Too hot to ride

[archibella]

So... I'm down here in South Texas (San Antonio) and I was just informed that a scheduled ride for tonight is canceled because it's still supposed to be 102 degrees early this evening... I hate to be a chicken, but 102 is really hot!!! What do you guys think the line is between "hot enough to take it easy and hydrate lots", and "so hot it's too dangerous"?

Thanks

[slinkedog]

I dunno... I imagine it's different for each person. But I can honestly say I have NO desire whatsoever to ride when it's 102. I rode once when it was about 94 and that was quite enough for me.

[DeniseGoldberg]

102 is pretty warm, but if you're careful it may be rideable. The only reason I say that is that I hit some pretty hot weather when I rode cross-country back on 2002 - as in many days where it was over 100 degrees. I was still riding 55 to 75 miles a day, in spite of the heat. I was also drinking a lot - a combination of water and Gatorade. (OK, OK, I may have been a bit crazy. But I was happier continuing to move across the country than I would have been sitting still somewhere in those temperatures.)

If you're going to ride in the heat, make sure to pay extra attention to your body, and stop if it tells you to stop. And make sure you are drinking enough.

--- Denise

[runnergirl]

Heat index matters most to me. In a nice dry heat I'd go out up to about 105 or so, but if it's 100 with 90% humidity-I'm much less likely to attempt it. There's nothing quite as miserable as breathing through a hot wet blanket when you're trying to ride.

[nuthatch]

Amen on the humidity!! If you can't get evaporation going because the air is already saturated, you over-heat so fast. 98 didn't seem too awful a couple of weeks ago but the humidity was probably lower than 50% (I just checked - it was in the 40/30% range).

[Veronica]

I've ridden in Death Valley when it's been over 100 and here in the Delta when it's been in the high 90s. I take the heat pretty well once I'm acclimated. I find that if I keep moving and can create my own evaporation system, I do okay. Jobob can attest to how much I sweat even on a coolish day. But you have to be sure you stay hydrated. Everyone is different. There were other folks on that Death Valley ride who cramped up and couldn't move.

V.