High-temperatures can considerably endanger our health, but should not always discourage biking, provided that we take some precautions. You may not know all of the following.
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How to enjoy riding a bike when it’s really hot, remaining fit
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- Measure the danger level of the heat
- Avoid breathing ozone
- Plan in advance
- Protect yourself
- Get moisty or wet
- Don’t push too hard on the pedals
- Rehydration is paramount
- Ebike motors and battery suffer excessive heat too
- Tires don’t like excessive heat either
Measure the danger level of the heat
How hot is too hot? Our body has got a normal temperature of 36 to 37° C, depending on the individual and the situations. When we bike, a flow of air hits our clothes and skin. Even if it’s quite hot, say 34°C, this air refreshes our body, and biking is much healthier than driving a car, unless the latter has air conditioning. Nevertheless, should the external temperature exceed 37°, the flow of air would heat our body when riding, becoming quite dangerous. That’s why Bedouins in the desert, riding camels, are always well clothed, never bare chested.
Avoid breathing ozone
If it’s hot and sunny, we should better avoid biking close to dense car traffic. Indeed exhaust pipe gases, high temperatures and sun produce ozone in quantities that worldwide doctors deem harmful for our lungs and our health. Should that be the case, we would rather soon experience sore throat and headache, because ozone is highly inflammatory. It’s much better biking in a forest, in the country, or crossing a park if we have to ride in the city.
Plan in advance
Whether it’s a daylong tour or shopping in the city, or even a short escape, prefer morning hours. Evenings are better, although sometimes scorching heat stays even after the sunset. Also, if you would rather not drink warm water, freeze your water bottles before leaving. Nevertheless, don’t exaggerate, because drinking ice cold beverages when we are really hot can even cause heart attacks or congestions. Plan ahead where you can find fountains or cold drinks on your itinerary, and don’t forget to drink enough and in advance, for instance before a steep long climb.
Protect yourself
Quite surprisingly, black and dark clothes protect from harmful sunrays (we are thinking about sunburns and even skin cancers) better than white and clear ones. That’s because white is shiny, rejecting the seven different color radiation frequencies that compose the light. Think about the reflective power of the snow, that can tan us very quickly. On the contrary, black retains all those radiations, thus better protecting our skin, although it does become warmer than white. Especially our head should be always protected, overheating it is unpleasant and unhealthy. Moreover, sunburns give a sense of fatigue and increase metabolism, which accelerates dehydration.
Chris Froome, the winner of the 2013 Tour de France, suffered a serious sunburn in the back because of a training. Probably the new clothing kit supplied to Team Sky, which had been praised for its great lightness, did not adequately protect him.
Get moisty or wet
Nothing is more refreshing than rinsing one’s hand in cold water after riding in the scorching heat. Generally, humidity on our skin helps to prevent unwanted effects of biking in hot temperatures.
Don’t push too hard on the pedals
Our body is a bit like a car engine: the faster it turns, the more it heats up, and you don’t want to get a heat stroke.
Rehydration is paramount
Speed can cause air to dry out your sweat, so you can be deceived into thinking that you’re not sweating, whereas your sweating a lot. In this case, even 10 L a day can be barely sufficient.
Ebike motors and battery suffer excessive heat too
As for batteries, excessive heat affects performance and range. The more energy the battery has too provide for your motor, the more it will heat up. Overheating can even damage batteries. As soon as we notice a diminution of our battery performance, we should better let it rest for some minutes. Some batteries stop working automatically as they exceed a certain temperature. Others stop working for good.
Electric motors don’t heat up nearly as much as internal combustion engines. Nevertheless, overheating can seriously damage them, and how badly!
Tires don’t like excessive heat
Because they get punctured more easily, since asphalt temperature can exceed 75°C when it’s scorching hot. Also, the air in the tires is dilated by the heat, increasing the pressure up to 15%. So, reckon that when you inflate them. Moreover, a hot asphalt, trailer or gravel wears tires faster.
