Staying Cool in summer heat

[GLC1968]

My Polar bottles would keep water cool for about 2-3 hours on the bike in the NC summer heat. I fill the bottle 1/2 full, tip it partially on its side in the freezer (with no top on since the spout would freeze) overnight. The next day, I would fill it the remainder of the way with cold tap water (or fridge water) and that would keep cool for about 3 hours. It's almost too cold to drink for the first 30 minutes or so, so I'd usually only do this with one bottle and use the other one with just ice water.

I have also heard that the Podium bottles insulate better but I haven't tried them yet. Living where I do now, if it's ever too hot to ride, I just wait a day and it cools off.

I also like the DeSoto arm coolers (I have the Coolwings) here in Oregon quite a bit. I actually wear them in the garden as well because the white fabric is cooler than my brown arms without trapping heat like regular long sleeves can do. They did NOT work for me at all when I lived in NC though. I think it was because it was so fricken humid that the cooling effect was unnoticeable.

[Owlie]

I find soaking the sleeves and shoulders of my jersey to help enormously.