Hot Riding preparation

I've done something wrong with preparing for hot rides recently and am curious what others do. Last night's ride is a good example - is there anything apparent that I am not doing properly?

I knew it would be over 90 last night, so I drank more water yesterday than usual, and after 12 I drank nothing but water. I waited until 6 to ride, and had dinner an hour before riding so that things would have a bit of a chance to digest.

For the first 30-40 minutes of my ride my stomach was unsettled - not quite nauseous but close. So close that I rode longer in the park than I wanted to in case it got worse and I needed to go home. It finally settled and I left the park to hit my shorter loop before going back through the park to go home. I tried to focus on just riding, not hitting it hard.

I didn't apply sunscreen because I wanted to sweat and it was cloudy/sun at a lower angle. I did drink whenever I thought about it, though when I got home I found that I hadn't drunk as much from my pack as I had thought, and I didn't put much Heed into my pack - there may not have been enough for my needs. Halfway through I did stop in some shade and had a shot block, the one with the increased sodium.

I've been riding/hiking in hot weather all along, but the last couple rides have been similar. Is there anything obvious in my preparation for the ride last night that I can tweak? It could be no more than the hour between dinner and bike wasn't quite long enough

Sometimes it is just too hot. I can take it easy or I can get sick. Because it is dry here, it can help to wear a damp woven shirt over whatever else I have on, but your humidity is another story.

When I would commute on hot (90* + days) I would wet my hair and jersey down before I left. I usually do not like to commute on very hot days though. My commute is 16 miles. Always drink a lot of water even before you ride, that seemed to help me too.

I would drink water constantly throughout my workday, for my long commute home.

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

Loading up on the water might do more harm because you dilute sodium & potassium. I don't know if shot blocks have potassium and might not have enough sodium for the rides you are doing.

I was very upset Monday night. After 60-80 miles a day for Bike Across Kansas, I came home and tried to do a one-hour evening ride. I nearly throw up. We didn't actually have much heat last week in Kansas, oddly enough.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

What is your helmet like? Is it lightweight and vented? Just one or the other? Or neither?

Is your hair damp with sweat at the end of a ride? Can you feel any air getting to your scalp when you ride?

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This is the helmet I ride on the road - it is a UVEX mtb helmet. The color is different but I think it is just last year's version - it doesn't seem overly heavy and has bug netting on the front vents. I have a more robust mtb helmet for trail riding.

I can't seem to remember feeling any air getting to my scalp, but my hair wasn't drenching wet when I got home last night - though generally is at the back of my neck. I will pay more attention to this,

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Originally Posted by Trek-chick

When I would commute on hot (90* + days) I would wet my hair and jersey down before I left. I usually do not like to commute on very hot days though. My commute is 16 miles. Always drink a lot of water even before you ride, that seemed to help me too.

I would drink water constantly throughout my workday, for my long commute home.

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Good idea about doing that before you leave the office. So far I've not commuted in very hot temps as the one day I commute is my short, 4 hour day (I work 4 nine hour days and 1 four), which means I am typically home between 12:30-1:00. My ride home is close to the distance you ride, and features more climbing than the flat/downhill, and shorter, route to work.

The almost-nausea started almost immediately after getting on the bike, it may have been hotter than I realized. With the low humidity it just didn't FEEL that hot.

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

Loading up on the water might do more harm because you dilute sodium & potassium. I don't know if shot blocks have potassium and might not have enough sodium for the rides you are doing.

I was very upset Monday night. After 60-80 miles a day for Bike Across Kansas, I came home and tried to do a one-hour evening ride. I nearly throw up. We didn't actually have much heat last week in Kansas, oddly enough.

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I think I read the same article and that makes sense. I've certainly ridden longer distances in recent weeks in similar temps - though for those rides the temps were rapidly rising, it wasn't already at the high point for the day. While I got hot on those rides, I didn't get sick to my stomach. Shot blocks do have potassium (I am pretty sure at least, and the Hammer Heed does) and I had the Margarita blocks which have double the sodium of the regular blocks.

Good food for thought, every season is a learning experience! Thankfully I hope to be on the trails this weekend, it is so much more comfortable to be in the woods when it is hot :cool:

I was going to suggest sodium but Mel beat me to it.

Nausea is the #1 symptom I get when I'm not getting enough sodium. For me, though, it persists throughout the day (and will go on and get worse for as many days as it takes for me to figure it out and drop a few Zenergize tablets or whatever :rolleyes:), so I'd still wonder in your case whether it wasn't simple overheating.

I know people who keep water bottles in the freezer, so they'll thaw and provide cool water as they ride.

I've been experimenting with something called "Salt Stick", they are in capsules like Enduroytes but are said to have a better nutritional profile. I had intended on taking one before the ride, and will try this next time.

It may well have simply been hotter than I realized and was tricked by the low humidity. Usually, however, that kind of problem presents in the latter half of the ride not the first...and I felt much better by the end of the ride.

Good thoughts everyone, and thanks!

For me, an hour after eating would be too soon to ride. In addition to the weather it could be that also, as you said you felt better toward the end of your ride. I've had the same thing happen if I tried to ride too soon after eating and it makes me feel queasy. If I take it easy I find that as the ride progresses I feel better and can ride stronger.

This happens wether it is warm or cold. So now I only snack before a ride and have a regular meal afterwards. If I know I want to ride in the evening I'll take a late lunch. For me the heat only exacerbates the whole thing.

How long was the ride? If I wasn't on vacation, I would have gone for a 90 minute ride last night. I never drink more than usual or eat anything special before an evening ride on a hot day. I do bring two water bottles with me to drink during the ride, but it's just water. I eat half a sandwich (probably ~350-400 calories, in some cases) about 2 hours before the ride, because it's my usual afternoon snack (I eat 1/2 sandwich for lunch the other 1/2 sandwich for snack).

If I ate dinner an hour before a ride (or any exercise) I'd probably wind up with stomach cramps.

hmmm, didn't think about food perhaps being the problem. It was a 90 minute ride. I eat an hour before riding all the time, and now that I think about it, it was just a little heavier than my usual pre-ride meals and, of course it was hot.

I ALWAYS eat before exercise as it helps to keep my blood sugar stable; the diabetes may have been reversed but I've always had problems with low blood sugar without fueling beforehand (it's dropped as low as 29). 2 hours is too long a wait for me. My body is normally fine with 1 hour but perhaps it was a combination of different food than usual and the heat.This makes sense - I probably would have been fine with a banana/PB sammy or something like that.

I remember my first ride as a stoker last month on a day where the temps were similar, and I had eaten an entire 2 hours before. The ride was only 24 miles but I was bonking at the end, thankfully I wasn't alone and we ended at a restaurant. Unsure why I didn't have anything with me, I always do, but things worked out.

Riding on a completly empty stomach is not something I can tolerate either and if it's happened I bonk shortly into the ride, I do try to have a little snack like a handful of raisins and a handful of walnuts shortly before a ride and if I'm going to be out more than an hour I take mabye a little snack baggie of the same or something equally little but powerful. I like those snack packs of the peanut butter with little round toasts. Two or three of those little cracker sandwiches. about a half a pack, is just about right for me mid ride.

I'm a regular water drinker throughout the day anyway so I don't drink more or less before a hot ride but I do ensure that I have enough on the ride and drink a bit more than usual after the ride.

It is always interesting to read how our bodies respond in different ways Bike Writer. I need to consume a good amount of calories on the bike, though not as much as I once needed to :) I don't typically eat anything extra on the bike as long as I fueled fairly close to the start of the ride, but if the ride is >90 minutes I need to consume 150-200 calories an hour. It is a balance, and we all have to find what our bodies prefer.

My body loves Cliff bars on the bike - don't ask me why those dense things work for me - Cliff Bars, bananas, Shot Blocs, Heed and Accelerade (for the really long rides), moving away from those things pretty much causes tummy upset. I also make my own energy mix with almonds, raisins, dried cranberries and sometimes add sunflower seeds and/or chocolate chips if it isn't too hot. This tends to be more for the mountain bike than the road.

When it's this hot I carry a bottle just to squirt on my head between the vents in my helmet. Makes a huuuuuuuge difference.

I have a soakable cool-off wrap which you soak in water and swells up. I wrap this around my neck and when I stop I turn it over to the cooler side. This makes sure the blood going to my head is cool and it really works well.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

When it's this hot I carry a bottle just to squirt on my head between the vents in my helmet. Makes a huuuuuuuge difference.

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I have to do this too. I squirt a bit on the back of my neck at almost every stop just to keep myself from getting too overheated. I usually freeze half the bottle so the water will be ice cold throughout the ride.

I also set my watch to beep every 8 minutes to remind me to take a drink.

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Originally Posted by Penny4

I also set my watch to beep every 8 minutes to remind me to take a drink.

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This is a great idea! I have a hard time remembering to hydrate.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

It is always interesting to read how our bodies respond in different ways Bike Writer. I need to consume a good amount of calories on the bike, though not as much as I once needed to :) I don't typically eat anything extra on the bike as long as I fueled fairly close to the start of the ride, but if the ride is >90 minutes I need to consume 150-200 calories an hour. It is a balance, and we all have to find what our bodies prefer.

My body loves Cliff bars on the bike - don't ask me why those dense things work for me - Cliff Bars, bananas, Shot Blocs, Heed and Accelerade (for the really long rides), moving away from those things pretty much causes tummy upset. I also make my own energy mix with almonds, raisins, dried cranberries and sometimes add sunflower seeds and/or chocolate chips if it isn't too hot. This tends to be more for the mountain bike than the road.

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Cliff Bars - Yum! Discovered them last year, hooked on the Mojo with chocolate and carmel but I haven't found them this year. Had a choc PB one last week on my ride to Ford Lake. Stopped at a RX store across the street from the lake and it was just enough to refuel for the ride back.

You can get an electrolyte mix that has no sugar. It is Electro-mix and made by the Emergen-C people. I think I got mine from Vitacost.com. That has really been working for me lately.

My scalp sweats like crazy, so if I pour water over my head, I end up regretting it three seconds later. I wet down the front of my jersey, either with the water bottle (I use the dregs at the bottom that are too warm to drink) or in the sink at bathrooms.

I'm still trying to work out food so that I get enough electrolytes. I can't do real food (beyond almonds or something) when it gets hot, and I only barely tolerate Clif bars (depending on flavor). I take dilute Gatorade with me (I'm too poor to experiment with the other stuff) in one water bottle, water in the other, and sometimes a Camelbak with water and ice. The only problem with the Camelbak is that my back starts to regret it once the water warms up, both temperature and discomfort-wise.

There's a place where I used to ride with a shaved ice stand. That was the best thing ever after a hot ride. Not exactly healthy, but I didn't care!

Good grief, it is so hot, dry and windy here that I may never ride again!

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Originally Posted by malkin

Good grief, it is so hot, dry and windy here that I may never ride again!

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It's so hot, humid and windy in Nebraska and I feel the same way...LOL. Next week will be 95 temps.

I only did 4 miles and it nearly killed me yesterday, but I was on my fat bike. I just figure shorter trips will have to do.

Yesterday I could hardly go outside!

This morning I went outside early to do some of the work that didn't get done yesterday. It was already mid 70s at 7:00 this morning! Now that the sun is up, it will be hide inside for me.

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Originally Posted by malkin

Yesterday I could hardly go outside!

This morning I went outside early to do some of the work that didn't get done yesterday. It was already mid 70s at 7:00 this morning! Now that the sun is up, it will be hide inside for me.

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It was 85 degrees at 4AM in Tucson. Phoenix was 92. Maybe it's time to drag out the lights & start riding at 3AM?

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

It was 85 degrees at 4AM in Tucson. Phoenix was 92. Maybe it's time to drag out the lights & start riding at 3AM?

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DH and I have been known to do this. It's actually lots of fun :)

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

I read an article about the physiology of adapting to heat. It involves an increase in your blood volume-- to compensate for the blood being shunted to the periphery which is part of the cooling mechanism. In very athletic people it's a matter of days, otherwise it can be weeks.

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If anyone has a link to that article I would love to read it.

I always have a very difficult time with the heat. Went on a club ride this morning in what I'm sure was 90+ degree weather (at least towards the end) and my jersey basically stayed dry because any sweat immediately evaporated (I knew I was sweating because my face tasted very salty). It was so dry and windy it felt like riding in an oven. As we were nearing the end of the ride I noticed my heart rate was hovering in zone 5 and just wouldn't come down, even though it was a flat ride with lots of tailwind in the 2nd half. I'm sure all the soot in the air from the fires wasn't helping either. I was squirting water on me to try & cool down, and finally cried uncle when we got back to the starting point - asked hubby to come get me so I wouldn't have to climb the hill to get home. If I lived in a humid climate I don't know that I would be riding at all.

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

It was 85 degrees at 4AM in Tucson. Phoenix was 92. Maybe it's time to drag out the lights & start riding at 3AM?

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Well, it certainly wouldn't interrupt any sleep because it is too stinkin hot to sleep! We tried sleeping outside, rather unsuccessfully because of the wind.

Malkin, where do you live? Don't you have AC? Evaporative cooling?
In AZ, people used to hang sheets out on their porches and blow a fan on the sheets, to sleep in the summer, before the 50's, when AC become available. Women and children were sent to San Diego for the summer!
Dogmama, I would not be riding in AZ at this time of year. I might get up and ride at 4 AM now, but I remember walking at 5 AM in the summer and it was already unbearable. I would think my riding season would be the end of October through March.
It was about 82 when we rode on Saturday, but the combination of bright sunshine, eating lunch in the sun, and hard climbing had me cursing the heat. I do acclimate more quickly than in the past, but I obviously need to do this still, this year.

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Originally Posted by malkin

Well, it certainly wouldn't interrupt any sleep because it is too stinkin hot to sleep! We tried sleeping outside, rather unsuccessfully because of the wind.

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I'm sleeping on the couch downstairs with a tower fan, since 93 degrees with shaded windows is remarkably cooler than my upstairs, with no porch roofs to block windows and temps of around 105. It cooled to 82 downstairs overnight.

I don't want full-blown a/c because of Raynaud's, but I went to buy a portable evaporative cooler yesterday and the entire Denver/Boulder metro area is sold out. Something's gotta give. 3 days of record heat here in a row. Maybe I'll sleep at my office tomorrow night?

I'm in Salt Lake City.
Our house is pretty far from well designed; the bedroom upstairs heats up like an oven. We're running AC and a portable swamp cooler too, which makes it okay inside, but it's just blasting hot outside.

Next modification to the house will be better insulation and venting the attic space, but really, when it's that hot outside it's just that hot. The sun at this altitude feels nastier to me than it does shining through all the lovely atmosphere at sea level.

Relative humidity is 10% and there are fires all over the state.

Brewer & I were outside downtown this afternoon and ended up making jokes about living on Tatooine and more obscurely "Dune, Arakis, Desert Planet..." So maybe the heat has gone to my head...

Usually June is nice!

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Originally Posted by Owlie

My scalp sweats like crazy, so if I pour water over my head, I end up regretting it three seconds later. I wet down the front of my jersey, either with the water bottle (I use the dregs at the bottom that are too warm to drink) or in the sink at bathrooms.

I'm still trying to work out food so that I get enough electrolytes. I can't do real food (beyond almonds or something) when it gets hot, and I only barely tolerate Clif bars (depending on flavor). I take dilute Gatorade with me (I'm too poor to experiment with the other stuff) in one water bottle, water in the other, and sometimes a Camelbak with water and ice. The only problem with the Camelbak is that my back starts to regret it once the water warms up, both temperature and discomfort-wise.

There's a place where I used to ride with a shaved ice stand. That was the best thing ever after a hot ride. Not exactly healthy, but I didn't care!

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If you're relying on diluted gatorade, you're getting very few electrolytes.

Can you have gels? Gu Roctane has lots of electrolytes, and Power Gel has boatloads of sodium. Jelly Belly sports beans taste great (I like the orange ones best) and are decent sources.

Malkin, new insulation, venting, and windows (as well as a new roof) has made a huge difference in our energy efficiency, and how warm/cool my house feels. Last week, when it was about 98, with moderate humidity, our AC didn't click on until about 2:30 PM.
I certainly understand that feeling of brutal heat and I don't miss it.
I had a swamp cooler in my first house in AZ, as well as AC. When we were showing it, in May, it caused the doors to swell so much that when our agent was bringing people around in the house, she couldn't open half the doors to the rooms, as they were stuck, and you really had to pull to get them open. It wasn't even monsoon season yet, but that thing just put too much humidity in the house for me. Needless to say, we did not get one in our next home.

I like the humidity ours swamp cooler provides, because it isn't too much--we can still open and shut the doors (well, they work as they usually do-some of them still stick, but that's another story!) but is as noisy as a jet engine, and it running it at night is like sleeping next to a jet engine.

Last night we had a better arrangement of fans, so I slept ok.

I'm just taking it moment by moment and dreaming of living in a more hospitable climate!