It’s Too Damn Hot!


heat table Posted by Picasa

Chew on this helpful information while I await literary inspiration. It was so hot out there yesterday it was like riding on the surface of the sun. Taco was laying it down on his new Santa Cruz. He caught a pedal and went whipping head over heels like a rag doll on the Fern Trail. All things considered, it was a good ride, just a little too “moist”.

Heat-related Injuries and Illness

The two heat-related injuries that are of major concern are heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat exhaustion itself is rarely life-threatening, although if it goes unattended, it can lead to heat stroke, which is life-threatening. The symptoms of heat exhaustion include headache, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, and a rapid pulse. If an athlete experiences these symptoms, he or she should cease activity and lie down in the shade or some other cool (not cold) area. They should also sip water until the symptoms pass. The athlete should not be allowed to resume exercise after suffering heat exhaustion. If the symptoms of heat exhaustion are not heeded, heat stroke can follow. The symptoms of heat stroke are disorientation and eventual unconsciousness, and a very high body temperature (above 104°F [40°C]). First-aid for heat stroke is to cool the athlete’s body as quickly as possible. This may mean immersing the athlete in cold water or rubbing them with alcohol. Because heat stroke is life-threatening, the athlete needs medical attention, even if they begin to recover.

How can heat exhaustion and heat stroke be prevented? The most important preventive measure is to make sure that athletes drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after practice and training sessions. Other important measures include wearing proper clothing and modifying practice and training sessions as needed for the weather conditions. Also of importance is allowing athletes to acclimatize to the heat, a process that takes between one and two weeks. During the process of heat acclimatization the body’s heat removal systems become more efficient. Therefore, when athletes first begin training in hot weather, both exercise intensity and duration should be reduced.

9 Responses to It’s Too Damn Hot!

  1. Back in Tally, after the epic tour of the west that just about killed us all. There’s a lot I wanted to write on but have yet to get the chance: Mormons and our visit to the Salt Lake City Temple Square, Las Vegas, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Ouray, Yankee Boy Basin Road, Colorado trail systems…..

    Maybe some of it will make the circus, but now that I’m back I need a vacation from the vacation.

    Juancho, as usual, is large and in charge under the bigtop. I’m looking forward to jumping back into the ever growing riding mob he’s recruited. Of course now when the punk asses start talking about “real” mountains and the superiority of all things West of the Mississippi, I’ll know for SURE they’re full of shit.

  2. Welcome home, large and furry one. Find any of your kind out in the Great Beyond? When’s the vacation slideshow?

    I’m awaiting new pedals and shoes from Pricepoint, and itching to get in a ride or two this weekend, Dennis be damned. Hell, Munson’s BETTER in a hurricane. Also awaiting a new used truck to tote the bike to the trail. Gave the old one to a guy who’s putting it out to pasture on his land in Tennessee. A well earned retirement. No glue factory for that noble old nag.

    Fair warning to all locals: Hightops Jr (aka Bowslinger) just got his operator’s permit. Give him a wide berth.

  3. thats right, now im fully mobile. The only problem is that hitops won’t stop using my car. But he should get one by friday so i really have no reason to comlain. Its not like I’d even be allowed to drive.

  4. I DIDN’T see too many of my kind out West. I mostly saw super gay looking roadies, but I saw a lot of them. They were like buffalo, only skinny, two-legged, and as I said before, gay.

    I came home wanting a road bike more than ever, and before you start jumping to conclusions, I also came back hating bike clothes more than ever, too. Man, how could passing motorists even HELP but throw something at a guy wearing some of that shit.

  5. Bowslinger, welcome. This is a true right of passage, because whatever your father thinks you may not know about, you will certainly learn it here. This site is NC-17, but I think you’re advanced for your age. Are we going to see you on the trails now or what?

    btw, you see how S’quatch comes home and the comment board lights up? Nobody likes ME!

  6. It’s not you Juancho. It’s your deodorant. No, seriously, work just let up enough for me to spend more frolic and detour time in the Bing Ring.