how do you cope with the heat

smeck

Likes Dirt
Settle dude, Armstrong trains in the heat but there get a point were it is too hot to ride/perform properly, its anatomical not mental when it get to that certain tempreture.....
It all depends on your definition of performance. Armstrong is racing in the heat and saying he cant perform properly, all that really means is that he's not going to be breaking any world records today becasue he has to ride a bit slower so as to not generate so much body heat. In order to win you must first finish, so going out hard and burning out is a bit pointless. But the only way to learn your limits is to give them a nudge, thats what training is all about. And while peak performance in the heat is anatomical, getting out in the jeat and having a go is mental. Unless your going after the world record its mental, and only mental.

Generating heat is central to all of this, if its hot you cant dissapate the heat as quickly as when its cold. Hence you sweat more and you feel hot. You offset that by drinking bucket loads of water, eating properly and regularly, and pacing yourself.

Without speaking for Ranga, I think his point was that you have to suck up the discomfort until you can get comfortable. You will never acclimatise sitting on the couch, you have to get out and work in the heat. There are a few tricks to hydration that have been well covered in this thread, but essentially you need to maximse you energy levels.

Thus you drink room temperature water so your body absorbs it quickly and doesn't waste energy heating it, and you sip regularly instead of gulping. You avoid sports drinks with high levels of sugart and caffiene, and you eat healthy food regularly. Wear suitable clothing and use shade where you find it. Time your rides and plan them around the breeze and the heat.

My point is just because its hot doesn't mean you cant go out for a ride, those of us in the tropics either learn to deal with it or get stuck indoors. Sweat is not the end of the world, and you get a great hit of endorphins after a long hot ride.
 
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RangaRMX

Likes Dirt
It all depends on your definition of performance. Armstrong is racing in the heat and saying he cant perform properly, all that really means is that he's not going to be breaking any world records today becasue he has to ride a bit slower so as to not generate so much body heat.

Without speaking for Ranga, I think his point was that you have to suck up the discomfort until you can get comfortable.... There are a few tricks to hydration that have been well covered in this thread, but essentially you need to maximse you energy levels.

Thus you drink room temperature water so your body absorbs it quickly and doesn't waste energy heating it, and you sip regularly instead of gulping. You avoid sports drinks with high levels of sugart and caffiene, and you eat healthy food regularly. Wear suitable clothing and use shade where you find it. Time your rides and plan them around the breeze and the heat.

My point is just because its hot doesn't mean you cant go out for a ride, though of us in the tropics either learn to deal with it or get stuck indoors. Sweat is not the end of the world, and you get a great hit of endorphins after a long hot ride.
That's exactly the point I was making, comparing Armstrong's comments to our predicament is in a totally different context, his being that he's a racer, us being people who just want a cool ride. He has no choice, he has to go as hard as he can if he wants to win, he has to keep up with people, some of them can probably handle the heat better hence the comment he made.. We can choose how hard we go and we can choose to sit down if it gets too hot..

Coming from a nutritional and physiological standpoint I was merely stating that if you want to be able to deal with the heat you've gotta suck it up, unless you're actually making yourself sick or feeling completely exhausted the next day, then riding in the heat and "toughening up" is all part of getting used to it. Hell I'm a relatively slim (85kg 6+ foot) guy so the heat really isn't a concern as I know my body quite well, less fit people or those carrying excess energy stores will suffer more, that's how our bodies work..

If you're storing energy via fat cells and you feel like you're failing in the heat then your body is probably trying to get more energy via breakdown of the fat, this breakdown cost quite a bit of initial energy, so it'll sap what you're already using to ride..thus you'll feel tired/sore sooner and probably even feel sick in the stomach. If you eat better and hydrate properly before and during a ride then you'll notice the symptoms alleviate and the dealing with the heat part will become much easier.

This means don't go and get stuffed on MacShit, or any fast food for that matter before, or even a day before you ride. Eat lots of fruit, drink lots of water (any temp before hand, cool/warm during a ride) and cereals, I can't stress this enough, good quality carbs will be the main thing that'll get you through without feeling overly drained...that's if the energy thing is even an issue. I personally don't have trouble anymore with the heat, but I'm a bastard to myself and don't care about how steep the hill is or how hot it is around me, if I don't get to the top without pushing then I've failed. Treat yourself to some kind abuse and you'll reap the rewards when it's just the average ride, in other words, when it's not hot, make yourself feel like it's 40 degrees, when it is hot you can go and ride and you'll feel more used to it. The rush and relaxation you get when you finally slump into a couch/chair/bath etc is unreal, as stated this is the endorphins rewarding you for some nice hard work:D
 

Red Peekay

Likes Dirt
Grab all your gear, relocate to B.C. Canada..... a lovely minus 5 out on my balcony at the moment, 'course the riding sucks here at the moment!
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
Wholly thread necro batman.

Saturday was my nominated ride day, just happened to be a stupidly hot day down here in Melbourne, officially 42c. My girlfriend (a doctor) was aghast when I told her I love riding on hot days. Always have. Maybe I should see a head doctor about this? (The joke is she's a psychiatrist, most amazing person, I'm so in love with)

I told her how I enjoy getting so hot when I do stop I get cold. Turns out this is the onset of heat stress. Stern words follow. Proves she loves me though.

So fearing the onset of Mountainous Bicycling Dependence Disorder https://www.singletracks.com/blog/u...ental-illness-find-out-now-if-you-are-insane/ (@14 days) I had to get out. Chatting to a friend in South Africa who races MTB marathons in 45c, I asked him how he does it. Turns out he was also once a military medic who witnessed people die in front of his own eyes with heat stroke, who had falsely believed drinking endless amounts of water was the answer ( to the point they would vomit ) His advice was to ride to a heart rate ceiling. Pick a comfortable output, 60% and do not exceed it.

So I'm out in what the BOM reported as 42c at 1pm, the wahoo reflkt+ called it an average of 44c with a peak of 50.9. Peak was from the minute or two I rode on the blacktop. So I'm trying to ride to a 160bpm ceiling, drinking heaps, had a straight water blend and a water/glucose/L-Glutamine blend, plus an emergency 700ml bottle in the bottle cage. Drank 3L inside 2 hrs. The onset of heat stress is obvious once you keep an eye on heart rate. Chills/shivers set in with an almost simultaneous 20-30bpm spike in HR. Only answer is to stop, drink, let the core body temp drop and get the HR back to 130 before setting off again. Takes three times longer for the HR to settle under these conditions.

Hope this helps someone. Seems I've pushed my luck for 20 years in the heat, something I will no longer do.

This is *not medical advice*. Pickle your own organs at your own risk.


 
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Kerplunk

Likes Bikes and Dirt
That's really interesting Link, I love riding in the heat and had the heat chills on the weekend to boot..
I rode the alpine classic road ride a fair few years back; 38 degrees, 200km with 4000m vertical.. I am surprised I didn't cark it.. Was a cramp fest but still better than riding in the cold..
 

stirk

Burner
A mate wanted to ride yesterday in 45°+ heat, I promptly told him to get fucked! Interesting to know you get chills when overheating.
 

Mr Crudley

Glock in your sock
A mate wanted to ride yesterday in 45°+ heat, I promptly told him to get fucked! Interesting to know you get chills when overheating.
He is keen or crazy. If I'm not back early then I wouldn't bother. Hot afternoon ridea can be hard to love too.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk
 

stirk

Burner
He is keen or crazy. If I'm not back early then I wouldn't bother. Hot afternoon ridea can be hard to love too.

Sent from my F5121 using Tapatalk
He hasn't ridden for well over 6 months but just put a deposit on a Norco optic so is excited to ride again!
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
That's really interesting Link, I love riding in the heat and had the heat chills on the weekend to boot..
I rode the alpine classic road ride a fair few years back; 38 degrees, 200km with 4000m vertical.. I am surprised I didn't cark it.. Was a cramp fest but still better than riding in the cold..
i'd been doing this for years, maybe there is a large zone of body temp where this occurs without any ill effects, but I'm no longer going to do it.

He hasn't ridden for well over 6 months but just put a deposit on a Norco optic so is excited to ride again!
now that is asking for some serious misadventure being 6 months off the bike and out in 45c
 

teK--

Eats Squid
A mate wanted to ride yesterday in 45°+ heat, I promptly told him to get fucked! Interesting to know you get chills when overheating.
When you get so hot that you get chills or you don't even sweat anymore that's when you know you're in trouble. I made that error once and nearly ended up in hospital.

It's those freak 40+ days like Saturday where you just gotta go out for a couple of hours at the crack of dawn, or call it a day off.

Or go to Buller like we did, where it was a nice breezy 26deg :cool:
 
Rode out west today at Ourimbah. It was hot, not 40 plus like yesterday but north of 35.

Climbed demetel, descended to the finish of the GE track and re ascending to 5 ways and I'm sure I saw the reaper lurking in the bushes.

Decided multiple descents of the GE track were off the menu for the day.
 
Z

Zaf

Guest
The main thing is to make sure you keep fluid levels high in heat, you need to be profusing your kidneys or you increase the risk of putting yourself into acute renal failure. We usually recommend, as a basic rule of thumb, to make sure you urinate clear twice a day, and in the circumstance of this exercise, ensure you pee clearly post-exercise at least once.

Then you have just basic heat management, I'll find that I don't try and redline the engine with efforts but hold a steady 80% pace for the ride's duration. This may not work as well in more tropical/humid climates, but out here in Alice Springs (with a drier heat) you can trust in your bodies cooling mechanisms, and I'll find if I stop along the ride, without wind passing over me it gets very hot, very quickly. Lighter clothing, both in colour and fabric weight help in this regard, losing the backpack was one of the better things I've done in recent history from a thermal management perspective.

Failing that, short energy bursts and seek shade in between and allow yourself to cool. Again, choose this with your terrain. I found when I was living in Wangaratta, during summer I would use that method more, as there was more readily available and usable shady areas on a ride (larger trees).

Another trick, if you're keeping it around the 30min mark for the ride, is get a Buff (can use a rolled up tea towel in a pinch), soak it and freeze it then throw it around your neck for the ride. Just take it off when it is not longer cool.
 

richie_gt

Likes Bikes and Dirt
As long as I'm moving I find the airflow keeps me cool enough - commuting to and from work the heat doesn't really bother me too much as I can keep the pace up! Climbing the MTB on the other hand, twice this summer I've had to really back off on the climbs to manage the heat!

I've been drinking water with a hydralite tab in it before I go for a ride in the heat if I can, I've found it's helped with not feeling so dehydrated post ride.
 
My frame won't allow a bidon ( that's a funny name, I'd a call em chuzzwazzas I woulda), so it's camel back for me. I like to drink lots so got a 3 litre version that I drank dry today in 2 hrs.

I seem to redline pretty easy, today was 9 bpm over my theoretical limit of 170. But I recover pretty quick and seem to be able to hold a high HR for long periods of time. But I may be one of those dudes who just goes pop one day.

I'm hoping a structured training programme mite let me power on without stressing my system too much. Reducing my body fat down from 20% would help too ( outright weight I'm not concerned about as I want to improve upper body strength for surfing).
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Rode out west today at Ourimbah. It was hot, not 40 plus like yesterday but north of 35.

Climbed demetel, descended to the finish of the GE track and re ascending to 5 ways and I'm sure I saw the reaper lurking in the bushes.

Decided multiple descents of the GE track were off the menu for the day.
While this is one of my favoured ride locations, fuck me! That place always feels like a host trap.

The heat is a great time for shuttles if you are going for ride. Each lap you can punch down a shit tin of h2o and drop the heart rate. I mainly ride trails that I push and leave water at the top (and bottom if I have enough). Slam down, push up, drink, lay under trees, talk shit, drop trail...I'm also partial to dirt jumps in the heat for a similar reason. If I wasn't afraid of dying on the ride up (~7km climb on old pacific highway) I'd probably have a lash this arvo.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
I cannot ride anything above 30 degrees, even in shade for more than 2 hours. Simply impossible for me. I've tried and tried but always ends up with excruciating headaches even with craploads of hydration and pre-and post hydration. I am a really sweaty guy.

I am wondering if those ice vest thingy's work at all for bike riding. Thinking of loading my my camelbak with pure ice next ride to see it can bring my core temp down a bit.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
I cannot ride anything above 30 degrees, even in shade for more than 2 hours. Simply impossible for me. I've tried and tried but always ends up with excruciating headaches even with craploads of hydration and pre-and post hydration. I am a really sweaty guy.

I am wondering if those ice vest thingy's work at all for bike riding. Thinking of loading my my camelbak with pure ice next ride to see it can bring my core temp down a bit.
Get yourself some of those ice jocks.
 
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