riding into the heat of july

[emily_in_nc]

It was nice and quiet at Dairy Joy, as it's in one of the richest towns around here, so they all must be at their beach or mountain homes! From there, we took a straighter shot home, than the original ride had planned, but we still got in 31.5 miles.

But you didn't tell us about the ice cream!

[Crankin]

It was fabulous as usual. I got a vanilla-chocolate "twist," with the chocolate dip. They stick the cone in a cup, so it's easier to eat. The kiddie size is 4 oz. and plenty enough.
The food at this place is very good, too.

[north woods gal]

Last week or so, I posted about doing a remote 8 mile section of gravel/sand roads on my Salsa Fargo with it's 29er 2.2" tires. The Fargo got me through, but with some fishtailing and a few spots were just too deep with sand, so I walked the bike.

Returned, today, only to discover that the road was in much worse shape. For one, the sand was dry and powdery this time around, and, for another, the ATV crowd had the sand churned up pretty good. Not surprising, really, since this is the holiday weekend and this road is a designated ATV trail. Not a problem, anyway. This time, I brought a better bike for the job (that's a story for another post) and had NO issues. Even managed to churn through some muddy spots with great traction. Yup, fit right in with the ATV crowd.

As for the ATV folks, they were actually quite nice, slowing way down as the passed as to not raise too much dust and waving as they passed. One ATV rider actually stopped while I was taking a water break to make sure I was okay. Since this road is very isolated and lonely, it was actually nice to have the company. I am totally a solo rider, but I never get completely comfortable being alone out in the woods.

[Helene2013]

July 1st I set out to ride our Crux. Temperature is not bad and we have time before hitting the heat/humidity index in the 30c+. It's in the Eastern Townships a gravel road, mostly hilly. It was only 44km ride but I knew it would not be easy due to all combinations.

So I did 38km...and stopped (a few times in the last 3km). The last stop was one forced by my husband. He said I've had enough and should stop before getting into an accident. I was overheating and not even cold water on my head, arms, etc did. I was fighting off vomiting but wanted to finish the last 6km left to get to our car. I knew they would be harsh to achieve as there is a big climb for about 3km of those 6 left. Full sun, no shade and it is over 30c now. I just cannot tolerate heat. Add to the fact that I'm out of shape since my knee fracture of January combined with other knee issues prevented me from training properly.

So when he saw me purple and white and unable to cycle more than 12-13km/h on a stretch I'd normally do at 20-21km/h and I was lagging behind he forced me to wait for him at this rest area and he went to get the car. He said it was a good thing that I stopped as he is a fast and strong cyclist and the wind facing us was so strong, full sun and heat that he only was able to manage 24km/h max to get back to the car when he left me. His norm would have been over 34km/h on that stretch.

While waiting for him I tried to lie down on a bench on my back but made the headache worst. So I removed all the clothing that I could, watered myself down with what was left of my 2 bottles and sat and waited for him. It took me a day to get back to normal. I was sooooo disappointed not to complete just those 6km that I could not stop the tears from rolling down. Hubby said I push myself way too hard. He said I should be proud to have accomplish that much in hard conditions, and with minimal training this season, that I did not fall, etc. Those 38km are much better than someone sitting on tv munching on chips and Coke. hihi He's right. But it did take me a good 20-25 minutes to get over this. Then I went for ice cream. Life is still good.

So that was my July 1st outing. Wanted to go out for a retake yesterday but winds were pushing at 45km/h. Not going to kill myself this time. At least it was soooo cold it would have been perfect weather for me, if it had not been for stupid winds. hihi

[Skierchickie2]

Wow Helene! That sounds just brutal! It's a good thing you had Hubby with you. Glad you're okay!

[north woods gal]

As above, Helene. You were fortunate to have someone with you and, especially, someone who recognized the signs of heat stroke. It can be so dangerous precisely because it impairs your thinking and clouds your judgement. Very scary. So glad you caught it in time.

[azfiddle]

Helene, you can be proud of those 38 km. It's good to know your limits. Even though I live in the desert, I am subject to overheating. I have to plan my rides for the early part of the day, pace myself, drink enough water and sometimes I have had to get off the bike and lay down in some meager shade until I felt okay to ride. Glad you're okay. There are more rides in the future!

Yesterday I rode one mile. That's it. One mile to go to the gym and do some other exercise and swimming. Today I rode just 18.5 miles, pretty flat, and mostly on the bike path. It was warm and humid (50% high for Tucson is very humid). I got going late for summer riding here (after 7 am). And came back in time to watch the last 20k of the Tour de France live.