keeping cool on afternoon commutes

asterope said:

alright, so ive properly started commuting to work every day (because my scooter got a puncture and i cant be bothered getting it fixed) and the past two days have been ridiculously hot for riding... i know that 28 degrees is not that bad and its only going to get worse as summer comes along, so the question i put to you all now is...

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

Slog it out for the first week or so. Your body will adapt.....painfully.

There is nothing worse than sitting at a traffic light with the sun belting down. I hate it with a passion.

asterope said:

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the
day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on
myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

Just keep drinking water. You drink => it becomes perspiration =>
perspiration keeps you cool. Unless it's humid, in which case all bets
are off anyway.

--
My Usenet From: address now expires after two weeks. If you email me, and
the mail bounces, try changing the bit before the "@ to usenet".

asterope said:

alright, so ive properly started commuting to work every day (because my scooter got a puncture and i cant be bothered getting it fixed) and the past two days have been ridiculously hot for riding... i know that 28 degrees is not that bad and its only going to get worse as summer comes along, so the question i put to you all now is...

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

Don't pour it on you...drink it. Staying hydrated is the best thing...and don't ride too hard. Take it easy until you acclimatise to the heat.

Walrus said:

Don't pour it on you...drink it. Staying hydrated is the best thing...and don't ride too hard. Take it easy until you acclimatise to the heat.

Not forgetting, if you start to feel like [censored], ie: getting a headache, feeling dizzy, completely disorientated or agitated, dry skin with no sweat etc, please stop riding immediately and seek assistance! I've stupidly ignored these symptoms before, and resumed consciousness in a strange place, attached to IV drip. 🙁

asterope said:

alright, so ive properly started commuting to work every day (because my
scooter got a puncture and i cant be bothered getting it fixed) and the
past two days have been ridiculously hot for riding... i know that 28
degrees is not that bad and its only going to get worse as summer comes
along, so the question i put to you all now is...

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the
day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on
myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

A legionnaires-cap type flap on the back of your helmet to shade the
back of your head and neck, a peak on the front (I sacrificed an old cap
and used velcro to attach it to the helmet).

I also make use of one of those cotton sausage scarves filled with
water-retaining gel. They help to cool the neck in the heat.

Moike

Stuart Lamble said:

asterope said:

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the
day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on
myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

Just keep drinking water. You drink => it becomes perspiration =>
perspiration keeps you cool.

Up to a point this is good advice, *except* that if you drink too much,
you can make yourself very sick (and even, in extreme cases, die). I'm
not sure of amount, but it's suprisingly little that your body can
actually absorb before you start to have salt issues. Hyponatremia is
the term, and it's real.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

It's not likely on a short commute though... but things like the Alpine
etc, that's another story.

I limit myself to no more than 2 biddons an hour (~1.5litres) with some
salts (I use staminade, it has magnesium in it as well as sodium and
potassium) and anymore than that gets poured over me, and then
evaporates, bypassing the chance to leech salt out of my blood.

Walrus said:

Don't pour it on you...drink it. Staying hydrated is the best thing...and don't ride too hard. Take it easy until you acclimatise to the heat.

Pouring some through your helmet vents while on the move works for me when it's really hot, it doesn't need to be a whole heap. So much heat gets radiated out through your head. Try it out Asterope, then keep your HR constant and watch your power output go up on that SRM powermeter you've got 🙂

cfsmtb said:

Walrus said:

Don't pour it on you...drink it. Staying hydrated is the best
thing...and don't ride too hard. Take it easy until you acclimatise to
the heat.

Not forgetting, if you start to feel like [censored], ie: getting a headache,
feeling dizzy, completely disorientated or agitated, dry skin with no
sweat etc, please stop riding immediately and seek assistance! I've
stupidly ignored these symptoms before, and resumed consciousness in a
strange place, attached to IV drip. 🙁

yep, very good advice. I had this myself a couple of years ago, but
didn't end up with heat stroke, just heat exhaustion (still had a trip
to A&E in an ambulance though ...)

http://www.aboc.com.au/tips-and-hints/training-in-hot-weather/

That's a little out of date, but the symptoms & signs are still the
same.

Carefully plan your rides, so that you end up in a swimming pool.
:-)

Donga

In aus.bicycle on 22 Nov 2006 21:53:43 -0800

Donga said:

Carefully plan your rides, so that you end up in a swimming pool.
:-)

What, you saying she should become a triathlete?

Zebee

Walrus said:

Don't pour it on you...drink it. Staying hydrated is the best
thing...and don't ride too hard. Take it easy until you acclimatise to
the heat.

However if you judiciously keep pouring water on you, to keep cool you sweat
less. Thus you lose less water and avoid dehydration. On top of that you
don't sweat out your eloctrolytes, with all the risks that entails. Keep
your shirt permanently wet on a hot day and ride easy - then you'll arrive
home feeling better. This is a bit hard if you commute in work clothes
(casual, not a suit!) as I do - after 10kms on a hot day I just tear of the
shirt, throw it in the wash and douse myself with the hose.

--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

Peter Signorini said:

However if you judiciously keep pouring water on you, to keep cool you sweat
less. Thus you lose less water and avoid dehydration.

Hey, it worked for Flandis, right???!!!

Now, where do I put these patches... Hmmm - do I have to shave first??

Cheers,
Abby

In article <[email hidden]>,

asterope said:

alright, so ive properly started commuting to work every day (because my
scooter got a puncture and i cant be bothered getting it fixed) and the
past two days have been ridiculously hot for riding... i know that 28
degrees is not that bad and its only going to get worse as summer comes
along, so the question i put to you all now is...

December is already summer.

Quoted message said:

How does one keep cool when commuting during the hottest part of the
day? i feel bad about pouring the contents of my water bottle on
myself, id rather it go on my vege garden, but if its the only way...

Ride slower, drop a few gears, take it easy, stay well hydrated, avoid
sunburn (this will really get you burning).
--

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bleve said:

Up to a point this is good advice, *except* that if you drink too much,
you can make yourself very sick (and even, in extreme cases, die). I'm
not sure of amount, but it's suprisingly little that your body can
actually absorb before you start to have salt issues. Hyponatremia is
the term, and it's real.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

It's not likely on a short commute though... but things like the Alpine
etc, that's another story.

I limit myself to no more than 2 biddons an hour (~1.5litres) with some
salts (I use staminade, it has magnesium in it as well as sodium and
potassium) and anymore than that gets poured over me, and then
evaporates, bypassing the chance to leech salt out of my blood.

Very true entity.

On longer rides, it makes sense to have one bottle with those salty
water and the other just plain water. The longer the ride, the more salt
replacement is required. So it's worthwhile to regulate accordingly.
--

Zebee Johnstone said:

In aus.bicycle on 22 Nov 2006 21:53:43 -0800

Donga said:

Carefully plan your rides, so that you end up in a swimming pool.
:-)

What, you saying she should become a triathlete?

Zebee

Hehehe. My mum said if I couldn't think of something nice to say, say
nothing.
;-)
Donga

Zebee Johnstone said:

In aus.bicycle on 22 Nov 2006 21:53:43 -0800

Donga said:

Carefully plan your rides, so that you end up in a swimming pool.
:-)

What, you saying she should become a triathlete?

Zebee

Donga would have to be the second person to suggest that to me today... i love the bike bit, like the swim bit but im not at all keen on the running bit... neither are my knees. plus i totally suck at all 3... I think i'll pass.

put some gatorade in my bidon today for a change and found it made alot of difference during and especially after my commute to work. felt much less worn out when i got there. coming home after midnight and having the entire road to myself was awesome as usual 😄 I may have to figure out a way to put a second bottle on my frame so i can have one for salty drinks and one for water/head-vent-water-cooling-system 😄

thanks for all the suggestions 😄

In aus.bicycle on Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:40:46 +1100

Ray said:

Quoted message said:

I also have a personal aversion to any temperature near or above body
temperature, especially as you will have to stop at times and cooling
becomes essentially non existent.

Haven't had to do it yet, no doubt it's coming.

When I used to commute in such temps I found lots of stopping and
resting in the shade helped.

Was a right pain that going home was all uphill!

Zebee

On 2006-11-23, Absent Husband (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

Peter Signorini said:

However if you judiciously keep pouring water on you, to keep cool you sweat
less. Thus you lose less water and avoid dehydration.

Hey, it worked for Flandis, right???!!!

Yeah, but so did having a team car with 70 bidons of water.

I want a team car.

Quoted message said:

Now, where do I put these patches... Hmmm - do I have to shave first??

You don't *have* to. I'm sure some people are *into* that kind of thing!

--
TimC
An optimist thinks we are living in the best of all possible worlds. A
pessimist fears this is true. --unknown

On 2006-11-23, Zebee Johnstone (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

In aus.bicycle on Fri, 24 Nov 2006 07:40:46 +1100

Ray said:

Quoted message said:

I also have a personal aversion to any temperature near or above body
temperature, especially as you will have to stop at times and cooling
becomes essentially non existent.

Haven't had to do it yet, no doubt it's coming.

When I used to commute in such temps I found lots of stopping and
resting in the shade helped.

Was a right pain that going home was all uphill!

Both ways! In the snow! No wait, that doesn't work here, does it?

I suspect my oxygen intake would be somewhat diminished if I rode
today -- a bit smokey around. I didn't even know there was a fire in
Kaputar until one of the NPWS guys in the pub lastnight said he was
down in Lithgow, then got called back up to fight these ones. It's
been blazing for weeks already.

--
TimC
"The application did not fail successfully because of an error"