussed last year: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=87366" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Interestingly, it seems that a cold shower is the wrong thing to do. A warmish shower is best...

A warmish shower and then a simple pedestal fan cooled me down after riding home in the heat yesterday. I also wore a long sleeved UV shirt soaked in water so the evaporative effect kept me cool initially. Re-wetting the shirt got less pleasant as I rode though as my water bottle heated up so it felt like I was splashing myself with a kettle

[AlexHuggs]

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

Serious question, how do you stop sweating? I drip all the way to at least 9.45am. I've tried cold showers, allowing more time etc. It seems the only thing that works is 45 minutes in an air conditioned office.

Don't see it in the thread cited above, but read a response to this question by an anaesthetist. Problem with jumping into a cold shower while you're hot is the capillaries in the skin constrict, restricting blood flow and trapping the heat in your core. Even though your skin feels cool, you're not really cooling down that much so when you get out of the shower the blood vessels dilate and the body starts to dump that excess heat again - hence the sweating. I have a 20km ride each way to work so I can't avoid sweat. I make sure I get to work plenty early, ride slow the last km or so, cool down at work then have a shower. A tepid shower might also work since it doesn't cause the skin capillaries to constrict, but since the shower at my work isn't heated I don't have that option (it's a cow in the winter). Haven't had any problems with sweating. But my workplace is pretty good for that relaxed start and YMMV.

[Howzat]

I'd bet that if you spend a sufficient time in the cold shower it will cool you down, capillary dilation or no.

I've tried the 30-second cold shower; that doesn't work. Cool enough to close capillaries but not enough to cool you down, so you start sweating shortly afterwards.

[bychosis]

I'd bet that if you spend a sufficient time in the cold shower it will cool you down, capillary dilation or no.

I've tried the 30-second cold shower; that doesn't work. Cool enough to close capillaries but not enough to cool you down, so you start sweating shortly afterwards.

The difference between having a cold shower and jumping in a pool to cool down is pretty big. Sounds like it's all about getting the core temp down and a cold shower just doesn't do it - I guess unless you are in for long enough. For some reason though a cold shower is way less pleasant than the shock of a bomb into the pool when you are stinking hot!

I have found on my commutes that the hottest afternoons are some of the quickest rides. Here, most of the hottest days are accompanied by a strong North Westerly wind which is a rare opportunity for a tailwind for me. Smash out the flat with the tailwind and then back off cranking up the hill at the end. On any other hot ride though its a matter of regulating my output so I don't overdo it and keeping the water input going.

[ColinOldnCranky]

I ride almost exclusively as a commuter so it's a choice to put up with the heat or lose the km's.

As I said to the guys at work today - riding in the heat proves I'm a real man. A real stupid man.

Serious question, how do you stop sweating? I drip all the way to at least 9.45am. I've tried cold showers, allowing more time etc. It seems the only thing that works is 45 minutes in an air conditioned office.

Sounds trite but the obvious answer is to get cooler. If you wear body-fitting lycra then try soaking it sometime into your journey. Get you get under a shower, a sprinkler, whatever. I have found that for forty five minutes in my case the whole of the surface under the lycra feels not just not hot, but actually cool. It's taking away the heat far better than just sweating.

Obviously you have to find a soaking point but a water fountain will do for the top if you strip it off. And the length and temperature differential will depend on things like humidity, speed. My forty five minutes is in Perth summer weather and traveling at a modest 10kph.

Anyway, find a soak point somewhere and give it a try. If nothing else it FEELS great.

[DavidS]

I am the sort of person who does not feel the cold so much, as such, I suffer in the heat. But I do ride to work in just about any weather.

I carry an extra (third) water bottle when it is above about 38, I have a removable bottle holder which goes on the handlebars. Also I part freeze my water bottle, the third one I freeze solid on hot days. No warm water for me (in fact I part freeze my water bottles in the middle of winter, I like my water cold).

I soak the jersey in water and know of 2 places to do this on the way home, it helps a lot in controlling heat.

I know this is the wrong thread, but . . . helmet is off for as much of the ride as possible. I don't need a head warmer.

Mainly just drink a fair bit of water and make sure you don't overheat.

DS

[WhingingPom]

Stop as many times for more water as you need to and make sure you know where to fill up. I also commute for an hour and will easily stop twice for water refills on the way home (usually at servos as I'm too cheap to pay for water). Also, make sure you keep your electrolytes up - I have a stash of tablets at work. When you stop for water, if you're not paying for it, throw a bottle over your head - if there's a wind you'll be carrying your own portable evaporative air conditioning for about 30 seconds until the water is evaporated.