It’s Hot! Be Careful!

I have a personal love affair with warm weather.  I love Summer.  Many of you share that sentiment, and many of you prefer the colder times.  The thing is, all of us love riding and fitness, and that means we have to deal with all the conditions.  It’s not news that we’ve been going through a real hot spell.  I expect there will be more to come.  So let us just take a moment to discuss some strategies for coping with the heat while we exercise.

First and foremost  Stay Hydrated!!

It’s difficult to believe how fast one loses moisture at temperatures above 90 degrees F.  Drink!  Carry water with you.  Carry more water with you.  (Jersey pockets work to carry extra bottles.  Drink them first, then go for the ones on your frame.  Drink when you are not on the bike too!  And remember when it's hot, even warm water tastes good.

Tips for avoiding heat exhaustion and heat injuries:

• Exercise early in the day, or in the evening after the heat has passed.
• Use sunscreen!  Your skin is your primary cooling system, and it shuts down as it starts to burn!
• Moderate!  Don’t try to work as hard in the heat.  Be measured and paced.
• Get wet!  Use water to drink, and splash some through your helmet.  The helmet’s ventilation will result in a lot of evaporative cooling!
• Always know how far you are from water.
• When you are down to your last bottle of water, your only concern is getting to water.  (At high temps you have less than ten minutes from your last drink to severe dehydration!)
• Know when to stop and cool down.

Heat Stress Symptoms:

• Light headed
• Sudden “fluttery” weakness in working muscles
• Clammy skin
• Headache
• Nausea
• Flushed features (red faced)
• Sweating stops!

If you experience these in combination, especially that last one, you must cease exercising, get to a cool place and cool down, and rehydrate, immediately.  Heat injuries and heat exhaustion are serious.  Once the body’s temperature regulation systems are overloaded the core temp starts to rise.  If it rises far enough, irreversible brain damage can occur.  Heat can kill you.

Be wise.  Be prudent.  Be smart.  Stay wet.  And have fun out there.

STILL AHEAD:

Pedal for Pets

Yes!  Southside Cycling Club is putting on their first annual organized ride.  The venue will be in Senoia, GA, and it will go on 14 July.  There will be three distance options, 35 miles, 65 miles, and 100 miles.

I’m particularly excited about this one.  I’ve been working hard to develop the courses, and I must say these are some of the nicest, sweetest roads I’ve been on.

For more info, and to register, click Here http://www.southsidecycling.com/p4p/index.php

August (date to be determined)

Trip to the mountains.  We’ll be going up to ride the famous “South Triple Gap Loop.”  We’ll be using the “original” route, with the start and finish points in the center of Dahlonega.  53 miles, over 5,000 feet of gain.  Who’s in?

Be sure to check out tomorrow’s post.  It’s the next in new three year long series on developing as a cyclist.