When the heat and humidity rise to tropical proportions, choosing a longer but shadier route is the only way to keep your cool. Southerners know the secret: take your time, make your own breeze and stay underneath the big oak trees.
About the Bike Commute Diaries: Launched in May 2012 for National Bike Month, this series explores the unexpected and surprising things I’ve learned about bicycling for transportation.
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Frank
July 29, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Very important to take it slow with tropical heat. And take enough fluids, even when you’re not thirsty. You have to stay hydrated.
Fortunately, no tropical summer here. Hardly any summer at all.
ladyfleur
July 30, 2012 at 6:25 am
Funny that you mention fluids. I didn’t have a water bottle, so drank it all at the destination after 50 minutes of relatively slow stop and go riding. It worked well enough, but it would have been nice to drink water along the way.
So sad you don’t have summer at all. You must be in the UK.
Frank
July 30, 2012 at 7:28 am
I always make sure to have fluids with me. Mostly because i am always thirsty (non alcoholic though!
).
I’m in the Netherlands, and up till now we’ve had about 1,5 to 2 weeks of reasonable summer this year. So, it’s fingers crossed for an indian summer.
ladyfleur
July 30, 2012 at 8:05 am
Oh, I knew that you were in the Netherlands. Too bad you’re not getting the warm weather.
But honestly, you really don’t want Louisiana heat. It was so hot that the people who arrived at the well-shaded outdoor party by air conditioned car were just as sweaty as I was after arriving by bike. It was hot like Hong Kong or Tokyo or Mumbai.
Rachel Unger
July 30, 2012 at 12:16 pm
I wonder if Louisiana ever experiences cool weather – I was there at Mardi Gras last year. In shorts. Feeling as though I was overdressed. In March.
ladyfleur
July 30, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Rachel, I once made a snowman in March there as a child. I also went home one Christmas and faced several days in the teens. Another Christmas it was in the 80s. It varies a lot in the winter which makes it a real pain to travel there. You never know what you’re going to get.