Cooked - 1 Braised Cyclist

It was a little warm today, up over 100 degrees, for at least the last five hours of my ride. I was supposed to do a 200 K (125 miles.) At mile 105 I was feeling dizzy and nauseous. I sat in the shade and called my husband. We talked about resting and going on, but decided the way I was feeling I probably could not finish before dark and I did not put my lights on my bike for this ride.

We arranged a rendezvous, at a Park n Ride, that I could give him directions to with the few brain cells I had left. Riding back I started hyperventilating on the few little climbs. It was kind of scary and I kept stopping to get myself back together. I didn't make it to the Park n Ride before Thom. He was a little worried about me at that point and called me. I was able to give him coherent directions from there to where I was.

When he picked me up he noticed my skin was totally dry. I am normally a huge sweater. I should have been drenched. We stopped at the nearest gas station and got water, about half of which went on my head.

I lost three pounds on the ride and that was AFTER drinking a liter of water on the way home.

I've ridden in some hot temps before. It was in the 90s for the Eastern Sierra Double. But clearly over 100 is just too much for my body to handle for so long. Oh and before you ask - YES, I was hydrating as I rode. I was going through both of my bottles every two hours, which is not typical for me. I've done this ride three times before and usually do not have nearly empty bottles when I get to the checkpoints.

I am currently nursing yet another liter of water as I write this.

Goals are great things to have. This was supposed to be my 7th 200 K as I worked toward my R-12 Award. But it's really important to know your limitations and listen to your body.

I'll try again next week. :p Oh, one cool thing. The gas station attendant told me she wished she had legs like mine. Nobody has EVER wanted my legs before. :D

Veronica

V, i'm sorry to hear you had to stop :( but you listened to your body :). Next weekend shall be better!

:cool:

Your post has reminded me that summer is almost here & we too will be cycling when it's 35C+..(hopefully the Fremantle Dr will cool down my route!!!)

Glad you're OK. I was thinking of you guys today. I often have heat problems on Castro Valley and Pig Farm, no matter how much I hydrate it seems. Was that where you were?

V- Good thing you stopped! I had heat issues really bad once after riding in 90+ degree weather on a non-shady route. I remember the headache, nausea, shivering like crazy and crying uncontrollably. Never want to relive that. At least the leg compliment was a silver lining for you. :D

I bailed out at mile 75. :o

We were passing the Orinda BART station and I was already feeling crummy from the heat, and I knew it would only get worse out along Castro Ranch and Alhambra Valley Rds. So the opportunity of a lift back home via air-conditioned public transit was entirely too good to resist.

Since I do lousy in the heat, I'm fairly pleased I managed to make it that far! :p

And might I add Mel, that stubborn, tenacious freakazoid :D made it the Whole Way! Her longest ride ever, and in the blistering heat - woo hoo Mel! :cool:

V-I'm sorry you had problems in the heat. It's my number one weakness. I have been doing a lot of rides lately in high temps (mid 90's-106) and I have to tell you that the thing that saves me is dunking my head in water. I do it anytime I get the chance and it really helps.

Glad that you are o.k. Sounds like heat exhaustion. When you stop sweating and have nausea it is serious. Heat stroke is next. Glad that you listened to your body too. I read on one of the sites the other night that it helps to take a water bottle and wet yourself down. Good luck with future endeavors and be proud that you made it that incredible amount of miles. I am inspired by you!!

Good for you for recognizing heat exhaustion.When you stop sweating in 100 degree heat that is definitely not a good thing and could be dangerous. Your body was giving you clues that you were going to far and you listened. And on the bright side you did manage to complete 105 miles in blistering heat.

You Cali girls are tough! And lots of other things (mildly crazy, extremely cute, etc., etc.) but mostly tough. Sorry you're in a heat wave...feels almost fall-ish here, at least in the mornings.

I was commenting to someone the other day about what a great cycling scene Cali has and I wish the scene here was more like that. I've met lots of nice folks here, but it's nothing like it was when I lived there (in Cali). Lots of "events", lots of non-racer types that liked to work hard, lots of great places to ride year 'round. I'm too slow to ride with the young folks and too fast for the slower group rides I've tried out...so I end up riding alone on glass-strewn shoulders, through a University that is not bike friendly and that requires one to be a LAW BREAKER, and on pavement that is potholed and sketchy. And when I'm riding I often think about riding Diablo, riding in Napa Valley, riding in the Sierra...

You are lucky!!!! (But I'm sure you are well aware of that.)

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Originally Posted by Veronica

It was a little warm today, up over 100 degrees, for at least the last five hours of my ride. I was supposed to do a 200 K (125 miles.) At mile 105 I was feeling dizzy and nauseous.

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A little warm? That's funny. Dizzy and nauseous means... cooked and done. Heat sickness gets dramatically worse quickly. There's no shame in stopping at that point. That's all you can do, really. And there's no shame in finishing 100 miles on that route. We'll have better weather soon, then you can finish it and enjoy the experience.

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Oh, one cool thing. The gas station attendant told me she wished she had legs like mine.

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As well she should! :cool:

Whew, glad you're OK V.

Good on yer for recognizing your symptoms and knowing when to call it off - it's easy to get confused when you're overheated (for me anyway), so good job.

That's downright scary! Glad you were ok in the end, but maybe not the best thing to get to where you stop sweating etc- next stop is the emergency room, and it sounds like you might have come close this time. :( Good that you were able to stop and recover. I can't imagine riding 100 miles under those conditions- you are tough.

That is more than scary. Your presence of mind is nothing short of amazing considering the circumstances. I'm so thankful you had someone to call. And that he could come get you.

I'm very lucky that my husband fully supports my various athletic pursuits. He drives me to all my long rides so I don't have to drive home after. Jobob and Leebob were also out there, with a secret control for the permanent and would have rescued me too.

I'm a little headachy today, but otherwise seem none the worse for my misadventure.

Veronica

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Originally Posted by Veronica

I'm very lucky that my husband fully supports my various athletic pursuits. He drives me to all my long rides so I don't have to drive home after. Jobob and Leebob were also out there, with a secret control for the permanent and would have rescued me too.

I'm a little headachy today, but otherwise seem none the worse for my misadventure.

Veronica

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That is a blessing. I'm really glad it all worked out and that you're OK.

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Originally Posted by jobob

And might I add Mel, that stubborn, tenacious freakazoid :D made it the Whole Way! Her longest ride ever, and in the blistering heat - woo hoo Mel! :cool:

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I attribute my success to wearing my "Ride Like a Girl" socks. ;)

Seriously, it was a great ride. Well, a little hot, but an awesome route. I must admit that Pig Farm Hill @ mile 90, with no shade in sight, just about did me in.

Veronica, glad you're OK today. Maybe a Red Bull will chase the headache away?

Jo & Lee, thanks for the post-ride dinner & beer!

- Mel

So glad you made the phone call while you were still able to! Just a reminder to us all that we need to be careful out there--lack of sleep, nutrition, stress, etc can stop us from doing something we have done before. Occasionally you have to throw in the towel and try again another day! Hope you are feeling better :-)

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Originally Posted by Veronica

When he picked me up he noticed my skin was totally dry. I am normally a huge sweater. I should have been drenched. We stopped at the nearest gas station and got water, about half of which went on my head.

I lost three pounds on the ride and that was AFTER drinking a liter of water on the way home.

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Oh my goodness, Veronica! It's amazing how heat exhaustion can sneak up on you, even when you've trained in the heat. Please take care of yourself and take a break from this heat. You don't want to get to the point that you can't tolerate heat anymore. :(

Part of the problem is that we've had a fairly mild summer, so there hasn't been all that much opportunity to acclimate to intense heat.

For instance, when I did this same ride just 2 weekends ago, it was foggy & chilly when I started out, and while it warmed up during the day it was never particularly hot.

Glad you decided to stop Zippy, heat exhaustion is no fun. I had it once, haven't been the same since...oh wait...:rolleyes:

I second the suggestion of dousing water over your head when you start to overheat. You did the right thing by stopping. DH was suffering from heat exhaustion last July when we did a double century in close to 100 degree heat. The last 30 of the 206 miles was a torture chamber with very little shade. I finally made him pull over and take a good long break. With some added electrolytes pills and plenty of fluid he made it to the finish, but it was scary and unfortunately we didn't have anyone who could come pick him up. The electrolyte pills really saved us when it started to heat up, unfortunately he had stopped taking them and I think that is why the heat got to him.