What do you do when it's too hot?

[chutch]

I hate the heat- which is rather surprising since I am very cold natured. But, my body does not like physical activity in high temps and humidity. Here in NC those days are more frequent and will be with us quite a while. I'm still commuting by bike to work but am starting to pull out the trainer during the time I would normally be on my road bike.

What do you do when it's too hot (or when other conditions prevent you from riding)?

[spokewench]

Pull out a good book, cozy down with the cat on my lap, grab a beer or a margarita and relax!

[kelownagirl]

I hate the heat- which is rather surprising since I am very cold natured. But, my body does not like physical activity in high temps and humidity. Here in NC those days are more frequent and will be with us quite a while. I'm still commuting by bike to work but am starting to pull out the trainer during the time I would normally be on my road bike.

What do you do when it's too hot (or when other conditions prevent you from riding)?

Ride really early, crank up the a/c in the car/house and do indoor chores (or go shopping!)

[aicabsolut]

Soak my jersey and my head with water before heading outside...

I'd much rather ride when it's too hot than when it's too cold, but then I grew up in a swamp.

[solobiker]

I don't do very well in the heat either, luckily here in Colorado we don't get the humidity. We have had a long string of days with temps in the upper 90s to low 100s. When it is hot like that I go in the evening, take the day off or ride my spin bike. I did go for a run today after work and it was pretty difficult because of the heat.

[Blueberry]

Heat I can usually convince myself to do. Days like today in NC where we're at 90+ degrees and under both an air quality and heat advisory I can't make myself do. I just don't feel good riding when the ground level ozone is that high.

CA

[sundial]

I do ok if the temps are in the low 90's, but if it's more than that I head indoors. I know I *should* get on the trainer, but it hasn't called to me yet. What I did last night was kinda fun. I dug out my NiteRider light, mounted it on my mtb, and took a quick ride in the neighborhood after dark. It was so peaceful and serene. Watched the lightning bugs, a few deer, and the stars.

[SlowButSteady]

I rode Sunday here in SC--at 2 pm. Doubtless it was in the mid-nineties.

I didn't take enough cytomax (my little boy left one of my bottles full of something a month ago and it was too scuzzy to take with me).

The sun was broiling.

I'm dumb enough to do it again.

I am busy with family meal preparations, house cleaning, etc in the evenings.

and by the time it cools off significantly, it's bascially dark.

[TxDoc]

The heat does not bother me much, I'm more of a whining cyclist in the Winter... but if it's really crazy hot and humid I bring extra water and electrolytes, and sprinkle some cold water over the skullcap and the jersey every 5 miles or so while I'm riding.
Some friends that ride with me do not tolerate the heat well, and bring little ziplock bags with crushed ice. They just put three or four of those baggies in the jersey pockets or in the cage rocket holder, and get some ice out when they need. I've never tried it but it works for them.

[kelownagirl]

I rode Sunday here in SC--at 2 pm. Doubtless it was in the mid-nineties.

I didn't take enough cytomax (my little boy left one of my bottles full of something a month ago and it was too scuzzy to take with me).

The sun was broiling.

I'm dumb enough to do it again.

I am busy with family meal preparations, house cleaning, etc in the evenings.

and by the time it cools off significantly, it's bascially dark.

I do that a lot too. And often I forget to wear sunscreen....

[pardes]

Last year I was the first one to say that I couldn't possibly live without air conditioning. I blamed the reliance on mild asthma and being old enough and solvent enough to be able to afford it.

Then the central A/C blew up. I couldn't arrange having it fixed immediately due to intense work hours and so I pondered the fact that most of the world lives without A/C and I would try to see what it was like. I'm a chemist and a Boomer and I like sociological and chemical experiments.

A heat wave came and I stripped down to nothing and laid in front of a fan. The hotter and stickier I got the more I was determined to see what was on the other side of the misery. More misery.

The dogs were inconsolable. They panted and stared at me with acid looks and flopped their bellies on the tile floor. One night it was so bad that I stood in the shower three times (with the Dachshund once) and laid in front of the fan until I dried off and then did it over again. It was a long night.

The weather broke and for the rest of the summer it was just warm and muggy and eventually I didn't think about it anymore.

At the start of this summer, I decided I had learned how the rest of the world feels and decided to buy a window A/C for my bedroom so I could get to sleep without ten showers a night.

I'm astonished to see that now I don't really like cold A/C air and keep the control to about 80 degrees. In fact I installed it in the bedroom next to mine and sucked it into my bedroom with a fan because it was way too cold to be in the "cold" room. For the true lovers of A/C this would be equivalent to smoking a cigarette through a veil.

The dogs have adjusted as well though the Dachshund threatens to call child protective services every whipstitch when I don't turn it on as soon as I get home. She's easily bought off though with a slice of cheese.

Meanwhile, the benefit of this is that I can bike in the worst of heat and as long as I have enough cool water to drink I am fine. I don't even think about it as being "hot." This is a complete turnaround from a lifetime of summers where I couldn't EVEN BEAR to be outside even in mild heat. What a revelation.

[emily_in_nc]

What do you do when it's too hot (or when other conditions prevent you from riding)?

I run on the treadmill in the gym (or lift weights). I walk early in the morning (weekends only), and I pick the coolest day(s) of the week to ride. I wish I had access to a pool as I'd love to swim on days like this! I won't ride on a day like today -- as CA said, it was upper 90s with humidity and Code Orange ozone warning. My friend and I are waiting for Thursday to ride after work. High of "only" 90.

Fall will be here before too long....

Emily

[Blueberry]

pardes-

I've certainly acclimated better than in previous years. And I do keep the AC well above where I used to. I'll actually ride in the 90's - it's the bad air quality that scares me. Of course, I am sure that I don't need AC as much as I think I do But I have animals who were in severe heat distress the last time the AC went out...

CA

[Flur]

We've had a relatively mild summer and I couldn't be happier about it. I hate A/C and would rather sweat it out, but DH can only take so much, so the compromise is that we won't put in the window units until it becomes unbearable for him. This summer we've gotten through to August without ever putting them in (YAY! fingers crossed, knock on wood). I try to keep most of the lights and electronics off when we're not using them to keep the place cool, and we run the fan in the bedroom at night.

Years of avoiding A/C have conditioned me for riding in the heat, and since we've not had many days over 100 this year I can pretty much ride whenever I want. I'm more worried about how fast it will get cold here. Sometimes we get snow as early as October, and it can snow as late as May (this year it definitely did!), so I'll take the heat!

[PinkBike]

IMHO it's never too hot to ride. today when i came to work (2:30 in the afternoon) it was 107 degrees, muggy, and now with about two hours to go it is POURING rain!

last thursday nite when i got home from work at 11:22 p.m. my weather station said it was 101 degrees! did i mention it was 11:22 p.m.! the only bad part is when the dewpoint goes up past 55 we can't run the swamp cooler, gotta switch to A/C. i'd much rather have swamp with doors and windows open.

i rode a couple hours saturday afternoon when it was 108 degrees and the dewpoint was 61. if sweat droplets were fat globules i would be a Schleck.

we parked our cars on May 19th and have driven exactly 4 times since then. everything is by bike. what a blast we're having!