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The heat is on full-blast. Are you riding?


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6 hours ago, natas1321 said:

The texas heat and humidity don't bother me I just have to remember to stay hydrated and I'm good. I grew up with the cold (canada) and don't miss it and actually like our summers here.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk
 

Opposite here. Spent many, many years in tejas and the western usa and now currently eyeballing vancouver island.

 

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7 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

Opposite here. Spent many, many years in tejas and the western usa and now currently eyeballing vancouver island.

 

Loved the island, spent some time there. While they say 290 days of sunshine a year, I'll take the under on that bet. 

Great food, especially if you love authentic Asian food. And Tim Horton's.

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Used a Dakine Hot Laps 2L last night and that was a lot better than a camelback for Walnut Creek and shorter rides. Also infinitely better than the flip belt that I was using before to hold my phone and keys because zipper is way better than anything else for making you feel secure. After the first lap I realized that the water bottle on a waist pack is a bad idea. The pack itself is great, but the water bottle made the whole thing less stable and heavier. That is staying on the bike.

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1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

After the first lap I realized that the water bottle on a waist pack is a bad idea. The pack itself is great, but the water bottle made the whole thing less stable and heavier. That is staying on the bike.

I didn't often use it to hold a water bottle and when I did, it was for a third bottle. I'd use a smaller bottle, maybe something with an electrolyte mix.

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On 4/30/2021 at 10:01 AM, Mattlikesbikes said:

Sadly, I cannot fit a bottle in my frame so the single bottle Dakine is going on the shelf for the summer. This ghetto two bottle hiking thing will have to work..

 

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Rode 2.5 hours yesterday and the two bottles were great. The minimal storage was a bit of a problem, so will look for ways to store my little pump and battery for my helmet light. 

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18 hours ago, natas1321 said:

The texas heat and humidity don't bother me I just have to remember to stay hydrated and I'm good. I grew up with the cold (canada) and don't miss it and actually like our summers here.

Sent from my moto g(7) supra using Tapatalk
 

This! 100% I grew up in San Antonio and spent summers working on my grandfather's dairy farm in south Texas so I'm used to the heat. Back in my early 20s I spent a winter in Winnipeg with family and oh my holy f*** never again. So now whenever I'm out riding in the summer and it's 100+ degrees and humid, I just think back to when I was up there and it was -30. It literally did not get above freezing for like 2 months straight.

I will take the very hot summer/mild winter over the very cold winter/mild summer every day.

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I grew up in the north with long, cold winters. but I've been living in Texas (with a three year diversion in Georgia, which is also hot and humid) for over 15 years. while I'd rather live here and deal with the heat than months of sub-freezing temps and snow, July – September (sometimes June – October) make me want to curl up and die rather than face the heat. I don't know how humans do this without just hibernating in air conditioned spaces. I just don't ride my bike very much at all during that time and get my own form of Seasonal Affective Disorder where I crave a atmosphere that does not complete drain every drop of moisture out of my body within ten minutes. I might need to find a way to fill a Camelback with saline solution and just mainline it into my arm. I'd consider moving if the right job became available to me in some place with a moderate climate.

 

Is this a genetic thing? I'm searching through my family history and I can't get past Pennsylvania residents into the 1700s on my mom's side (probably all Celts), but my dad's side is all Germans and Danes.

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I might finally be satisfied with my gear carrying setup now though. I have eliminated the backpack with the following:

  • Osprey Seral 4 holds 1.5 liters of water, phone, multitool, a few other random bits. I can strap the headlamp battery to it as well
  • small Lezyne pump strapped to the seat tube with a Twofish Block
  • second water bottle on top of the downtube
  • storage bottle in the under-bike cage contains tire stuff: 27.5" tube (smaller than a 29" tube and still works), spare valve, tiny bottle of sealant, CO2 inflator, tire lever, tire plugs and applicator.
Edited by mack_turtle
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This is me at the end of the second day in a row at Motorsports Ranch Houston (Angleton). Over 105 both days, and a LOT of laps in full leathers, etc. I was DONE, and hoped I never saw another trackday. That changed as soon as I cooled down but it was miserable. One day wasn't so bad. That look says screw Texas and its heat. Of course the humidity south of Houston was a lot worse than here in the Austin area.

image.png.7835d86df1a35e01259dc9499130aaba.png

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36 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I grew up in the north with long, cold winters. but I've been living in Texas (with a three year diversion in Georgia, which is also hot and humid) for over 15 years. while I'd rather live here and deal with the heat than months of sub-freezing temps and snow, July – September (sometimes June – October) make me want to curl up and die rather than face the heat. I don't know how humans do this without just hibernating in air conditioned spaces. I just don't ride my bike very much at all during that time and get my own form of Seasonal Affective Disorder where I crave a atmosphere that does not complete drain every drop of moisture out of my body within ten minutes. I might need to find a way to fill a Camelback with saline solution and just mainline it into my arm. I'd consider moving if the right job became available to me in some place with a moderate climate.

 

Is this a genetic thing? I'm searching through my family history and I can't get past Pennsylvania residents into the 1700s on my mom's side (probably all Celts), but my dad's side is all Germans and Danes.

I think a lot of where you grow up matters. As I said, I was working summers on a farm in south Texas when I was younger. If you think riding a mountain bike for a couple hours in summer heat and humidity is hot and sticky, try post holing fence lines, milking cows, and baling hay all day long 6 days a week all summer. As long as you do it every day, you get used to it. If you only do it once every couple weeks and spend the rest of your time in the AC, then you aren't acclimated and it's going to suck.

I still do noon lunch rides in August and it's no big deal. Just need to hydrate.

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2 minutes ago, quixoft said:

 If you think riding a mountain bike for a couple hours in summer heat and humidity is hot and sticky, try post holing fence lines and baling hay all day long 6 days a week all summer. As long as you do it every day, you get used to it. If you only do it once every couple weeks and spend the rest of your time in the AC, then you aren't acclimated and it's going to suck.

this is why my career as an electrician ended after barely six months. 10-hour days, six days a week inside a building with no AC (let alone air movement), carrying heavy tools in boots and a hard hat, standing on ladders most of the time. I would have preferred to work outdoors and enjoyed the short two week assignment when I did. I carried a gallon jug of water with me everywhere and emptied it before noon, then downed small bottle after bottle of water and eletrolyte mix until the end of the day. then I'd go home and refill my giant jug and drain it, go to bed early and not sleep because I was lying in a puddle of my own sweat all night. I could not drink enough water to keep up with that level of sweat and it got worse, mentally and physically, to maintain a basic will to stay alive, so I quit. I wish there was a magic formula for acclimating to that, but I never found it.

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7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

this is why my career as an electrician ended after barely six months. 10-hour days, six days a week inside a building with no AC (let alone air movement), carrying heavy tools in boots and a hard hat, standing on ladders most of the time. I would have preferred to work outdoors and enjoyed the short two week assignment when I did. I carried a gallon jug of water with me everywhere and emptied it before noon, then downed small bottle after bottle of water and eletrolyte mix until the end of the day. then I'd go home and refill my giant jug and drain it, go to bed early and not sleep because I was lying in a puddle of my own sweat all night. I could not drink enough water to keep up with that level of sweat and it got worse, mentally and physically, to maintain a basic will to stay alive, so I quit. I wish there was a magic formula for acclimating to that, but I never found it.

Well working on my grandpa's farm definitely made me want to go to college and get an office job because it did suck. Made me appreciate our farmers and ranchers that put food in our grocery stores that much more. Also taught me about hard work and all that mumbo jumbo nonsense! lol!

Edited by quixoft
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It takes me 2 weeks of at least 4-5 days of outdoor activity per week to get acclimated to the heat.  Full acclimatization for me means not only the heat doesn't feel terrible, but also I conserve water/electrolytes better.   One year I did an experiment wherein I weighed myself after every hour of riding in the neighborhood.   I lost the bulk of water in the first hour, after that the loss slowed down quite a bit.

It's funny @mack_turtle mentions SAD for the summer.  I have a buddy that believes this is true and it affects him.  It affects me too.  Those first rainy days after a long summer totally get me pumped up and feeling more positive.

I'm sure genetics (maybe epi-genetics) have something to do with it too.  Even acclimatized I sweat more, period.  I have no northern European ancestry of any consequence so I don't think that has much to do with it.

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6 minutes ago, quixoft said:

Well working on my grandpa's farm definitely made me want to go to college and get an office job because it did suck. Made me appreciate our farmers and ranchers that put food in our grocery stores that much more. Also taught me about hard work and all that mumbo jumbo nonsense! lol!

Those guys that lay asphalt, do roofs, or work in attics in the summer (insulation, electrical, plumbing) also have my appreciation.

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25 minutes ago, TheX said:

This is me at the end of the second day in a row at Motorsports Ranch Houston (Angleton). Over 105 both days, and a LOT of laps in full leathers, etc. I was DONE, and hoped I never saw another trackday. That changed as soon as I cooled down but it was miserable. One day wasn't so bad. That look says screw Texas and its heat. Of course the humidity south of Houston was a lot worse than here in the Austin area.

image.png.7835d86df1a35e01259dc9499130aaba.png

Towards the end of my racing career, I made my own coolsuit pump and bought a cool shirt.  It was super nice!  I always wondered how the motorcycle guys in leathers dealt with it.

Prior to racing 1:1 cars, I raced 1:8 RC cars.  Two days on an asphalt parking lot.  4 days for national races.  It was miserable.

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1 minute ago, AntonioGG said:

 I always wondered how the motorcycle guys in leathers dealt with it.

Long pants and long sleeve underarmor is a godsend both to stay cool and to get the damn leathers on and off. Oh, and dunking your head into your cooler full of ice and beer in between sessions helps a ton. Keep your head nice and cool helps out a lot.

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Grew up in SE Houston, San Antonio and the Mojave Desert. Then traveled for work all over the western US with time in Florida and DC area. Very familliar with all forms of heat. Humidity can go F itself. Forever.

Winter in the rockies is nothing like winter in the midwest flatlandia hellscape. That can go F itself too.

I can say it was much easier for me to get dehydrated in the desert than here. Used to ride in NM with single digit humidity and zero sweat. All you knew was your giant hydration pack was out of water. Here, you sweat as soon as you walk outside.

It'd be really tough to make do with a small fanny pack in the desert. 

 

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If I had to choose between Manitoba and Texas I'd choose Texas. -30 can F right off. I'm still going to complain about the heat here for at least 6 months of the year. 40 years and I haven't acclimated yet. Someday I'm either going to own a pool or I'm going to rage quit Texas and move. Most likely on a day in September when its 100+.

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21 minutes ago, taco_junkie said:

If I had to choose between Manitoba and Texas I'd choose Texas. -30 can F right off. I'm still going to complain about the heat here for at least 6 months of the year. 40 years and I haven't acclimated yet. Someday I'm either going to own a pool or I'm going to rage quit Texas and move. Most likely on a day in September when its 100+.

I don't love the heat, but I used to love the cold.  Then something clicked in me on a Christmas visiting my parents in Grand Rapids, MI.  4ft of lake effect snow in 24 hours and my dad's snowblower was broken.  It isn't as much the cold that I hate as much as the constant snow clearing.  A "quick" trip to the grocery store is anything but quick when you have to clear the driveway, the snow banks from the plows, brush the snow off (F people that drive without clearing the snow off their cars), go into the store, come back out to snow + ice on the windshield.  When it gets really cold like in Chicago and Canada, the square tires and needing engine block heaters plus fuel additives.  No thanks!

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10 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Go west my friends

Lol! I can barely afford Austin now. West is much more expensive not to mention much higher taxes! All my bike and hockey money would go to just housing and taxes! I have thought about getting a second house somewhere like Montana or Idaho for summer and spending half the year there and half the year here in Austin.

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