rsbob 

As I have reached, er…maturity (debated by spouse) I have found myself more susceptible to heat and the effects of dehydration. What I have found so far:

Loss of power when 90+ F
When severely dehydrated: susceptibility to vertigo
Possible cause of kidney stones - not peeing for hours and not drinking enough
Battle to keep sweat out of my eyes even with hi-tech headband

Any other brave souls out there want to share?

Iride01 

Back circa 2010 when I was just getting back into riding often and for fitness I wasn't very good at my hydration. I'd just drink when it was convenient. So on just a short 22 mile ride during a week of 95°F temps, I found myself going up a long hill with no shade till the top. Half way up I noticed chills running up my back. I knew that meant I was getting heat exhaustion and could be near heat stroke. Making the wrong decision I decided to keep going for that shade at the top. Upon reaching it and stopping, I passed out and rolled down the embankment. I came to just as I finished rolling and sat there in the shade for a time.

I was thankful it wasn't any worse as I would have been missed by any passing by since I was fully off the road. From that time on, I started taking hydration seriously and seldom go longer than 10 minutes between gulps on the bottle. I've seldom have had a similar issue since. Even when riding in 100°F temps.

Although last year on a charity ride I stayed with a big group. We rode in a very tight paceline and not being use to that I was apprehensive about grabbing a bottle and sometimes probably went 20 minutes between gulps. So before the end of the ride I was out of power but had way to much left in my bottles. I also had a little bit of overheating because I kept my leg warmers on too long. So both things had me being dropped during the last 5 miles of just a 63 mile ride.

Is this brave enough for you?

wolfchild

I make sure to drink enough to prevent dehydration and I also pace myself and avoid high intensity craziness when it's hot.

Litho dbh

Here's my story. I was doing a summer bike packing fishing trip up Deschutes River in Oregon. It was a 20 mile ride to the end of trail. I didn't want to carry any water, I'd filter river water once I got to camp. It was 108 degrees, as I discovered later. It took 2 hours to get to camp and get some water. I drank my fill, but felt woozy. I pissed dark yellow for several days and felt like sick for about 3 days. But the fishing was good. I carry water now.

CAT7RDR

Two cases of heat exhaustion for me.

One in my early 20's playing outdoor basketball for a few hours in 90F+ heat required an ER visit after collapsing, vomiting and not being able to keep fluids down. It took 3 bags of IV fluid to rehydrate me then discharged.

Second time two years ago on a 60 miles 7K of climb ride on a hot muggy day. At least I had the good luck to collapse under a shaded water fountain and did not have to go to the ER.

The loss of power climbing a 2 mile long hill that averaged 4-8% and barely being able to manage 5 mph was a huge indicator I was in trouble.
I soldiered on and made the top but collapsed from muscle spasms and fainted briefly falling into some ivy.

Only 88F here today in the San Gabriel Valley of SoCal but I will wait and ride tomorrow when it is forecasted to be 75F to play it safe.
I'm 59 y/o and still learning that I am limited with heat and humidity and climbing.

seypat

HotterNHell 100 in 2021. The route is around 101-102 miles. Couldn't get cool at the SAGs past the 70 mile mark. Taking in plenty of fluids. Yaked at the 85 or 90 SAG. Sat at the 95ish SAG for a while. Took off for the last stretch. Yaked again at 99 and started getting dizzy. Gave up and called the broom wagen before it became serious.

Fredo76

Our 12-year-old Great Dane Raina felt so good laying out in the sun after an illness that she stayed until she couldn't get up. We helped carry her hind end as she staggered back to our house and plopped down on a cool floor. Ice water to drink and a wet towel brought her back after awhile.

I was one of four scouts in our troop to hike out and call Search and Rescue for help after most people were out of water, stuck on a ridge route in May in the Arizona sun. One boy with an irrational dislike of me changed his mind after that. Our Scoutmaster was extremely embarrassed. I had only a few swallows of water left as we took minute-long swigs at a drinking fountain at a kid's camp we reached and made the call from.

In some cycling magazine way back, they profiled four top pros of the era and one of the questions was 'Preferred racing weather', and all replied 'Hot'. As a racer in Tucson at the time, my thought was: "Yeah? How hot?" But I've had more heat stress just pottering around in my retirement than I remember from years ago, and take it seriously now. It's not just kidney stones, it's kidney damage and failure you can get with repeated exposure and dehydration.

indyfabz

Then, like the gel thread, you have nothing worthwhile to add.

Iride01 

Oh, to answer one of your questions, usually I know I didn't hydrate adequately if I feel unusually tired and wanting to go to sleep after the ride or any other activity. Like I did the day before yesterday when I mowed the grass. 1 hr 20 min behind a self propelled mower in moderate temps and too stubborn to stop and get a bottle of water. It was all I could do that evening to stay up till my proper bedtime.

I had the same tired worn out feeling after the two events I described earlier in the thread. Usually no matter far the ride I always feel great and ready for another 30 or 40 miles with just a short rest.

Lombard

While I don't usually agree with wolfchild , I have to agree with him here. Drinking enough liquid to stay hydrated is fairly easy and so is pacing oneself. As a general rule, when it's hot enough to get heat exhaustion, I ride in the morning and finish before noon to avoid the hottest part of the day. I also choose routes that have more tree cover. I used to have a problem with sweat in my eyes until I started always wearing a skull cap regardless.

Heat exhaustion is to be taken seriously. I once was leading a ride where at the end, this woman was getting chills.

indyfabz

Those of us who ride in hot and humid places with long distances between services know that optimal hydration isn’t always possible. 🤦‍♂️

That aside, the thread asked for stories, not statements like “I don’t get dehydrated.” Very much like the gel thread asked for alternatives to a discontinued product, not pronouncements like “I don’t use gels.”

Do you really not see what’s going on?

jaxgtr

Back in 2007\2008-ish, I was heading out on a long ride in late Aug. As is the norm for Florida in Aug, it was stupid hot and humid, and I mean stupid humid, at least 95%, once the sun comes up, it generally burns off a little and drops to about 75%, but not that day, it stayed up there and the temps were in the upper 80's by 9 am. I had already put in about 45 miles as I was heading back home. I had taken a camelbak pack as the route I took did not have a water source if I needed more liquid. Unfortunately, do to the heat and humidity, I found myself drinking so much more water than I normally would since it was coming out of the camelbak and I had no way to measure the amounts as I did not take bottles with me to use as a measuring tool. That was a stupid move on my part. That pack held somewhere in the hood of 120 oz. Another stupid move was since I did not generally use this as anything more than a water source, I forgot to add electrolytes to it, so as I was sweating massively, I was losing all my electrolytes and not replacing them fast enough with the gels and stuff I was eating. About 60 miles in, I started cramping bad and any little incline started giving me a massive muscle spasms in my thighs, and I ended up re-routing my ride back to eliminate bridges and any inclines no matter how slight, which added about 4 addition miles. I could barely get my foot out of my pedals without having spasms.

That was the last time that happened to me as it was a massive learning experience. Drinking too much is just as bad as not drinking enough, making sure any liquid I have has some sort of electrolytes in them, especially in the summer.

I generally don't ride outside if the humidity is going to be excessively high all day, but I failed to follow my rules that day and I paid massively for doing that. I never start a ride after a certain hour in the late spring through summer due to the potential or excessive heat and humidity. This where a trainer comes in very handy these days.

jon c. 

I'm okay riding when it's 95. It's landscaping work that has seen me collapse a couple times.

beng1

In 1997 I did a hilly 42 mile road-race in the summer with only the one bottle of water fitted into the cage on my downtube. It did not work well. After the race I bought two Camelbacks to use in the race the following year but I never did that race again because they pissed me off with some rule changes. The two new Camelbacks are still sitting in a closet upstairs, never used 26 years later.

Troul 

Sweat in eyes, ugh. Usually at the worst moment too
Finding an organic bathroom to replenish the plant life when riding thru cities. Ends up causing kidney problems.

big john

A few years ago I joined an 80+ mile loop ride through the mountains with 8000ish feet of climbing. It was hot early and got over 100 during the ride. The first part is rollers for 20 miles before the climbing really starts. I was able to stay with the group so I didn't want to stop for water before we went into the mountains. This was really dumb because I need more water than most people I ride with and I had to ration my water until finally getting to a place to refill.

I got terrible nausea and felt like crap and there was a ton of climbing ahead. A lady gave me a pill of some kind for my stomach and I think that made it worse and I had trouble drinking water and couldn't eat. I struggled to finish the climbing and there was a 25 mile descent to the finish with 2 small climbs at the bottom. By the time I got to my car I was having trouble thinking and felt very sick. I wanted to change clothes and I was parked 100 yards? from the bathroom. I'd take a few steps and felt like I was going to hurl and I didn't want to do that in front of the people playing at the park, so I'd take a few steps and stop.

Finally got back to the car and wanted to get something but I was in no condition to be driving but I knew there was a 7-11 a few blocks away and when I got there there was a banner saying "Big Gulp 99 cents" I wobbled into the store and filled a cup with ice and Coke and couldn't figure out why the cap was too small. Finally realized I had a Super Big Gulp and located the correct cap and made it to the cashier. "$1.35". What? I thought a Big Gulp was 99 cents. Took a minute to remember I had a Super Big Gulp. I had coins but didn't want to try and count it so I just put my hand out with the paper money and let the clerk take what she wanted.

I was 11 pounds lighter when I got home and I did the same ride a few weeks later and a friend supported it and I had a great time.

rsbob 

Was at mile 125 of a 150 miler with 9,500’ climbing on a hot summer day and ended up with massive leg cramps due to dehydration. Had to get off the bike several times to stretch. A woman supporting another rider stopped her car to check on me and gave me a banana and pickle juice, but I was so far gone that I could only ride 5 miles at a time at 15 MPH (the pacelines were flying past me a 20+) before having to stop to stretch and scream in frustration. Had a really good until the leg cramps took me down. Also happened on a century a few year before with temps in the mid-80s.

Now on warm days if I really push hard, I used to get leg cramps in the evening or when in bed. Now I slug down pickle juice and take a magnesium pill and no more cramps.

Random11

I've never felt bad as a result of dehydration, but I know I get dehydrated because I'll often weigh myself before and after a ride. I take water and drink and don't feel thirsty, but I've lost as much as 4 pounds on a 20 mile ride. That's half a gallon. Today, I was one pound lighter than when I started. My take on this is that you can be dehydrated without really feeling dehydrated.

tomato coupe

I guess you showed them.

big john

I weigh myself before and after rides in hot weather, at least I used to, and I typically come home 5 or 6 pounds lighter. On hot climbing rides I cannot drink enough to keep up. The ride in my other post I was 11 pounds lighter and felt really bad.

When I was working I could drink 200 ounces on a hot day. If I drank a lot less it would contribute to fatigue and by Friday I would be wiped out.

Iride01 

When I started riding for fitness before I learned my lessons about hydration, I would be 5 to 6 pounds lighter at the end of a hour or two of riding. Now even after three hours of riding I pretty much only differ by less than a pound. Though I don't check very often any more.

Even in the moderate temps I've been riding in this week, I still drink about 24 fluid ounces of my hydration mix every 50 minutes. My mix is mostly maltodextrin with a little bit of sugar or stevia to take the edge off along with a very tiny amount of electrolytes and kool-aid powder to give some flavor and color.

bargo68 

I think this is really important. Beginning hydrating the night before a long(ish) ride in high temps/humidity can greatly reduce the chance of any health issues on the bike. It's possible to start in a hydration 'deficit' and wind up in trouble. Happened to me a couple times and I take measures to not repeat the experience.

Inusuit

I took a 30 mile ride on 85 degree day. Effects of dehydration didn't hit until I was at a dinner meeting 4-5 hours later. I became very thirsty and disoriented, almost like being drunk. I should have arranged for a ride home because I didn't recognize landmarks or know where I was on the 10 mile drive. Fortunately I live in rural area so there was not much traffic.

Steel Charlie

As I was lying just off the roadway, hoping that I would be able eventually get up, I wondered if someone were to happen to stop would they try to help or just take the bike

Wildwood 

. HaHaHaHa! We are Seattle, 90°+ might stop us riding - what? 4 or 5 days in a typical year. Maybe 6.



Sorry, not meaning to detract from heat probs. Just not an issue for year-round Seattle-ites. Still waiting for a 60° here on little Cougar Mt. - been 5 months, coming this week.....hopefully.


edit: East of the Cascades is our best mid-late Spring riding. Hot in summer over there.