When it’s going to be extremely hot, the simplest way to beat it is to beat it out the door. Roll out early, and you can finish your ride before the day turns brutal.
The hottest part of the day usually falls between noon and 3 p.m. It isn’t just the air temperature, either. Radiant heat from the sun is strongest in the afternoon, so you’re getting cooked from above at the same time the thermometer peaks. A ride that feels hard at 1 p.m. can feel easy at 7 a.m., even on the same route at the same effort.
That’s why the old racer’s trick is to move your start time by a couple of hours rather than tough it out. If you’d normally leave at 9, leave at 7. On a really hot day, a dawn start can get you home before the worst of it arrives. The general guideline is to ride before about 10 a.m. or after about 5 p.m., but the earlier you can go, the more heat you dodge.
An early start pays off in other ways too. The roads are quieter, the light is better, and you’ll often see wildlife that disappears once the day heats up. You’ll also start the ride with your body already rested and cool, instead of stepping out into an oven.
If your schedule won’t allow a morning ride, flip it to the evening. Waiting until after 5 or 6 p.m. lets the sun drop and the pavement start giving back its heat. It’s not quite as good as the morning, when everything has cooled overnight, but it beats the middle of the afternoon by a wide margin.
The bottom line: on hot days, the clock is a free tool. Move your start time earlier and you can ride the same miles in far more comfort. Readers, do you do this in the summer already or have a different approach you like to use to beat the heat?
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