Anyone suffer in the heat?

I generally find that as long as I get out while it's still cool, then it doesn't bother me how warm the temperature gets up to. I acclimatise as I'm riding.

If I try to start after it gets above 25, then I suffer. Humidity affects me far more than the heat though. I'm better in a dry 30 degrees than a humid 23.

I suffered a wee bit today. Actually stopped half way. Had a drink and a banana. A wee bit warm here 25c and 10mph breeze. Did 37 miles today 2hrs 22 mins. Being up in years is a slight disadvantage. Or Old 67 

Not particularly looking forward to my commute home tonight.  18kmh headwind all the way, 28c! 

I have the  aforementioned Halo headband, it keeps the sweat out of my eyes but it doesn't breathe so it boils my head. I now use the Castelli one which breathes better.

Used to put a couple of dabs of vaseline on the eyebrows to stop sweat getting in the eyes when rowing, no reason it shouldn't work when cycling.

having moved to a country where it is hot a lot of the time and 30degs is n't unusual for a lot of the year (but not now - some bits of Aus' do have a winter)  here is my input

Head "Halo" brand skull cap has some sort of rubber ridge on forehead stops sweat dripping

Upper - long sleeve top (Ground Effect Rock lobster) with high neck, craft mesh vest underneath

(believe me wearing a mesh vest helps wick away the sweat)

Chamois Cream

Bottles - Camelback do a "super" insulated (called 4x ?) podium bottle,  spare Hydrolyte tablets in pocket     Sunscreen of course but we have a whole in the ozone layer and it shows  

Fighting the heat is best compared to fighting a headwind - you are not going to win just relax and reduce the effort put in - the nearer you get to body heat  the harder body has to work to keep cool so working hard to get a PB isn't a good idea unless you have someone to send back to get fresh bidons and icepacks  (plan ahead where to fill up if possible and don't miss an opportunity) 

PS - beer shortage in UK WTF is that  

Early morning ride today, but still with sunscreen on. I don’t put it above my eyes, but do have a peak on the helmet to stop my forehead burning. Lots of water/electrolyte. Main issues have been saddle soreness , which started off at a hot XC race. Since then I use chamois cream every ride, but still not back to normal.

My performance plummets off a cliff as the temp gets above 20+ degrees, though humidity is a big factor as I raced with some success in South Africa. I occasionally ride or race in late 20's over here in NZ. I'm normally not fast up a hill, but in those temps I resemble a tortoise on the hills. I do have to drink heaps in hot weather and make sure some of that has electrolytes in it to avoid hyponatraemia

Is there any views on how much the heat reduces your power?  I went for a ride on Tues, in around 30c.  I was surprised to find my speed up a couple of long 'sustained power' climbs was lower than previously despite my HR being higher.

I wear a buff under my helmet in the sahariane style (lay it flat on your head, pick up the top layer and take it from the front of your head to the back).  This leaves a tail at the back to help protect from the sun and I find really helps with dealing with some of the sweat.

It is so painful when the super concentrated salty sweat gets in your eyes.

I'm only a leisure rider, get out and about and enjoy the scenery, but the heat still slows me down, expecially when there are slightly hillier bits.

I don't mind cycling in hot temps but my head sweats like mad so I give it a short back and slap with a 4 all over during the hot months.

Recall my first ever tour, N.France '90, 10 days c.700 miles, it never dropped below 80F on any day and for the most part was around 90F. I do remember in my general figuring out I'd spent not too much less on fluids as I did on the hotel rooms. Drinks could be quite expensive in local shops so I did buy milk quite a bit and necked that back first off but rooms/food were cheap as chips back then!

On my penultimate day I went from Dreux into Paris (via Palace of Versailles) and then out to Beauvais, a nice little 105 miler. I'd not intended to but coincidentally arrived in Paris on the final day of the tour so thought I'd take the chance of seeing it in the flesh on the Champs Elysees, got chatting with a couple of locals and they were saying it was ridiculously hot that summer. One gauge I saw said 104F but big cities tend to add a bit anyways. 

I'm not sure I could cycle in that heat for that long/distance these days but then I was a lot more svelte/athletic back then and an extra 28 years doesn't help.

Still, I much prefer cycling when it's cold if I had to choose of the extremes.

Good thread this. 

I agree with some of the comments about early morning rides....by far the best idea and some of my fondest memories of my cycling days way back when. 

6.00 am 15 miles before work....lovely.

There must be a word for that special type of thirst you get when you reach down and find that you have left the water bottle where you have just come from.

I learnt what heatstroke feels like when I was training on a local loop over several hours last year. I started early on a cloudless day so temperatures were constantly rising.

Everything was going well, I was fed and watered and keeping consistent times and then.... pop. It felt like my head and face had swelled up - sort of like the feeling when holding your breath, and a mental fogginess crept in. My output just fell off a cliff. Because it was such a drastic transition, I was in no doubt that something other than regular fatigue was going on. I bailed out and went home.

Later in the year, the same sort of feeling came on, but I was able to dowse myself off under a tap immediately, quickly felt better, and was able to continue as before.

An ice-filled stocking behind the neck also worked very well, keeping me going when temperatures were even higher.

I tend to find that as long as I'm hydrated sufficiently, I don't really feel the effects of the heat that much - maybe that's because I'm in Cumbria, and we're probably a few degrees cooler than the rest of the country. It's still in the high 20's though. The commute is interesting as it's about 10-15 degrees hotter in the afternoon than when I set off at 6am, so wardrobe choices are a little tricky, especially if I don't want my jersey pockets overflowing with warmers etc.

I always wear a casquette under the helmet, a very thin one just to keep the sweat from running down my head. I have a dedicated hot weather one (Giro) for the really hot days, which weighs nothing and wicks quite well, although the cotton ones can be quite cooling when drenched in sweat!

I still slap on the sunscreen though - not sure those above advocating leaving it alone would get much agreement from the medical profession! Don't forget, most skin damage isn't visible, it's an accumulation over years, and won't necessarily result from being sunburnt. I've long since forgone the easy tan lines in favour of the peace of mind that smearing on the factor 30 gives.

Agree about the water issue, yesterday afternoon I might as well have popped a tea bag in there! I would pop it in the fridge before I set off from work, but I'm guaranteed to forget it in my rush to get out of the office. Warm water is horrible, but better than reaching down to find the bottle cage empty!

I usually do a 22 mile commute home so I don't find it too bad. Even so, my water bottle got really warm yesterday, but to be honest I found the head-wind more of an issue than the heat.

Prevention is better than cure - the smartest move is to get out really early doors, as early as 0600 or even before. That way if a col or other big climb is on the slate you can get the brunt of the work out the way while it's still cool. By contrast if you wait around for a leisurely 0900-0930 start you'll be tearing up the hills as the heat nears the zenith.

Main issue for me is concentrated sweat running into my eyes. Hotter the better otherwise, unless its windy. In full summer gear though, and have been since April.

Never been one for suntan lotion whilst riding but being a southerner I've pretty much got a permatan year-round. Just don't seem to get sunburnt whilst riding.

This is like riding in France; beyond lunchtime it's too hot.  Did Ventoux a few years ago in July and, even starting early, it was still pretty warm.  After dossing around at the summit, when we descended it was 'as hot as hell' and people were just setting off on the climb.  The one thing that puts me off the Etape; having to do an HC climb in the afternoon heat after a monster ride.

I don't know about performance, I find the sweat misting my glasses and stinging my eyes is enough incentive to take it easy in these temperatures.

Early morning rides are the way to go at this time of year, it was lovely and sunny but cool riding into work earlier. I'm racing tomorrow evening, it will be hot so I expect to look like this:

@StraelGuy surely no need for SPF after about 3 or 4pm? All it will do is clog up the pores. I'm a ginger and even I won't burn after about 4pm in midsummer.

Was going to go out last night but it was 30C so didn't bother. Got a bit sun toasted on a ride on Saturday so will be slapping on the SPF before I go out tonight when it's only predicted to be 26C...

Once I begin to overheat, performance drops off. 

This time of year just ride in the nice weather @ zone2/3

Love this weather, for longish rides I find it a good idea to freeze half a bidon of water and top up with just before going out. Proper long rides will see a full frozen bidon. Warm water is disgusting.

Still riding with 3/4 bibs and Gabba over jersey. Might get the shorts out for the weekend.

A little, I struggle to get PR's when the temperature gets above 25 degrees.

31 degrees where I am today. I set off and realised it was probably a bit silly on my own.  It was mid day though.