Keeping your cool while cycle touring Australia...
October 17th 2006 03:26
When undertaking longer cycling tours in Australia it is inevitable that you will, at some point, get hot under the collar. Even when the weather's cool, it only takes one twit forcing you into the gravel by screeching to a halt to answer his mobile phone in a bicycle lane to get your blood on the boil. Here's some ideas on how to keep yourself cool when temperatures and tempers start to flare...
SHADY PLACES
Keeping yourself in the shade is an obvious one, right? But you'd be surprised how many people I see stopping for drinks and snacks in the direct sun. To keep cool where possible, always have your breaks in a shady spot and, just as importantly, keep your water bottles and helmet in the shade too. Helmets take just a few moments to heat up to the point where you feel like you are putting your head into the bole of a burning log.
DON'T LOSE THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK
This one's for the blokes who I wander about Australia's national parks and city streets in various shades of brick red. If you get sunburn, you will feel hotter, so leave your clothes on. Plus, all that basting beef only makes me thirsty and, even if you look like you should be dancing naked with Manpower, nobody wants to be forced to look at your man-boobs. Seriously, sunburn, apart from the obvious dangers of skin cancer, does make you feel a lot hotter so keep your shirts on.
LOITER
In towns, park your bike outside a pharmacy or a mall near the automatic doors. According to the signage in many towns "loiterers" and "bicycle riders" will be "prosecuted" if found lingering near the mall but it is sometimes worth the risk of prosecution to enjoy the waves of cold air that emanate from the airconditioned shops. (Notably there is never any signage to say that anybody found expanding the hole in the ozone layer by driving cars to the mall, or using lots of airconditioning near regularly opening automatic doors, will be prosecuted.)
TAKE A DIP
A lot of Aussie beaches have free cold showers. You can take a dip in the water then rinse of the salt with a quick shower. When really hot, I will sometimes just put my head under for a couple of seconds and leave my hair wet so that the breeze of cycling cools my head. Take it easy though, water is precious in Australia.
PUT YOUR GEAR OUT
At some times of year in outback Australia you can experience the extremes of daytime heat and icy nights. As long as your water supply isn't scarce or you have access to natural water supplies you can keep quite cool for a short while by wetting your cycling clothes the night before and putting them on damp in the morning. This probably works best with the old sock over the water bottle trick. Fill your water bottles at night, wet an old sock and cover the water bottle with it. The sock will ice up and keep your liquids cooler for tonnes longer. Check out Bicycle Fish for more details on the old sock trick...
Effects of too much sun!
SHADY PLACES
Keeping yourself in the shade is an obvious one, right? But you'd be surprised how many people I see stopping for drinks and snacks in the direct sun. To keep cool where possible, always have your breaks in a shady spot and, just as importantly, keep your water bottles and helmet in the shade too. Helmets take just a few moments to heat up to the point where you feel like you are putting your head into the bole of a burning log.
Keep your shirts on!
DON'T LOSE THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK
This one's for the blokes who I wander about Australia's national parks and city streets in various shades of brick red. If you get sunburn, you will feel hotter, so leave your clothes on. Plus, all that basting beef only makes me thirsty and, even if you look like you should be dancing naked with Manpower, nobody wants to be forced to look at your man-boobs. Seriously, sunburn, apart from the obvious dangers of skin cancer, does make you feel a lot hotter so keep your shirts on.
LOITER
In towns, park your bike outside a pharmacy or a mall near the automatic doors. According to the signage in many towns "loiterers" and "bicycle riders" will be "prosecuted" if found lingering near the mall but it is sometimes worth the risk of prosecution to enjoy the waves of cold air that emanate from the airconditioned shops. (Notably there is never any signage to say that anybody found expanding the hole in the ozone layer by driving cars to the mall, or using lots of airconditioning near regularly opening automatic doors, will be prosecuted.)
TAKE A DIP
A lot of Aussie beaches have free cold showers. You can take a dip in the water then rinse of the salt with a quick shower. When really hot, I will sometimes just put my head under for a couple of seconds and leave my hair wet so that the breeze of cycling cools my head. Take it easy though, water is precious in Australia.
PUT YOUR GEAR OUT
At some times of year in outback Australia you can experience the extremes of daytime heat and icy nights. As long as your water supply isn't scarce or you have access to natural water supplies you can keep quite cool for a short while by wetting your cycling clothes the night before and putting them on damp in the morning. This probably works best with the old sock over the water bottle trick. Fill your water bottles at night, wet an old sock and cover the water bottle with it. The sock will ice up and keep your liquids cooler for tonnes longer. Check out Bicycle Fish for more details on the old sock trick...
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Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Why not? Sounds odouriffic...
Comment by Claire
Slow Cycle Tour
Look, those socks of ours were clean when we first put them on though they are covered in grime now. No matter, it's hard to smell anything over the stench of your armpits in the tropics. Just off to re-apply the BO buster now...