I grew up in the north and I always hated being hot. My friends were stunned when I moved to FL and then stayed there for 7 years! I'm the girl that always preferred winter (the theory is that it's because it was 27 degrees below zero the day I was born ... not counting windchill!). I loathe the heat and humidity. I moved from FL to NC and while we have nice fall and winter here...the summers can be truly dreadful. I will say that I am actually learning how to adapt my body. It takes a lot of effort and careful planning, but yesterday, I had a breakthrough.

All spring and into the early part of the summer, I would time my rides for mid-day to begin adapting to the heat. As the summer got into full swing, I moved them slowly earlier and earlier (the weekend rides). I'm riding my first century on Aug 12th, so I knew I had to learn to get used to the heat! Yesterday we rode our longest ride so far (78 miles) and while the first 50 were down right FUN, the last 25 were pretty miserable. By the time we'd gone 50 miles, it was about 12 noon and getting HOTTER. I made it through to the end, and felt pretty damn good about myself. The most amazing part (to me, anyway) is that I was able to keep my body cool enough to keep my 'leg hives' at bay. I get hives on my thighs from the heat and yesterday, none!!

I would LOVE to live somewhere with drier weather, but I have learned that I can adapt my body to my riding conditions if I work hard enough at it!