AM Rides to beat the heat
 

I’m not a morning person :mad: but it’s better than heat stroke. The price you pay for the mild winters. Coffee fueled rides it will be.

Riding has momentarily made me into more of a morning person; getting up early sporadically to ride hasn't worked, getting up earlier in general seems to be doing so, and then I get up super early (or in coming progression insanely early) for a ride. Where the initial "early" is measured relative to tech startup culture ;-)

In my case it's not so much avoiding the heat, as needing all the daylight.

That alas I cannot do, unless I'm going to sit around for an hour and a half and wait for the result.

Next ride has a very nice restroom fifteen miles out (actually a pair of unisex singles, just built to wheelchair size specs, and nothing apparent to stop you from wheeling your bike right in with you), will still skip the coffee, but less concern.

Might be different if I were only headed out for an hour or two for a before-it-gets-hot ride.

Yup, we're coming to that time of year. Wheels up at 0'Dark'Thirty. Beat the UV and the heat.

Morning rides are a lot more pleasant than afternoon rides. My favourite time to start a ride is around 5:45-6:00 AM. Lucky for me I can do that several times per week as I commute to work on my bike.

I got lucky last year-- never had to get on the road before 4am. I feel like my luck isn't gonna carry through this year. In 2017 I had plenty of rides that ended before sunrise.

You could be a guinea pig for us - afternoon moderate rides for 3 weeks, see what happens: https://trainright.com/older-athlete...s-hot-weather/

Then click on the 3 how-to links at the bottom of that one.

I like a 70 oz. Camelbak filled with ice, then water for that kind of thing. If you don't have one, you're missing a very cool option. Plus Endurolytes in a coin purse shoved up my shorts leg.

I'm waiting for the snow to melt so I can hike White Chuck and at Harts Pass.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eceb89fb0.jpeg

100+ degrees I think I will sit in the sprinkler and have a cold beer.

I kind of enjoy riding in the hot Texas summer so I work up to it gradually, starting in springtime to improve heat adaptation. I stick to moderate or easy efforts for 30-60 minutes, two or three times a week -- what some training guides call Zone 1 or 2 at most. I do my harder training efforts indoors or in the early morning or at night.

I just got a Wahoo Tickr heart rate monitor to be sure I keep my efforts in the low to moderate zone for hotter rides. At 61 I know I won't be able to tolerate the midday heat as well as I used to, and HR is a fairly good indicator -- although it depends on meds and other factors. The one OTC med I take most often that affects my heart rate and blood pressure is Sudafed for sinus congestion.

Alcohol, even a single beer, can dramatically affect my heat tolerance. I learned that years ago when I was in my 20s on some 50-125 summer rides in Mexico. I've cut way back on the beer, usually drinking only 2 or 3 a month now with food.

There's a theory that, besides body fat, excessive sugar consumption can adversely affect heat tolerance and even sunburn tolerance. I'd already cut way back on the sugar too and am within 5 lbs of my minimum body fat weight, the least I've weighed since I was in my teens and early 20s. I've been riding without sunscreen this spring. So far, so good, no sun burns. Not very scientific, but I know I used to burn much more easily when I was overweight and ate lots of sugary stuff.

I'm also curious to see whether there's any measurable benefit to Vitamin D and bone health, and natural production of nitric oxide, from moderate exposure to sunlight. I'll probably carry a small container of sunscreen or wipes in case I'm out longer than an hour.

And those theories may be shot down soon by counter-research, so I'm still fairly skeptical.

Besides carrying and drinking plenty of water, I use the Polar insulated bottle to freeze the water/electrolyte solution ahead of time. I fill it half full, freeze it, then add water to top it off. It'll usually stay cool for hours that way. On the hottest days I'll carry a stainless steel double insulated thermos with frozen electrolyte solution. That'll stay frozen for hours. I've had some 12 hour summer days on the bike (plenty of rest breaks along the way), and the contents were still cold after dark. I have to carry a non-insulated or lightly insulated bottle too, because the stainless thermos won't thaw for hours.

Been leaving the house at 6:30 am the past couple of weeks to avoid the heat.

My iPod keeps me company on my late-night and early-morning rides. Most often my start is shortly after midnight to this tune on the iPod ----


Began this ride at 11:51pm on June 1st to plot my 46th anniversary ride that I began 11 minutes later.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3706825387

This was the 12:02am start on June 2nd for my 46th wedding anniversary ride ----

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3706889887

I start my rides around noon-1:00 pm as I work nights. Your body adapts to the heat, just take it easy the first couple of rides and have plenty of water.

The heat hasn’t bothered me so much until this year. I started doing some pre-sunrise rides but lack of breakfast didn’t help. This morning, I walked while it was dark. Then I did some kettlebell exercises then had a smoothie for breakfast. I rode at 7:30 so it was light but still under 80°. I felt better than I have in a while. I will try again tomorrow if this is my new routine.

I’m freezing in June in Portland Oregon now to a South Texan that’s crazy :lol: but the locals are in pants and hoodies too so I’m fitting right in. Back home in Hondo it was 100 with a 105 heat index :twitchy: I’m glad I’m here right now.

That's one part of living in the South that I do not miss! I'll happily take a few months well below freezing in exchange for perfect summer days with daylight until 9PM.

Even in the upper Midwest, I notice people still ride early to "beat the heat". They also ride super early on purpose. 4:45 AM? Seriously?!

I'm doing the opposite of trying to beat the heat. June is usually my transition month for heat adaptation. Typically, including this month, we'll have mostly cool or just pleasantly warm days in April-June, then suddenly it'll get hot, with little transition.

Sure 'nuff, both of my 35-45 mile road bike rides with a group this week have been on the hottest days of the year, with temps jumping from 60-70 last week to 90s this week, with heat index peaking over 110F.

On Tuesday evening I was doing fine until the 30 mile mark. Then I noticed on the turnaround after a brief rest, I wasn't sweating. Bad sign. I slowed down, chugged more water with electroytes and a gel with caffeine. I was just starting to feel dizzy and headachy. And by the time I got home after 45 miles my head was throbbing -- in part due to a sudden barometric pressure drop before a t-storm that night.

On Thursday it was so dang hot four of us split from the regular group and took a slow and easy piddle pedal. One fellow still was on the verge of heat exhaustion. Temp index was 111F. We stopped for an hour to cool off before heading back.

By July I'll be heat adapted and able to ride pretty hard midday. But June is always tough. The trick is to recognize the warning signs and ease up. Sometimes just 5% lower effort is enough to get through a rough ride.

94.7°F with index at 105°F an hour ago and hotter in next few days. Heading out around midnight +/- for a 100 +/- miler and expect temps to be low/mid 80's°F when I start. Should be a beautiful and quiet night.

Visiting family in NM, and doing a little scouting for myself as I plan on riding Tour de Taco in Oct.
Temps are very nice in the morning, and the wind is usually at its lightest, too. Not much elevation gain in this area of the high plains, but the wind can be a booger when it picks up.

I ran into snow Monday on Desolation Peak. Had to wear sunscreen on the way up.

In my area of Florida, I’ve been trying to be clicked in and pedaling by 0715 ! It’s still 80 degrees, and humidity very high, but I’m able to avoid the sun beating down for a couple hours !

Miss home? :lol: If you get a chance to ride in the summer rain, definitely try it. I love PNW weather, too bad it's so hard to find work. I'd love to retire there, that or Cambria, CA.

Yup, I miss home in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, March, April and first part of May. Back in 2005 I flew to Seattle to visit The Olympic Peninsula and it was great and I thought I was white! I ain’t white as those Port Angeles folks they look like they came out of coffins :lol: now I’m just kidding of course so no one get all offended but I’m fair skinned blued eyed white boy and up there I had a tan. But yes I love the Pacific NW.

Alarm is set for 3:20, its 1:40 and I'm still awake. Oops.

Thats what happens after a busy evening madly trying to get ready...

Guess I pretend for another hour and then start getting up.

Suppose if I got up now I could have coffee that I was going to skip

Its either early mornings rides or nights. For years I was a nightrider. Rarely if ever venturing out in the afternoon, particularly during those dog days of summer when its too hot to sleep.