Hot weather riding tips

Discussion in 'Health' started by kioti, Jun 18, 2016.


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  1. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    I love riding when it's cool, but summer's here and that won't always be a choice. So how about sharing some hot weather riding tips that've worked for you?

    Here are some of mine:

    Acclimate- gradually get used to riding in hot conditions so your body can learn to deal with it.

    Elevate- ride at higher elevations as temps drop by over 3 degrees Fahrenheit per 1,000 foot gained.

    Beat the heat- start EARLY on hot days. Works especially well on rides with long climbs followed by long descents, such as out-and-backs up Harding or to the peak.

    Get frigid- partially filling your camelback and sticking it in the freezer overnight (or filling it with ice), then topping off with water before the ride with provide you with an ongoing source of cool to cold water to help reduce core temperature.

    Get "supped"- electrolyte supplementation before, during and after the ride with help stave off cramps.

    Lose weight- riding in a wetsuit of fat doesn't help your body stay cool. Ask me for a demonstration.

    Slow down- save the PR's for ideal days.

    Seek shade- one side of a trail might have more shade than another. Use that.

    Rest- better to take a break to let your body cool down than require rescue or worse.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, tbarnesarc and 10 others like this.
  2. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Reverse night rides into the dawn at the coolest time of the day.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, Cyclotourist and 6 others like this.
  3. knucklebuster

    knucklebuster Well-Known Member

    Location:
    34.2295° N, 117.2257° W
    Name:
    Dave
    Current Bike:
    Guerrilla Gravity Megatrail
    All good stuff jim and rossage. I'm a weenie with heat, esp as I've gotten older I don't tolerate it well, so when really hot, and/or humid, I just avoid it and virtual bike on web and post on forums, maybe take a garden hose to clean off the bike...

    If I do ride:
    I try to pick a route that the climbing is more in the shade, and may be likely to have a breeze. Even if the air temp isn't that hot, when I'm moving at 3.5mph and the sun is beating on you and the trail, it feels much hotter.

    Similar, I pick a ride where the climbs aren't so steep, so I can keep a little speed and make my own breeze. Or maybe a route where there is more up and down so you can cool off a little on the downs.

    Someone told me a towel around the neck helps, if you can douse it with cool water every now and then. Haven't tried that tho.

    I usually wear a light white long sleeve jersey. Keeps the sun off the skin, and once it gets soaked with sweat the evap cooling of the sleeves seems to feel a little cooler to me. You can always roll up the sleeves too.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, Cyclotourist and 6 others like this.
  4. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Great idea, kioti. Solid input, guys.


    Ditto on wear light-colored clothing. I was dismayed to see a pic of the rider that perished on the PCE wearing a black jersey. It's simple science, and it makes a difference.

    Ditto: Pre-hydrate generously. Not necessarily in amount, but give yourself over 24 hours to get really saturated. Same goes for nutrition in general; go out well fed.

    Carry a beacon. If you do get immobilized by leg cramps, you probably won't die of dehydration if you can get word to emergency services. A cel phone is not the right tool, although it makes a good supplement to a PLB.

    Supplement your water with sports drinks which contain electrolytes and sugar. Nausea can accompany heat issues, so being able to easily drink some calories can make a diff. I prefer ones like Powerade which contain B vitamins. I've used it mixed it with my water, but prefer to just tote a quart of it. Emergen-C works similarly without bringing extra liquid.

    Be extra vigilant about the condition of your bike. Wrenching is way easier in the shade of your shop than at a random location on the trail on a hot day. Bring requisite parts and tools to expeditiously get yourself going.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, Cyclotourist and 5 others like this.
  5. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Surf...

    You're welcome!
     
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  6. Small sips of water every at max 15 min intervals.
    Dose head with water
    Shorter rides at slower pace
    Don't max out your ride buddy as they might over heat and need air lift out of San Juan trying to keep up with the pace(happened to a friends group)
    If you can't go early, go late and hope for a breeze.

    I personally really enjoy the heat and a good sweat, but some of these canyons and climbs we have are nearly unserviveable past 100deg.

    If you are prone to heat stroke like my wife, just don't even try. Stay indoors or hit a pool.
     
  7. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    Just got back from STT/Luge. Took it slow and there was a nice breeze, so no problem. There was another guy out there who was going about my speed. We talked for awhile at the step-over. He was headed for the Luge and I threw in my little berm run (reverse direction STT on big switchback). I could of gone either way because I like the straight-ahead downhill speed of STT. But I thought, he doesn't even have a water bottle, so what if he gets in trouble? Sure enough, half way down the Luge he's stopped in the trail trying to get his rear wheel on. Wouldn't go because the brake pads closed. I suggested a credit card, and he had a money clip, so I held the bike and he separated the pads and put the wheel back in. Easy fix, but what if it'd been worse. Not much traffic out there midday today.

    So another suggestion.. watch out for others out there, whether you know them or not. We each made a new friend today.
     
    BeckTrex, Danmtchl, Mikie and 9 others like this.
  8. dstepper

    dstepper Member

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Dean Stepper
    Current Bike:
    2014 Turner Czar
    I know many try to beat the heat by early rides. When hot I mostly wait until late afternoons when that ocean air comes in. Especially at high attitudes, stay away when we have desert winds coming in from the east. But the normal afternoons cooling winds from the west up high mountain gets very nice and cool. Best part is riding the golden hour; the animals come out from the days heat, you get excellent sunsets and most all the other people have left the forest.

    Dean
     
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  9. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    Thanks for all the comments and great ideas! Here's some more thoughts:

    Be your own thermostat. Monitor yourself and take action to bring down your core temperature when it starts to rise.

    Another thing is situational awareness. @dustyyoungblood brings up a good point about hot canyons. Without a breeze they can be like ovens.

    And @dstepper brings up a good point about winds. They can be your friend, especially those cool winds off the ocean.

    It's equally important to stay alert on red flag days and have a plan B (like an exit plan), or choose another route. I haven't been on the (excellent) Chiquita trail for awhile, but last time I was there Lion Canyon looked like a tinder box and I vowed not to ride it on hot, windy (red flag) days. Acres of dry brush and uphill exits on both ends..
     
    BeckTrex, Danmtchl, Mikie and 2 others like this.
  10. dstepper

    dstepper Member

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Dean Stepper
    Current Bike:
    2014 Turner Czar
    All the above is great information. I can not tell you how many times I have started riding from home in Laguna at sunrise to beat the heat. Only to have my bike start complaining and threating to transform itself into a beach chair if I did not turn around.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, mike and 1 other person like this.
  11. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    Now if you could just get it to include a mister and umbrella..
     
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  12. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    I'm in the office of get an early start. For example, our nearly 7 hr ride yesterday was great for 5 - 5.5 hrs. Then it did get hot. Not unbearable hot....I have ridden in worse.

    I have also done the wait til late in the afternoon/evening to ride avoid the heat...for short 1-2 hr rides that is easy to do. Not so easy when planning a 5-8+ hour ride.

    We are all different....wired differently. Some of us really don't mind being out in the heat. I know as we descended down Blackstar at 12:00 we passed a handful of riders going up....and it felt like a blast furnace.

    Lots of sunscreen.

    Know what kind of heat you are dealing with. The heat this weekend is very dry. So while being uncomfortable, it is still pretty tolerable. Riding in heat like this when the humidity is high, can be a recipe for disaster, our bodies don't handle that well. We have a hard time regulating our internal temps.

    As long as you are still sweating, things are good.

    Lots of fluids....preferably before, during and after your ride.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, herzalot and 2 others like this.
  13. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    Wearing light colors is very helpful. I see so many guys wearing dark colors. We get lots of warm days here in socal , much of the clothing I choose is light colored specifically to stay cooler. I like full zippers too to dump heat! More recently I've been using a bandana type cloth to block the sun off my neck.
     
    Danmtchl, Mikie, kioti and 2 others like this.
  14. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    EXCUSE me? Did you get permission to do this? :eek: You are infringing on a TtB registered trademark. I am sure his lawyers will be contacting you very soon. :mad:

    It dayumn sure better match other articles of clothing at least... :cool:
     
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  15. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    UH oh, fashion police!?!?!?
     
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  16. jaime

    jaime Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Corona, ca
    Name:
    jaime
    Current Bike:
    '20 YT Jeffsy carbon 27'5
    Coconut water.. sometimes they are on special at the market...drink ome before you go riding and one ofter with lots of ice and you are good !!!
     
  17. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    I guess if you don't have any tips you just write about surfing, fashion or other stuff that has nothing to do with the topic.
     
    Danmtchl, mtnbikej and Mikie like this.
  18. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Not much I can add to this already well rounded list.
    1. I HATE :cautious::mad: Sunscreen lotions and potions. So for my arms and head I wear UV Sleeves and skull cap (like arm warmers but have a UV protective quality for the summer time) A lot of people ask me if they are hot. They are indeed not. If you are hydrating properly then once you start to sweat, they turn into evaporative cooling. I wear the same thing on my noggin' under my helmet called Halo's. They keep the sun beams through my helmet vents off my bald head and become a swamp cooler of evaporative cooling (without the swamp).
    2. Not popular here, but as well, I don't wear the dumb baggies. Sorry!:( They are too hot! I still wear lycra because it makes too much sense. I don't need pockets to carry my keys, I have a Camelbak to do that. I do throw on some baggies after the ride to carry my phone, keys, and wallet so I can look cool like the rest of yah... But it has never made sense to me why anyone would need pockets on their shorts when riding a bike. You guys got duped into thinking that's cool. <--- See what I did there? :sneaky: It's NOT cool! Ha hah! :laugh:
    3. I know this is going to sound macho or dumb, but the best thing I have done to prepare for riding in the heat is "Mental Preparedness". Racing XC at the State Series back in the 90's some of the races were during heat waves of 104 degrees. People were dropping like flies and getting medevac'd out in helicopters. I trained in the Antelope Valley/Mojave Desert and mentally prepared for it since there was no evading it. I have done well with heat ever since. Comes down to pace and mental tenacity.
     
    BeckTrex, herzalot, Luis and 5 others like this.
  19. evdog

    evdog iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    San diego
    Name:
    Evan S
    I've been using sun sleeves for a couple years now, and really like them. As Mikie said as the sweat from your arms evaporates through the fabric it has a nice cooling effect, much moreso than without wearing these. You can also dunk your arms in streams or spray water out of your camelbak on them.

    When temps aren't hot I don't tend to drink as much water as I should on rides. I can get away with it then, but not when it is hot out. I have to consciously stop and drink frequently, and consuming electrolytes is also a necessity. Lots of different options exist, and I have found Camelbak Elixir tabs work well for me.

    I definitely like the afternoon to evening ride as Dean mentioned. It's nice when your ride gets more pleasant rather than less. The lack of people out at that time of day and a nice sunset is what really makes it awesome.
     
    mike, Mikie and kioti like this.
  20. scan

    scan iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    fran allas
    Current Bike:
    Scott Spark
    Mikie likes this.
  21. kioti

    kioti iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    Jim Jennings
    Current Bike:
    ibis ripley
    herzalot likes this.
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


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