The Summer Heat

Even though the average temperature has been below normal, the humidity has be off the charts which means the heat index has been really high for a lot of my rides this month. You can start rides early or try and stay in the shade but it only helps a little. There is just no way you can avoid sweating your ass off in this weather so you just have to hydrate as much as you can and don't push too hard yourself if you want to ride in this weather. 

This past Saturday I lead a ride to Robling from Bordentown. I wanted a flat ride after last weeks hilly Round Valley ride. On early Saturday morning when I checked the list of registrants it was mostly my usually crew however when I got to the start of the ride I there were a few other people there, that registered right before the ride, that I don't normally ride with but knew they were fast riders. It was going to be a hot and humid ride so I didn't want to push the pace. Because of the possibility of rain later in the day I was hoping for cloudy skies but it was only partially cloudy so the sun was beating down on us. 

We made our way quickly through Bordentown and towards Robling. On Old York Rd there is a trail I take to get to Robling as it is the best way to get across 130 to the roads along the Delaware river. I was behind the group as I had to wait for a rider that had stopped for a few seconds for an adjustment. I jumped on the trail but the rest of the group sped ahead of me. I thought about dropping the who group but instead waited by the turn in the trail where they could see me and yelled at them to turn around. Everybody had the route on their GPS so not sure why they missed the turn. 

We continued on through Robling and down to Burlington City where we stopped for pictures by the Eagle and Burlington Bristol bridge which has become a tradition on this ride. From there we made our way out to quieter roads while detouring through a park and over a sidewalk just to keep things interesting. 

On this ride we usually stop at the Jacksonville Deli but I added a few extra miles so we could go to the Olde World Bakery which has a better bathroom and better food. It was still relativity sunny and ridiculously hot at the bakery. We stood around in the shade but I still felt over heated. 

I was still feeling okay as we rode bake towards Bordentown at a brisk pace. The group started stretching out as we moved along. We would stopped and regroup a couple of time at major intersections but most of the faster people were racing for home and I was starting to fade by mile 45. I had nothing left for the last few small hills on the way back. I wasn't cramping which I was amazed at given the heat and humidity but knew I would if I pushed it too hard. 

I was definitely dehydrated at the end of the ride. It wasn't that I did drink enough it's just that my body can not replace the water and electrolytes as fast as I was losing it. Still when I look at my average speed I came in at 15.7mph which is the fastest I have even done this ride. So I'm not getting slower I'm just riding with faster people who make me feel slow.