It was a shower thought for me this morning, after having seen all these record temperatures being broken around the world.
But, if it gets too hot to cycle, then people won’t. And if they aren’t cycling, they may start driving again, which compounds climate change even further.
Does this worry anyone else?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently, trying to survive the recent heat and humidity. Every time I’ve gotten to a destination in the past few weeks, I’ve been drenched in sweat and slightly light-headed. While I still prefer that to driving, bike-crazed as I am, I can’t say it makes for a particularly effective promotion of cycling to the people who see me.
On the flip side, I’ve noticed more and more winter cyclists in my area over the years. Snow/ice doesn’t hang around as long as it used to when it falls, and winter seasons keep feeling shorter and shorter.
I’ve been reading up on heat acclimation and that might be the ticket for regular riders - just ride more often in heat, and you’ll simply adapt. LOL
Last winter was my first, and I thought it was pretty manageable. I just hated having to get a ton of extra gear ready for simple rides, and the added maintenance of getting my bike clean after every ride because of salt.
I’ve been meaning to setup an old bike as a single-speed to use as a low-maintenance winter beater, I should actually finally get to that before next winter…