Summertime is the perfect time to rack up the miles with your mountain bike and explore exciting activities. However, maintaining one’s safety requires pre-planning and preparation as the temperature rises. So, how to mountain bike in the heat? This article is about how to use your mountain cycle during the summer season effortlessly and safely.
1.ย Stay Hydrated
When you are out riding your mountain bike, make sure to have a lot of fluids to drink with you, and also make sure to drink a lot before you leave and when you come back. This will help prevent you from being dehydrated.
Dehydration may damage your cognitive function, possibly increasing your chances of crashing, and extreme dehydration can have catastrophic effects all on its own. Being thirsty during a ride is distracting and increases your risk of crashing.
2.ย Keep Up the Game of Electrolytes
Your body will lose the vital carbohydrates and salts when using your mountain cycle. Your body needs electrolytes to function properly in hot weather since you will sweat significantly. This will be exacerbated if you exercise, as your body will lose even more electrolytes.
It is possible to use a flavoured hydration pill that has been dissolved in the reservoir of your hydration backpack; alternatively, if you are using water bottles, you may take sips alternately from one that has this in it and one that is filled with water.
You may also use regular rehydration salts, which are sold at most pharmacies and pharmacy shops, or you could create your own by mixing a little bit of salt with some fruit squash. This will help you to stay for a longer duration on your mountain bike gear.
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3.ย Get Used to Heat
You should ease into biking in hot weather if you haven’t done so before. Consider cutting your trip down to about an hour rather than putting in the whole three hours the first time the temperature exceeds 90 degrees.
Even while it is quite feasible to acclimate to the heat, it takes time for the body to acclimate to the particular requirements that come with engaging in physical activity when it is hot. Your body will be able to respond and adapt appropriately if you progressively increase the amount of time that you spend in the heat.
4.ย Use Loose & Breathable Clothes
For any rides you have planned, it is important to select the pieces of your kit that are the least restrictive, lightest, and breathable. Choose to wear shorts rather than trousers, and select garments made of highly breathable fabrics or with temperature-regulating features.
For example, choose shorts with laser-cut ventilation holes, helmets with plenty of airports, gloves and socks with a finer knit, and shorts with ventilation holes. Even using the best mountain bikes, you need to wear loose clothes for proper breathability.
5.ย Stay Local for Safety
You won’t be doing yourself (or your bike) any favours by sitting in a heated car for an extended amount of time. This is particularly true if you get delayed in traffic since everyone else had the same idea of driving off someplace to ride. Therefore, if you can, remain close to home and visit the trails in the immediate area; this way, you’ll be closer to your air conditioning when you get back. Mountain bicycle prices are higher in India, and staying local will help you avoid any damage to your bike.
6.ย Cover Up
It may seem paradoxical, but covering up regions of your body that are regularly exposed to the sun with light and breathable textiles can provide an additional layer of protection from the sun’s rays. To add insult to injury, several of today’s permeable materials may even make you feel colder. This is because the moisture will evaporate from the garment, taking your body heat with it as it does so.
This is crucial to remember if you are going to be out in the open without any trees to provide shade. Consider donning a light and breathable bandana or buff for the base of your neck, along with a loose-fitting long-sleeved blouse and gloves that cover your whole hand.
7.ย Download Apps for Safety
There are many running in the heat benefits, but you cannot skip the safety part. It is usually a good idea to discuss your riding intentions with a close friend or member of your family. Inform them where you want to ride, your approximate itinerary, and when you anticipate returning to your house. Because communication is even more crucial during the warmer months, you should ensure that at least one person knows your current whereabouts.
Another option worth considering is utilising phone applications or connection apps that enable real-time monitoring. If you share that link with your loved ones, they can check that your small blue dot is moving and see other information, such as your average speed or emergency warnings.
8.ย Protect Your Eyes
When riding in extreme heat, your eyes are susceptible to UV damage, and there is also a good chance that a significant amount of dust will be stirred up. Invest in a quality pair of bicycle sunglasses with either tinted or mirrored lenses to protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays and the brightness of the environment.
There is a good chance that your helmet already has a peak, but if it does not, adding one is a good idea since it will provide additional shade for your face and eyes.
9.ย Make Sure to Check Tires & Suspension Pressure
Hot weather results in high temperatures and gases will expand in volume when those temperatures are increased. Because you have gas in your tyres and suspension, and because both of these components need tuned pressure to work as they were designed, you need to make sure that you check the pressure in both of your tyres and suspension before you ride.
In warmer weather, you could discover that the tyre and suspension pressures are greater, making the bike feel stiffer overall. This, in turn, will affect how well your bike can be handled and controlled. Before you hop on your bike, make sure you check this out and adjust it as necessary.
10.ย Donโt Ride Too Hard
We know there are working out in the heat benefits but don’t ride too hard. You may be training for an event, wanting to enhance your fitness, or have a small window of opportunity to go out for a spin, but a heat wave is not the time to push your body to the maximum since it might cause you to overheat and get sick.
The heat strains your body as it struggles to maintain a temperature at which it can continue to function normally.
The addition of exercise raises the temperature and consequently the level of stress. Since you don’t want to pass into heat exhaustion or its more dangerous brother, heat stroke, a light spin could be good for you, but all-out, max-heart-rate uphill sprints might be too much for this weather.
You don’t want to push yourself to the point where you pass out from the heat. As a result, you should put off the interval training until the temperatures have dropped and instead go at a slower but more consistent speed.