MK313

did a search & didn't find anything recent addressing this, so figured I'd put up a new thread. Wondering if people here have an upper limit to the temperature they will ride in? Currently 95 degrees out & it got me wondering. It almost never gets above 100 Degrees here, so I don't think I will ever reach my limit, but just curious as to what others think.

bluefoxicy

I throw some shotglasses in my camelbak reservoir and suck down lots of electrolyte water. Ditched the high-visibility jacket; getting a high-visibility jersey and packing the jacket on in case of rain. Coming to stops in shady spots a lot.

Though I'm heat resistant to a ridiculous degree.

Surrealdeal

Steely Dan

i generally don't enjoy any temperature above 75 degrees, but that won't keep me from riding. my love of riding outweighs my hatred of heat.

it also helps that summer mornings along chicago's lakefront (my daily commute route) tend to be cooler in general. afterwork when it's sticky gross summer BS, i just deal with it and remember to pay closer attention to my hydration.

webtwo

I don't like anything over 70, but will commute up to the high 90s.

tjspiel

It's gotten over 100 here maybe once since I started commuting regularly. I just take it easy and keep hydrated. A lot I think would depend on your particular commute. I don't have to go far out of my way to incorporate a swim if it came down to that. I stop by a beach in the mornings to get in a swim once or twice a week during the summer anyway.

I met a person back in college that claimed to not like temps over 70 but I thought he was just some sort of anomaly or was out and out lying. To me low to mid 80's and low humidity are about ideal. As long as the humidity is low I don't mind 90 degree weather either, but it's rare that it gets that warm without the humidity climbing up there too.

DallasSoxFan

Tires break down at 250 degrees.

imartin26

I am in AZ and ride 20 to 25 miles round trip depending on my route during the summer and it easily goes over 110, I bring lots of water and have always been fine.

scroca

As far as I know, it won't get too hot to ride. I think the hottest it ever got around here when I was commuting by bicycle was 105 with lots of humidity.

jeffpoulin

It depends on the humidity as much as the absolute temperature. When sweating is no longer sufficient to maintain one's body temperature, it's too hot. That can be 95 degrees with 95% humidity, or 115 degrees with 5% humidity. Personally, I draw the line around 95 degrees F, unless it's really humid, then it's more like 85 degrees.

SouthFLpix

No limit. I won't stop riding because it's hot.

Chris Pringle

I lived in Phoenix for 14 years and used to MTB after work. One summer evening temperatures reached 117F and I still went for my regular ride. It makes a huge difference when the sun has gone down and with a camelback full of ice and water. People at the office were quite horrified when they learned I was going for a ride. It's amazing how the body adapts with proper training and nutrition.

AdamDZ

I heard an opinion that physical activity in temps over ~98F, a normal human body temperature, is not safe, since your body's ability to dissipate excess heat on its own becomes severely limited, and you need to drink LOTS of liquids to aid your body. You really have to be on top of this to avoid heat stroke. I did commute in temps over 100F but I wouldn't go on a longer ride when it's that hot. I drank two full bottles of water during those days. I normally don't even drink one bottle in temps below 90F.

Although, I noticed that in NYC the humidity would drop significantly when temperatures cross over 100F. Those dry 105F days seem to be easier to deal with than 95F/95% days.

I think it's more about YOU knowing how to deal with it than your body actually adapting to it. I've seen people faint on bike rides in much lower temperatures because they had no idea how to deal with the heat and simply didn't drink enough water.

scroca

I think you may not realize that you get used to it. If not, with your parameters, you wouldn't be riding around here during most of the summer.

caloso

Hottest part of the day during a Sacramento summer is 5-6pm: commute time. I've ridden in 110F heat many times. Just keep the water going.

RichardGlover

The hotter it gets, the faster you need to ride so you have plenty of headwind to cool you down.

jeffpoulin

You only get used to it if it gets that hot routinely. It doesn't where I live.

Seattle Forrest

I wish I had that problem.

I'll ride my bike in any temperature that won't kill me. But I won't commute when it gets oppressively hot, maybe in the 95 F range, where I'll be sweating like a pig when I show up.

colleen c

Generally I don't like riding in the temperature range of 85-90 degree, but that does not mean I will not do my commute. We had days up to 100 in the past and I still rode only because heat wave here last anywhere from a day to several days. Then it's like a flip of a switch and we're back in the 60 early morning.

So how Hot is too Hot?
I say a 10 is hot and 0 is not, and anyone that's an 11 is too hot!

ItsJustMe

I've only ridden up to about 105*, but I was OK there. I actually kind of enjoyed it.

Chris Pringle

So true! My riding in 117F didn't happen out of the blue. I had been riding (training) throughout, so when temperatures started rising, it wasn't a big deal. My body was coping to those constantly hot temperatures. If you live in a place where temperatures are normally cool and one day it hits 100 or higher, it's not safe to go for a ride or practice any other outdoor activity. You simply haven't given your body enough time to get used to (adapt or cope) to those kind of hot temperatures.

Living in Phoenix, AZ you see how many tourists suffer from heatstroke on hikes near the city because their bodies are not used to that kind of heat and/or they underestimated the amount of water they needed. In the hot desert, at least a gallon of water per hour is the rule for cycling... again if you've given your body several days or weeks to cope with the temperatures.

robyr

It is 96 degrees here in upstate South Carolina... I'll be riding home just as I rode in this morning.

tarwheel 

I've ridden in temperatures as high as 105, but it was probably hotter on the pavement. I don't like riding in temps hotter than 90 F, but I wouldn't do much riding in the summer here if I drew the line there. I generally will still bike commute if the forecasted high is below 100 F. If it's supposed to get hotter than that, I'll drive. As others said, the humidity is what really makes the heat miserable. I have ridden on days in the mid-80s to low 90s that felt worse than 100 with low humidity.

Bud Bent

When it's August and 107 degrees in the afternoon here, I'll still be riding home from work(on my faired bike). For that matter, I'll still be doing occasional 200k randonneuring rides. And I'm an old f*rt. So what's the problem?

noisebeam

I think all of us here would have found Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on July 8, 2003 too hot to ride, even for a short distance.

I've done up to 30min rides in a heat index of ~135F plus full unfiltered sun and would not ride for longer time periods at similar levels.

Note that heat index assumes full shade and sun exposure can add up to 15F in apparent heat index. Places with low humidity tend to have the least cloud cover or haze to filter the sun.