Wed evening we rode 9.2 miles from Rosemary Beach FL to Seaside Fl for dinner and then 9.2 miles back. We were all riding Gazelle Omafiets and all were on bikeway or MUP the entire way. When we left it was 86f, 87% R humidity. We averaged 11 MPH including stops but there were only 2 stops. None of us were sweating during the ride or after we arrived. I was wearing long linen pants and a long sleeve white linen shirt with sleeves down.
My wife and the couple with us (her cousin and husband) are Swedish but I'm American of Scottish descent so that rules that out.
To @
noglider 's point, we weren't as dry as if we'd been sitting in a 75f air conditioned room but we also were not sweating. No sweat running down our faces or wet spots on our clothes. No need for toweling off or baby wipes.
I was thinking about this while we were riding. Some things that would have likely caused me to sweat on this ride:
- Leaning forward at all with any weight on my hands
- Bike with bad geometry (E.G., not Dutch or English)
- Helmet
- Gloves
- Riding too fast
- Shirt or pants that don't breath
- Shoes that don't breath
- Sleeves rolled up (white breathable long sleeves can be cooler than short sleeves).
- Anti-perpirant
- Higher temp or humidity
- Mountains (there were some hills but no mountains)
- Not riding quite slow for the last 1/4 mile or so to cool down before stopping for dinner.
The bike rental place there has Jamis Taxi bikes. These are quite uncomfortable and inefficient, I'd not have been able to ride a mile on one without sweating. I think the same would apply to any cruiser, 'lifestyle' bike, or most Dutch imitations like Electra that do not have proper geometry.
I think leaning forward at all, with any weight on my hands, would have caused me to sweat. Three reasons; less surface area for cooling, skin folds that create heat, much more effort required to support some body weight with my hands and arms rather than it resting on my rump.
At some point temp/humidity would reach a point that would have caused me to sweat. We were all OK @ 86f/87% though.