Heat??

[redrhodie]

I'm way more likely to stay off the bike due to heat than cold. Yesterday I was thinking about doing some hills, but when I saw the air quality alert, I decided to keep it flat and easy instead. I also rode early, was home by 9 am, before it got brutal.

[Blueberry]

This is about as bad as it normally gets in NC - but it's already been this way for ~2-3 weeks, and there's not much of an end in sight. I think we're in for a LONG, HOT summer, sadly.

[jlnc]

Yeah, i guess it has been hot here, but it had been cooling down a bit by 6pm. Not last night!
I've noticed a lot of people mentioned paying attention to the air quality, which I never even thought to consider.

[Blueberry]

I pay attention because I'm sensitive to it. I also feel like we're having more bad air days this year than in the recent past (could be selective memory, but I don't think so). At least we haven't had a code purple in a long time.

[Crankin]

I pay a lot of attention it this. I don't do well in the heat, especially the heat and humidity. And when that happens, we get bad air quality. I have asthma that is totally not an issue for me, but I don't want it to become one. I barely survived a 15 mile ride Tuesday in the heat of the day. It was very humid, the sun was blazing, although it was only 80. Last year I forced myself to ride in hot weather, but mostly started early in the AM. It was just too hot on too many days to do stuff inside.
We just finished 3 hours of rain/thunder and I am getting ready to ride to an appt. I am only doing this on the hottest/most humid day of the year because it's cloudy and the rain cancelled my early AM ride with Hirakukibou.

[PamNY]

I tolerate heat fairly well, but acclimation is important for me. This current heat wave is just too early for my body to be ready!

[Jo-n-NY]

I ride better in heat than cold. I love warmth, however I plan my rides accordingly either early morning or early evening. It was in the 90's yesterday but I met dh after work and we did a nice 15 mi loop at 6:30 which was perfect!

~ JoAnn

[Grits]

Another rider here from NC. We typically start our rides at 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning - have gone as early as 7:00 when we were doing an extra long ride. We try to be finished by or before noon. We do shorter rides late in the afternoon. I hope that we get some relief from this extreme heat and have some more normal temps for the season. 80's would be more typical. Riding in 90+ temps and pushing it would be hard on many riders - including me!

[jlnc]

Good to know I am not the only one affected by it Grits! Thanks.

[nscrbug]

I've noticed that I haven't acclimated too well to the heat this year. Mind you, we've only had a handful of really warm days, so far....but, normally I can tolerate warm temps better than the cold. The cold seems to worsen my asthma, while the heat and humidity don't affect it at all. I just don't care for the inconsistency of the temps in my area lately...one day it's 96 (like yesterday) and the next day it's in the 60's (today)...ack! If the temps would stay in a certain range for a while, it would be easier to acclimate...rather than this constant up/down crap.

[emily_in_nc]

This is about as bad as it normally gets in NC - but it's already been this way for ~2-3 weeks, and there's not much of an end in sight. I think we're in for a LONG, HOT summer, sadly.

Just like last year...I remember it well because we were in the process of moving in June, and there were several 100+ days, followed by something like ninety 90+ days. Our main moving days were over a weekend with highs of 96-98 with high humidity. Many treks up to the third floor with sweat dripping from every pore.

When we finally got unpacked and settled in and started riding...OMG. The heat, sunshine, humidity was brutal for months. Seem to recall that at least a couple of the months (maybe more than a couple) where the "hottest ever" for that month.

NC...gotta love it.

[sundial]

Heat combined with high humidity is brutal and despite any efforts to remain hydrated, it can still take you down. It does help to gradually increase your effort in hot weather to improve your tolerance for heat, but there may come a point in which you simply cannot tolerate heat.

[Catrin]

I do think it is wise to choose one's route based on the level of heat/humidity. While my short rides are 20-23 miles regardless of how hot it is, it makes a massive difference if it is within the hilly but quite shaded nature park across from my apartment complex, or the flat country roads though the corn fields with no shade at all.

I have asthma, and I've yet to have any problems with heat and humidity while riding as far as the asthma is concerned. I seem to be far more sensitive to colder weather in this department. My allergies even seem to have disappeared since I started riding!

I also have given myself permission to not ride if the temps exceed 95 or if the heat index breaks 100F. Depending on conditions I can still ride in the park in those temps, but if it is just too oppressive then I won't. We don't NORMALLY have too many days where temps get higher than that - if I lived elsewhere that would likely have to chance if I wanted to ride regularly. The important thing is to acclimate your body to where you live

[zoom-zoom]

On Tues. hubby and I had planned a 70+ miler in preparation for our first century ride next weekend. It was the only day that worked for us both, partly because DS was on a camping trip with his class overnight, so DH was still able to get a half-day of work in.

So we start our ride and it's in the 90s. We headed inland a bit and it was easily pushing 95...and humid. In farmland with no shade. By 12 miles in I had already chugged a 24oz bottle, but was feeling chills and weak...not good. We slowly made our way back towards the lakeshore and decided to bag the ride, completing half of our planned distance (originally the plan was to ride 45+ just the two of us, then join our LBS for their 28 mile Tues. night ride).

Even before we decided to cut short we'd decided to cut back to 60 or so. But by 25 miles in we both agreed that it was foolish to even do that.

I am still feeling a bit off after that. We had no chance to acclimate. We had an endless Winter with only a few weeks of "Spring" weather. 5 weeks ago we had snow, so that sudden jump from 50s and 60s to 90s was more than my body could tolerate. Last year we did a 75 miler in early July under similar conditions and I was OK, but I'd had a month of acclimatization to warmer temps by that point. I'm also recovering from a cold and battling allergy and asthma issues, so the air quality definitely played a role.

[grey]

On the first 90+ degree day, the guys I ride with wanted to have a 25+ mile hill day, starting at 5:30pm. This was a VERY BIG mistake - I hadn't been riding regularly enough, and certainly hadn't acclimated to the heat yeat. The next day, I was tired and had heart palps.

Heat always knocks several miles off me for the first few weeks. I add Nunn tablets to my water - sometimes in both bottles. I also organize rides for 7-7:30am. You do adjust, sometimes it takes a while. Glad you didn't try to push through. Dizzy/chills is a big warning sign to stop, rest in the shade and drink, drink, drink.

I also carry a bandanna with me - when it gets hot, I soak that bugger and put it on my head under my helmet. It helps.