Weather Riding: Summer Considerations

There seem to be two things that stop people from riding in the Summer, Heat and Rain.  Let us look at each of these for a bit.

Before we go farther, there is one fundamental that applies to both of these, and to most cycling challenges.  The rule is:  Don’t meet the challenge for the first time on an event.  In other words, seek out the conditions that challenge you.  Practice in them.  Learn to deal with them.  Do this in controlled and limited fashion, and you will be ready if (and when) you meet them in an event.

Heat Stress:  The problem is that the body generates heat.  It must be able to shed this heat, to cool.  There are two controlling variables.  How fast does the body generate excess heat, and how fast can the body shed this heat into the environment.  If we are making excess heat (from exercise) faster than we can dump it into our environment, then our core temperature will start to rise.

Humans generally have a core temperature of 98.6 degrees F.  An athletic human, in good physical condition, can tolerate a rise in core of one to two degrees without too much problem.  If this occurs, we feel hot and overheated, we sweat a lot, and we look for ways to cool down.  But if the core temp rises much above 100 degrees F, then we are heading for trouble.

With a rapid rise in core temp, the body starts kicking in some heavy defense mechanisms.  We really start to sweat.  We often feel nausea, and weakness, trembling, and even chills.  If relief is not found soon, we will be in serious trouble.  Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are no joke.

You will often hear experience cyclists give the advice,  “Ride inside yourself.”  This means, slow down and stay inside of your tolerance range.  Don’t let others push you to exceed your ranges.  But to be able to do this, one must be able to recognize the symptoms, and to take appropriate actions to remedy them.

Heat Tolerance Training:  Back in the Spring, I advocated the first part of this.  That is, ride as close to the heat of the day as you reasonably can.  Become accustomed to the heat slowly, as the season gets warmer.

Johan speaking.  I say wear all the heavy clothing when it gets warm.  Don’t be a weakling.  Hot is goot!

Be tough!

Eat horse!  You want to be fast?  Eat fast animal.  Eat horse.  It will make you strong and fast.

There is a second technique.  Go out and ride in the really hot parts of the day.  But do it in a controlled fashion.  The idea is, you go out for a one or two hour ride, in really high heat, and full sunlight.  Take it easy and slow.  Drink a lot.  Pour water through your helmet.  Don’t get too far from home.  If things are really starting to go wrong, you can bail, and try again another day.  (And by the way, use sunscreen!  Use LOTS of sunscreen.  It will keep you cooler.)

When you are able to tolerate riding for a couple of hours, increase your time.  Do so gradually, in half hour increments.  Build your knowledge of your body’s reactions to heat.  Learn what to do to stay inside that upper cooling limit.  In fairly short order, you will be able to start at around 11:00 A.M. and ride until 4:00 P.M. without undue stress.  At that point, you are ready to take on a full day ride in Summer conditions. 

Really, you don’t want to meet the unrelenting blast of a southern summer day, for the first time, on an event.  And by the way, pray for rain and clouds.

Rain Riding:  I am constantly amazed by the number of cyclists who tell me that they won’t ride in rain.  I can understand this if the temperature is low.  (I think the most miserable a person can be, is outside, in the rain, at 40 degrees F.)  I hear some fears expressed.  Fear is a powerful deterrent.  But it can be overcome with reason and knowledge.  The most common worries I hear are,  “Those skinny tires aren’t safe in rain,”  and,  “I’m afraid of lightening!”  Oddly, I seldom hear folks talk about the trouble with being visible in heavy rain.

Skinny (road bike) tires:  Let’s get real.  It is possible to hydroplane on a road bike, but one must hit deep water, at high speeds to accomplish this.  (six inches or more, and 50 mph or more!)  While it is possible to encouter more than six inches of water on our roads, I don’t see too many of you riding faster than 50 mph.  There are many reasons for the design of modern road bikes, but the most important reason for the shape and size of the thing is…  It works!  Those skinny, high pressure tires cut through rain, and really adhere to the the road.

There are risks of slipping in rain.  Larger tires won’t help.  Look for and avoid the following:  Road paint.  It’s often very slippery.  Don’t ride on lines, etc.  Sand and dirt washes.  If water is washing dirt down off of exposed ground, the slick it causes can be very slippery.  Avoid, or slow way down and ride straight through it.  Hidden obstacles.  Standing water can hide “wheel eater” potholes and other obstacles.  Don’t ride through it, or slow way down first.

A special word about flash floods.  Sometimes we get sudden, very heavy rains.  This can cause streams to rise and fast runoffs to occur.  If you see water flowing across the road, stop and walk.  Be extremely cautious.  A fast current of six to eight inch deep water can sweep a person off their feet and carry them away.  Don’t ride into flooding.

Lightening:  Admittedly, no one wants to be hit by lightening.  However, this is not a serious problem.  Honestly, have you ever heard of anyone being hit by lightening on a bicycle?  There are a couple of common sense things to avoid.  Don’t be the highest object around.  Stay off of ridgelines and other high places.  Don’t take shelter under the only tree around.  Tall, individual trees are lightening rods.  Stay out of large open areas.  (Golfers take note!)  And don’t carry and raise an umbrella.

Visibility (see and be seen):  A very real concern about rain riding is vision.  For obvious reasons we want to be seen.  It is also good to be able to see.  Being seen means being visible.  Wear bright clothing.  Carry reflective gear and wear it at the first hint of rain.  And mount and use a bright flashing rear light.  This last greatly increases your visibility to motorists.  Use it!

In cases of torrential rainfall, it’s probably best to just get off the road.  Let’s face it, you’re already soaked, getting run over won’t help.  Seriously heavy downpours usually last only a few minutes.  It’s best to get off the roadway for a few and let the intensity diminish.

Being able to see, on the other hand, is also pretty important.  Most of us wear sunglasses during the daytime.  I’d recommend a pair that has multiple lenses.  Switch to a clear lens when it’s raining.  Or carry a second pair of glasses with a clear lens.  Another great help is to have a cap with a bill on it.  Wear this under your helmet.  It won’t keep your head any drier, but it stops the downflow and a lot of the splash.  Your glasses stay clearer, and you can see better.  NOTE:  On hot days, I’d keep the cap in a jersey pocket.  You want your head open to airflow for cooling.  Put the cap on, under the helmet, after it starts to rain.

The Argument for rain riding:  This is where both of today’s topics come together.  In the Summer, it gets hot.  Rain cools you off.  It can actually be quite pleasant to be out in the rain on a warm Summer day.  I’m sure most of us did this as kids.  It’s still fun.

Just like hot weather riding, it’s best to start out by riding close to home, on short rides.  But do go out and try it.  The hardest part of a rain ride, is swinging your leg over the bike.