When is It too hot to go cycling?

[Julia9054]

Did a 350m climb in 35 degrees this morning here in France. Nearly threw up at the top. Spent the afternoon sitting in the river like a middle aged hippo.
Love French mountains even when it is unwise! Worth it for the views

 

[Anonymous1502]

Uphill?
Downhill? (never too hot).
Flat?
Heavy bike?
Light bike?
Fit?
Unfit?
Young?
Old?
Acclimatised to hot weather?
Unacclimatised?

As usual, there is no right or wrong answer to your question.

Young Beginner cyclist not used to warm weather my bike weight is 9kg

 

[Ridgeway]

Managing your body temperature is critical. I find that my HR is always slightly higher for the same effort in high temps and if i push it then it takes a lot of recovery to get it down, much more than usual and hence i tend to ride well within my limits when it's hot (say above 30º). Also avoiding the sun on the back of your neck and head (especially if you follically challenged like me) is really important so sun creme and some head covering is required.

If you get some form of heat exhaustion (i've had it twice over the years) then it's really really tough going and not matter how little effort you put in your HR is super high and no matter how much fuel of water you take on board it never seems enough..... the first occasion i had to phone a friend and the second time i managed to limp back very carefully and very slowly.

Early mornings avoid pretty all of this and it's how i usually get around this in high summer but be careful as after 10am things can get pretty hot and quickly.....

 

[Julia9054]

As the OP is young, I would echo the above post and say please wear sun cream. It is when you are young that the damage is done. The actual damage shows up much later

 

[Ridgeway]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5giWfpANMac

 

[Ming the Merciless]

When the mad dogs have gone inside

 

[Julia9054]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5giWfpANMac

Released 10 years too late for me . .

 

[Drago]

It was too hot today. 30°C is my limit. The bigger you are, the less surface area you have in relation to your volume, the harder it is to shed excess heat. I'm a big laddie, and I'm not risking illness, injury or worse going for a ride in this.

 

[Anonymous1502]

It was too hot today. 30°C is my limit. The bigger you are, the less surface area you have in relation to your volume, the harder it is to shed excess heat. I'm a big laddie, and I'm not risking illness, injury or worse going for a ride in this.

I haven’t been cycling for the past 2 days because it is very hot outside and I don’t want to risk fainting as I have fainted in the past.

 

[All uphill]

Top tip, you can take refuge in the cool shade behind churches. Because of their orientation the back of the church is on the North. Most churches also have a cold water tap somewhere for an impromptu soaking.

That knowledge has saved me from sunstroke a few times.

 

[slowmotion]

When you start feeling slightly dizzy.

 

[Donger]

I actually find that going for a gentle, flattish ride in a heatwave is one of the few ways to cool down. Today's ride was a case in point, when every time we stopped I instantly started to sweat, and every time we rolled on I had a gentle, cool breeze through my cycle helmet. It was like creating my own air conditioning. If I'd been sat around at home I would have been uncomfortable, but on a gentle bike ride it was great. I wouldn't even think of sprinting or climbing, though.

 

[lane]

I avoid cycling on the hottest days in the UK. I wouldn't particularly enjoy it and there aren't many so it still leaves me lots of other days to go cycling. Although, I would say the weather is really very good right now with no wind at all which would be a bonus because this summer seems to have been a lot of strong winds which I also find a bit of a pain. I don't mind cycling in the dark at all but can't really be bothered to start a ride this late today.

If I could be bothered I bet I would enjoy it though.

 

[Drago]

It's so hot I told my butler that he could wear shorts today.

 

[oldkit]

Last Friday was almost sheer bliss for me, except there was far too stiff a breeze.
I keep saying I need to move somewhere 'Ot.

Today was cooler than I like, just for the record we had two heavy short showers of rain this morning which p..d
me off completely.
Generally for me the hotter it gets the happier I am and the further I go! although I accept that a lot of folk don't like it.