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How hot is too hot for you to ride?

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How hot is too hot for you to ride?

Old 07-23-19, 02:13 AM
  #101  
Jack Cycle
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Originally Posted by moto367
With the heat wave approaching our area these next few days around here, with temps expecting high 90's with heat index reaching 110-113, when do you decide not to ride due to the temps? I normally don't have too much of an issue with heat but curious about others.
I live in the Portland, OR area, with moderate humidity and riding creates constant air-conditioning unless you're creeping uphill. It usually depends on how fast I can keep moving for a wind-chill effect. In truly saturated air it must be a different ballgame. The dew point is what you really feel.

It can get over 100F a few times each summer. On most hot days I tend to start well after noon to avoid the worst sun, even though heat may increase later. Walking in hot weather is much more of a slog.

Last edited by Jack Cycle; 07-23-19 at 02:27 AM.
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Old 07-23-19, 02:23 AM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by sterlingsam
It is currently 124 degrees F in Ross CA (southern Marin County).! That is definitely too hot for me, but I will wait until 7 or 7:30pm, when it cools down (I hope below 100 F). I would bike before work, but I get up quite early as is, and it takes an hour plus to go 16 miles to work, with the traffic!
That 124F had to be a thermometer in the sun or a heat-trap. Ross is no Death Valley, but given enough time.....(off topic, I suppose).
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Old 07-23-19, 02:27 PM
  #103  
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Originally Posted by Wileyrat
When I go out this time of year, I just plan on finishing at 90-95 degrees.

Anything more, and I'm afraid I'll melt, anything less, the ride won't be long enough to bother wiggling into my lycra.
When I lived in Tucson, I would wait until about 1-2pm, then I had the MUP to myself. I love the heat.

I used to bike from Tucson to Phoenix (Mesa) in the middle of Aug at least once a year. Humidity sucks, but I love a dry heat.

This was from a few years ago when I lived in Tucson. This was the temp on my back porch, in the shade, when I got back from a ~40 mile ride.

summer 2015

Last edited by Notso_fastLane; 07-23-19 at 03:08 PM.
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Old 07-23-19, 02:44 PM
  #104  
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Heat is a relative thing. I'm not adverse to riding no matter how hot it is. When I lived in Arizona I would ride in the dead of summer, August, when it would approach 110 - 115 degrees. As long as I had plenty of water I was good. It was still searing hot though. I took the temperature at 2 feet off the pavement after one ride and it was 135 degrees! I guess I got "used" to it but more likely got acclimated to the heat.

I moved back to North Carolina in 2016 where I'd lived since 1979. People ask me what's hotter, the desert or the South? I say they both are. As far as heat intensity, nothing is more brutal than the desert; however, when it's 98 degrees and 98% humidity, it's F'n miserable riding. Sometimes we get 100/100 days in the south but it's been a while.

Given the choice, I'd ride on a 100/100 day in the south before I'd ride in 115 degree heat in the desert. Yes, it's that hot in the desert.

As a side note, a few years back I was doing my 30 mile loop in Arizona when it was 112. I thought I had enough water. Nope, I ran dry with 10 miles left to go. I'll never forget it. That was the day I measured the temp at pavement when it registered 135. Those 10 miles felt like I was riding home in a furnace.
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Old 07-23-19, 11:01 PM
  #105  
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106 for any extended climbing, never too hot to ride the flats
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Old 07-24-19, 04:09 AM
  #106  
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Adding electrolytes to your water is definite must! It's 30c at 11am here so if never ride in this. I love evening rides when it's about 23c
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Old 07-24-19, 10:46 AM
  #107  
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It's 35° here at the moment; there's not much air movement either, it's humid, and my hay fever's playing up.

The bike's been sat in the shed all week, and with the temperature set to get up to 39° by the end of the week my daily exercise is staying as an evening walk along the sea front with an ice cream.
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Old 07-24-19, 11:56 AM
  #108  
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I've discovered that riding 140 miles in 90+ degree heat is not fun, especially the last 30 miles. Please alert the Nobel committee of this very important finding.

I've done plenty of centuries at 90 degrees or so, and the tricky balance is riding slow enough that you don't overheat from exertion, but fast enough that sweat evaporation actually cools you. Also a periodic air conditioning break every 35 miles or so is mandatory. My body just needs a chance to cool down for a few minutes.
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Old 07-24-19, 12:05 PM
  #109  
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104F, for me apparently. https://www.strava.com/activities/2556930394/overview
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Old 07-24-19, 01:41 PM
  #110  
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I would imagine it more dependent on your level of conditioning. The better shape you’re in the more you can handle exercising in harsh environments.
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Old 07-24-19, 03:48 PM
  #111  
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Almost too hot for Sagan lol
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Old 07-24-19, 04:00 PM
  #112  
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Early 0600 start for me tomorrow to avoid the near 100 degrees forecast for the Angeles National Forest.

Will try to finish before 1100 and the last 8 miles are all downhill at 30 mph+.

I just do not do well above 90 degrees.
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Old 07-24-19, 10:59 PM
  #113  
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https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019...ticleLarge.jpg
The cyclist George Bennett wore a bib with ice-filled pockets before the start of a Tour de France stage on Wednesday. ( Jeff Pachoud/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images)
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Old 07-25-19, 03:46 AM
  #114  
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Originally Posted by Mikenobike
I would imagine it more dependent on your level of conditioning. The better shape you’re in the more you can handle exercising in harsh environments.
That's probably wrong. Acclimation matters, and as a general rule, it's also just harder for a large person to deal with heat than a smaller person, doesn't matter whether the size difference is fat or muscle. Very fit people can suffer from heat injury and shouldn't think they're immune.
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Old 07-25-19, 03:54 AM
  #115  
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Originally Posted by CAT7RDR
Early 0600 start for me tomorrow to avoid the near 100 degrees forecast for the Angeles National Forest.

Will try to finish before 1100 and the last 8 miles are all downhill at 30 mph+.

I just do not do well above 90 degrees.
That early start is key. I was able to get in a 70 mile ride on Saturday and 75 on Sunday last weekend during the worst of the heat wave. A bit less than my usual weekend, but I could get it done before it got crazy hot.
The humidity was so high Saturday that I felt hot while it was still in the 70s. My sweat wouldn't evaporate, and water was condensing on my brake handles. Really weird. When it did shoot up into the 90s in the last hour, it was completely awful.
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Old 08-05-19, 12:57 PM
  #116  
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Originally Posted by commo_soulja
The temperatures last week and through the weekend were well above 100* with the heat index. I took the week off and drove to work in an air conditioned car listening to the radio. Those temperatures make cycling 17 miles to/from work dangerous at best.
Yeah. I don't cycle when the temperature's that high, either. Having heat exhaustion as a child, collapsing in the 95+ heat index at school, unconscious, because the adults thought it'd be a good idea to schedule and force kids--who'd been in class and hadn't had anything to drink since lunch--to wait outside for at least 15-25 minutes for a practice fire drill during the time of year it's that hot outside, has taught me to be cautious about cycling in high temperatures, not wanting a repeat of that experience.

I make sure I have plenty of water and snacks, and try not to push myself to go as fast as I can.

Last edited by anon06; 08-05-19 at 01:06 PM.
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Old 08-05-19, 05:13 PM
  #117  
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I try to go in the morning or late at night from work. That keeps the heat down but I just expect to be sweating by the time I get home in the afternoon!
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Old 08-05-19, 06:09 PM
  #118  
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A couple of weeks ago I dared myself to take a ride in a heatwave. Around midday. In 41C heat.

I tried to make it as intense as I could, but I made it a point to turn back as soon as I felt I should. I drank half the bottle and used the other half to keep my head wet.

The trip turned out to be as short as I thought it would - a nine-km round trip. By the time I was back at home, I was done. But it felt great to know where the limit was. I probably won't be attempting to push at the limit soon, but it's on the bucket list.
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Old 08-05-19, 08:41 PM
  #119  
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From the afternoon of July 24th. The intention for the day was 166 miles, but it ended at 140. The heat was too much. The last 3 hours in the saddle, the temperature never dropped below 105º. I'm not 100% sure I've completely recovered.

I took in just over 3 gallons over the course of the day, 8h30m moving time and about 1h15m stopped. Thankfully, the wife's workplace was very near my planned route, and she was getting off of work about 30 minutes after I got there.

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Old 08-05-19, 09:12 PM
  #120  
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Mimicking most of the posts here, in Savannah temps are usually in the upper 90's and humidity high to boot, but the breeze from biking makes the difference to me, that and water consumption, on my 15 mile rides 4 days a week. I don't like to waste a non-working day not cycling.
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Old 08-05-19, 09:43 PM
  #121  
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I try to be careful about these things. I have had heat exhaustion three times, despite always working to stay hydrated. So, I try to cycle when it’s under 90F, preferably under 80F. I would like to think that someday I will be able to tolerate heat better so that I don’t have to plan this way, but I don’t know if it works like that.
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Old 08-06-19, 12:50 PM
  #122  
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Beautiful bike
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Old 08-06-19, 12:53 PM
  #123  
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South Florida here, getting out early is the key and as close to the ocean as possible (I ride on A1A, beach road). Low 90s with 70+ percent humidity is manageable by me.
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Old 08-06-19, 01:03 PM
  #124  
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Any days over 90 Fahrenheit are going to be 6AM rides. It's usually 75 or 80 any time before 10AM.
We are usually done with the ride by 9AM.
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