The heat

[rjb]

Some of the rural roads near us have huge potholes now. The tar has melted and passing traffic has sucked it out depositing it in lumps further along.

[gbnz]

Have to admit I'm giving a 30 mile stretch of the Dales a miss at present. Passed through on Wednesday, roads are now pure tar, tar sticking to the tyres, made the mistake of getting off the bike at one stage (Clods of tar sticking to the SPD's shoes). Could have been worse, a neighbour wrecked his hall carpet - "tar" footprints for a good 10' length.

And saw my first winter gritter out yesterday, though I thought the huge snow plough on the front was a bit OTT

[Cyril Haearn]

I really hate the hot weather, anything above 20°C but I do not suffer so much now, have learnt a bit, do not plan 100 km rides until October
But I do sometimes find it hard to eat enough, some days I have porridge for breakfast, just a couple of sandwiches later
I fear I am not getting enough vitamins and often feel weak
What is the best way to eat enough when it is so hot?

[gaz]

Commute home early this evening. Driver with car's fog lights on .

[Mick F]

A mate of mine was fined £60 for having his fog lights on. That was some years ago, so the fine could be much higher these days.
HC code states that you MUST NOT use them unless the visibility is seriously poor.
Rule 236

[Vorpal]

I've never been a hot weather person. I'd much rather 20 than 30, but that said, I was once more acclimated to it. When I lived in the Midwestern USA, most summers there had some period with temperatures in the mid 30s C (upper 90s F). The last few years I lived there, I played in a regular pick up game of football one night per week after work. We were playing in 36.6 degrees (98 F) weather. Someone from the local parks department was moving sprinklers around and set one to spray on the football pitch, so we carried on playing in the sprinkler water. It was good fun

Now, I get fed up with the heat, cycling in 30 C.

[Vorpal]

1. Switch off the aircon in the car and open the windows.

Driving the car is the problem

Once the car is moving, it's probably more fuel efficient to run the aircon and keep the windows closed. When I was at uni, I took a course in aerodynamics, and I calculated the drag penalty of open windows in cars for several models (less aerodynamic then, than they are now), and with two windows completely open, the losses were almost 3 times that of an aircon system (at 'highway' speed). The windows only had to be open a few inches to equal the loss, and increased quickly thereafter (it's not a linear relationship). I used the couple of different average speeds. I think I used 'city' and 'highway' as used for fuel consumption estimates, but I don't remember the difference it made in my calculations.

[PDQ Mobile]

I really hate the hot weather, anything above 20°C but I do not suffer so much now, have learnt a bit, do not plan 100 km rides until October
But I do sometimes find it hard to eat enough, some days I have porridge for breakfast, just a couple of sandwiches later
I fear I am not getting enough vitamins and often feel weak
What is the best way to eat enough when it is so hot?

In hot weather one needs less food.
With the obvious rider (no pun intended) that long distance cycling, or physical effort,needs substantial calorie intake.
More liquids are maybe what you need. You should drink litres of water (or tea!) every day when it is so hot and that's without cycling or labouring. Not replacing lost salt can also cause fatigue.

[Cyril Haearn]

A lot of animals are nocturnal, they sleep during the day
Maybe one could try that in summer when it is so hot

[Mistik-ka]

I think it's called a "siesta".

[Cyril Haearn]

It is going to get even hotter

I am lucky, can stay home a lot, have plenty to read

I predict that some animals will hibernate in summer (and in winter?), the smart ones, many birds, migrate instead

Winter will be along soon enough, I can still remember when there was so much snow I did not cycle for two months

[fausto copy]

We've had pretty remarkable warm and dry weather here in Pembrokeshire for the last six weeks or so, but I've been spouting off my annual prediction that as soon as the kids break up from school, it'll start raining.

True to form, it's been a damp, dreary and drizzly day today, the first day of the kids "summer" holiday.

Mind you, I think any of them that actually ventured out to play were probably more comfortable with the maximum 22 degree temperature here, rather than the 30 plus being touted on the national news.

fausto.

[Cyril Haearn]

Been consuming a couple of things I normally avoid, just while it is so hot
Salted crisps
Fizzy cola, ginger beer

[Cyril Haearn]

Just enjoyed some baked beans with a bit of bread and cheese, just right for hot weather, Plus One
Wasn't really hungry but I knew I had to slurp something

[Mick F]

It's been quite cool for the last couple of days here.
Out riding to Exeter yesterday, and it rained with drizzle and with grey cloudy skies for most of the day, though cheered up latterly.
Cool and very damp today and it's chucked it down regularly and I doubt it got any higher than 17degC at any time and with no sunshine at all.