Halfway home, I decided I'd forgo the usual detour and stop for coffee and simply get home via the shortest available route. No biggie. Hot coffee on a hot afternoon might be nice, but it is hardly mandatory. When I got home, I noticed that "Weather Underground" claimed a high of 109F along my route. THAT got my attention because the hottest temperature I've experienced in Texas so far since 2003 was 109F. The "official" DFW high temperature was 105F compared to a record of 107F set back in 1956. The "official" DFW low was 83F compared to a previous record of 82F in 1998.
We'll see if today was a record breaker. It certainly felt warm enough for me, though hardly intolerable. I'm thinking I might want to look into a clamp-on water bottle holder for my wife's bike to maximize bike choices in this sort of weather.
Still, the days are getting shorter, so we better enjoy this while we can. I think this is gonna be a hot summer. Maybe not 1980, but right up there. So far, in July, our high was 100F or higher every day except for Canada Day. That means we'll not tie the all-time record for monthly days at 100 or higher. That record stands at 31 - set in 1980. Luckily for me, I didn't even imagine going to Texas THAT year...
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| That Cateye Really Wants Me to Feel Like I'm Tough! |
UPDATE - From the NWS
000
SXUS74 KFWD 090645
RERDFW
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
0145 AM CDT SAT JUL 9 2011
...RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH...
A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES WAS SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH FOR JULY 8 2011. THE OLD RECORD WAS 82 DEGREES SET IN BOTH 1998 AND 1996.
12 comments:
I'm afraid I'd melt in the types of heat you are mentioning!
PA - remember, you're talking to a boy that was born and raised less than 200 miles from where you're living. The trick is to ride every day so you get to experience the warmth or coldness gradually. And when it is boiling hot, drink lots of water and replace those electrolytes!
When we abandoned Arizona in 1993 it was 118 outside in the shade. It was 113 in the bus with the cooler running. It was cooking SWMBO's brain so I parked her right in front of the air conditioner in a motel with refrigeration . That's the only time she has not complained about air conditioning.
Worst I have ever ridden in was a reported (by medical personel who treated me) 145F air temp over the asphalt back in 2004 coming back from Sherman via Farmersville. It took me 11 hours to ride 70 miles that day between the headwinds and the heat.
And you went for coffee?
Do you have to worry about your tires melting?
If my tires melt, I'll be hoofing it and I suspect the heat will suddenly seem a whole lot worse. As with cold weather, the cyclist is in a much different situation than the pedestrian.
I did take the quickest route home rather than detouring for coffee. That also meant bypassing the free, triple filtered ice water.
I noticed the heart rate monitor going to 110-115 just walking across the parking lot to my bike. On a slight grade, it would hit the alarm at 160, but the odd thing was that I didn't feel like I was working hard. My heart certainly was. Pouring water over my arms, legs and torso would cause an immediate 10-15 bpm drop. I carried 3 water bottles for the commute, drinking 2 and using the other one for coolant. An HRM can be a useful rev limiter in the heat.
Ed, likewise, walking out across to the bike was the worst part of the commute.
I don`t know how you do it. It was about 70 degrees f on my way to the Coffee shop this morn. And about 80 degrees f on the way back. And I thought that was too warm for my liking. I have a cooling vest that I can wear when it is too hot for me. It keeps my core temp under control. But even that only allows me to ride when it is about 90 degrees f. I don`t think I would last long in Texas.
I spent two years in Texas, arriving just in time for the 1980 heatwave. Folks there could easily spot me for an east-coaster and felt the need to explain the drinking of hot coffee on a hot day. I thought it was a Texas-sized leg-pulling at first. Today, I drink hot coffee during hot Missouri summers :-)
I rode yesterday and it was hot. But on my way back from work, around 7 PM, it wasn't terrible. There was a nice breeze that somehow cooled things down.
I am not discounting the 105 from yesterday, but I felt hotter on Thursday.
Peace :)
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