While the summer months are the best time to get outside and ride, cycling in the heat can be hard on the body—especially for the first few weeks of summer as you adapt.
Here, we’re sharing seven easy ways to improve your hot weather cycling so you’re ready for anything, whether that’s a group ride with some buddies on the weekend or an upcoming inGamba trip in Tuscany.
Change your wardrobe
The obvious swap to make in the summer is to go as light as possible when it comes to your cycling kit. Look for materials billed as ‘ultralight’, but be careful to check for UV ratings on those ultra-light jerseys. Often, they won’t provide much sun protection (remember that Team Sky incident?), so you’ll need to wear sunscreen underneath if you’re on a long ride. In fact, if you do burn easily, you may want to add white lightweight arm warmers to keep the sun off of your arms for longer days in the saddle, especially if you’re not a big fan of jersey tan lines.
Plan more stops
If you’re doing longer rides in the heat, you’ll need to refill bottles more often. Even in cool weather, you should aim to drink around one bottle of water along with some electrolytes and carbohydrates, and as temperatures rise, so will your thirst levels. That means when you plan a route, you need to look for each water refill stops—and don’t skip them. It’s better to top off water bottles even if you’re only half empty rather than running low.
Add electrolytes to your water
There’s nothing more refreshing than a sip of cold water on a hot day. While an old cyclist trick used to be freezing an entire water bottle, this can leave you parched while you wait for the ice to melt. Instead, simply pack your bottle with a lot of ice cubes, or fill it a third of the way with water or sports drink by Enervit and freeze that, adding cold water on top before you leave the house. If you’re in a truly hot area, look for insulated cycling water bottles in plastic or stainless steel that have double-walls for better insulation. This will keep your water cold for much longer.
inGamba’s founder João Correia spoke with NPR about cyclists getting creative to deal with the heat during the Tour de France. You can listen to it here.
Overheating? Add ice or water.
A common in-race trick is to douse yourself with water to cool off, or to toss a stocking filled with ice down the back of your jersey. This trick can be helpful if you find yourself on a blisteringly hot ride as well. The next time you reach a rest area or gas station, douse your head and neck with cold water or grab a handful of ice cubes to stuff down your jersey to get some temporary relief from the heat.
Ride early or late
If you’re trying to do a long ride or a hard ride with intervals, your best bet in summer months is to start your ride earlier in the day or later in the day. Try to avoid the midday sun as much as possible, especially when you’re going to be out for hours or doing hard efforts. A threshold workout is a lot easier on your body at 7AM when it’s 65 degrees compared to at 11AM when the sun is blazing and the temperatures are above 90. Similarly, if you can do the first two or three hours of your long ride in more moderate temperatures, you won’t be as wiped out when it does start to heat up.
Be smart
Some rides may simply need to be cut short due to heat, especially early in the summer season when your body hasn’t yet adapted to the higher temperatures. Riding in the heat gets easier the more you do it, so don’t panic if the first few hot rides feel hard and you’re unable to hit your usual power targets.
