How do you beat the heat?

[Melalvai]

Here's what I've come up with so far:
1. Bike slowly.
2. Put a cold wet towel with ice cubes around your neck
3. Lose the helmet.

I realize #3 seems kind of crazy but it is a calculated risk-benefit: an unlikely but potentially damaging head injury vs the likely but less damaging heat injury.

After yesterday's heat, I biked this morning but let my husband give me a ride back to work after lunch, and he'll pick me up in the evening. He's going past here anyway on his way to drop off and pick up our daughter from band camp.

[Cataboo]

Bike in the late afternoon/evening or early morning

Take lots of breaks to take photos - when I get moving againthe wind in my sweat is great.

I leave my helmet on, but if my head gets hot or starts to overheat, I immediately stop.

I have some things called cool downz, which are like neckbands with this gel stuff sewn in them - soak 'em in ice water and the gel absorbs the cooland water, and releases it over time as you ride.

[OakLeaf]

Maybe a better ventilated helmet? I've honestly never had a problem with heat from a bici helmet - even the old fashioned more solid ones they used to have.

I had a motorcycle helmet that was an absolute oven, once. Wetting the helmet liner and my hair helped a lot.


The hottest ride I've done so far this year, I put plenty of ice in my Platypus and took it really easy. Took a few hundred miles for the tar to wear off my tires though. :eek:

[abejita]

Losing the helmet isn't really an option...it has been upwards of 105-106 on our rides lately and I still would never consider riding without my helmet.

I wear desoto's cool wings, I like to soak them in ice water from my water bottle every hour or so...helps a lot. also stopping for just a few minutes in the shade helps tremendously.

[Zen]

This is one battle I just can't win.
I've been spinning and working out indoors.

[pfunk12]

I usually dump cold water on my head before and during the ride if it's really hot. It feels great. I would never take my helmet off. I had a minor crash last year, hit my head and ended up with temporary memory loss. Very scary experience.

[7rider]

I don't beat the heat. It beats me.

[kmehrzad]

I LOVE the heat. I say 'bring it on.' Just don't talk to me about cold weather, my nemesis.

[malkin]

Another Hide-from-the-Heat girl here.

[Zen]

Just don't talk to me about cold weather, my nemesis.

I will gladly donate some body fat ;)

[XMcShiftersonX]

I beat the heat by getting out in it! It's never too hot in Washington... Last year I rode when it was over 100 degrees, between 12-3pm (my favorite time to ride), and enjoyed every minute of it (and my tan)! Just stay hydrated...

[Melalvai]

It's the heat + humidity that's killer. It's not possible to drink enough water to keep up with it, stuff with electrolytes is a little better but some days still not enough. I've heard people from hotter, but dryer, climates say that they have problems with the heat around here.

What's funny is when the worst of it passes and we start talking about how cool it is--when only a few weeks before, the same conditions were intolerably hot! This heat wave is supposed to break this weekend. I don't think it'll get this bad again this year. It might get hot again but it shouldn't be so humid.

My helmet is vented. But that breeze right on my head makes an incredible difference. My commute is only 2 miles each way, and I'm a trained & experienced cyclist.

Yehuda Moon (http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2010-08-12) refuses to wear a helmet at all!

[Crankin]

Sorry, but I guess I believe that you have to deal with the head sweatiness, especially for a 2 mile commute. I don't even do a "test ride" on my bike, like riding around my driveway, without putting my helmet on.
Have you tried using a buff or cycling beanie under the helmet to absorb the sweat? I know it seems counter-intuitive, but if that's what's bothering you the most, it might be worth a try. I use a cycling beanie sometimes that is made by a company in Phoenix; they make them for different sports. I think the company is called Head Sweats. It is ultra thin and it works.
I don't like hot and humid weather, either and we have had more than our share here, too, although not as bad as in the midwest. I ride early in the day when it's really bad, but I have acclimated myself a lot more than in the past, when I would just run inside the gym. However, I won't ride if it's "dangerously" hot or there is an air quality alert. I might go for a hike in the woods or swim, instead, or do yoga inside.
If I was still commuting, I am not sure if I would have wanted to ride home in the mid afternoon temperatures we have been having, but my commute was almost 14 miles.

[abejita]

My commute is only 2 miles each way, and I'm a trained & experienced cyclist.

Yehuda Moon (http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2010-08-12) refuses to wear a helmet at all!

Many times it doesn't have anything to do with your skill as a cyclist. What about the car that clips you with its mirror or gets a little too close. Even the most experienced cyclists have accidents and they can be game ending...even if you are going only 2 miles.

+1 on the buffs...I like to shove all my hair up in my buff so that it isn't all sticky on my neck.

[Biciclista]

I beat the heat by getting out in it! It's never too hot in Washington... Last year I rode when it was over 100 degrees, between 12-3pm (my favorite time to ride), and enjoyed every minute of it (and my tan)! Just stay hydrated...

yeah, me too.

[Cataboo]

It takes about 5 miles before I start overheating to the point where I need to take off my helmet and sit on the side of the road for a while. Once I get over that, I usually don't have problems with my head overheating. All my helmets are well ventilated. But head is getting too hot overheating is something I get while hiking in the heat as well.

Wearing wool or cotton instead of wicking on the really hot days helps meto avoid being dehydrated.

I almost always wear my helmet, except for the couple times i forget and have gone a few miles before remembering and go back and get it - but I probably cycled for about 20 years without wearing a helmet, I didn't start till I picked up cycling again a few years ago. I've had a few crashes, but I've never actually hit my head.

I just wear it all the time to get in the habit of it, just like I wear my pfd to paddle in 2 feet of water despite knowing that I'm not gonna drown even though it's 100 degrees out - but if someone with me doesn't want to wear it, I don't tell them to, 'cause it's 2 feet of water and it's their body/risk. Same with helmet wearing, if someone's willing to risk it - their choice. I'm sure most of us grew up riding a bike without helmets as kids.

[OakLeaf]

This reminds me of the time DH and I went motorcycle riding on a steamy 95° Florida afternoon in our usual "ATGATT" (all the gear, all the time). A day or two later, a friend of mine thought she had seen us, and was trying to confirm. She had a couple of the details wrong about the colors of our bikes and gear, but I finally threw up my hands and said, "If they were wearing so much gear that you couldn't tell whether it was us or not ... IT WAS US." :D Without exception, every other rider we saw that day was in shorts, T-shirt and bare head.

I had my cooling vest on that day, for sure. That thing has saved my bacon from turning into ... bacon, more times that I can count. But I just don't know whether it would be effective at bici speeds.

[texascampgal]

I'll ride in the heat any day... along with iced water in the Camelbak. Once I break a sweat, it's cool sailing... so to speak.

Winter rides... not intersted!

[sundial]

It's the heat + humidity that's killer. This heat wave is supposed to break this weekend. It might get hot again but it shouldn't be so humid.

I'm hoping for that as well, Melalvai. It's one thing to cycle in dry heat. It's another when it's so humid your body can't cool down on the bike, even when it's being doused with water. :p After this week the temps will drop down into the mid 90's and then low 90's the following week. Yay!

[soprano]

I leave early and take it slow. I'll get there when I get there.

My water rule is 1L every 5 miles in the heat. I'm not shy about going into coffee bars, buying something cheap, and asking them to fill up my water bottles. I'll detour to go past libraries, with their nice cold water fountains. My second water bottle of the day always gets a Nunn or similar in it.

+1 on wearing cotton. Wicking fabrics make me feel hotter.

If I know I'm going more than 10 or 15 miles the next day, I avoid alcohol the night before. And if I'm not feeling well for any reason, I take the bus or ask for a ride.