yuma ride report

[jimcav]

from the looks i got i'd say they aren't used to seeing many cyclists or joggers on the roads--but folks moved over etc
first, go at sunrise.
second, the area has some surprisingly nice roads--long stretchs with no stop signs or lights, and some soft rolling hills--but mostly flat flat flat.
third, 110 is hot no matter the low humidity
fourth, a close second on the heat is the dust created by the farm tractor/combine things--really big clouds of it--it is windy there
fifth, if you want to do the running to biking ratio of effort, at 110 you need to add a big multiplier. i rode 2 hrs one day and was fine. next day (well hydrated) went to run at 9am. already 100 degrees and after 15 minutes i was thiking this is fine, at 20 minutes i was still okay, at 25 i thought I could actually do an hour, so i wen to the 30 minute mark and turned around, and i was glad to do so. and shortly after that my body started to overheat. at 45 minutes i stopped and walked for 2 minutes, then ran until i got to a stand of trees and stood there for 5 minutes to let the goosebumps on my arms go away--that was a sign i was overheating for sure. ended up with a 58 minute run and 7 minute walk/rest (had the wind coming back--so faster but hotter).
decided not to even try to swim in the outdoor pool--it was warm to the touch so i knew my body would not be able to unload heat at all

jim

[majorpat]

Jim,

I used to hit YPG every 4 to 5 weeks when I was working at Quantico, that is one rough joint. I applaud your efforts to PT, I used to try to run early but it still felt like running in a toaster oven. Good luck, shipmate.

Pat

[sn69]

Similar, although the agro-smog is a bit worse in the valley. I recall very hot roads, running tires at lower pressure for fear of exploding them in the heat, tractors on the roads, crop dusters, and the feeling of being dry as a bone through and through.

Grand stuff...I'll stick to the coast.

(CDR) Scott

[jimcav]

I recall very hot roads, running tires at lower pressure for fear of exploding them in the heat, tractors on the roads, crop dusters, and the feeling of being dry as a bone through and through.

Grand stuff...I'll stick to the coast.

(CDR) Scott
The inside of my nose felt so dry it almost hurt.
I am so happy to be in san diego--I can imagine being stationed there year round--not a pretty thought. guess i'd give cyclig up or be as tough as leather: like the rebel, johnny yuma.

jim

[jimcav]

Jim,

I used to hit YPG every 4 to 5 weeks when I was working at Quantico, that is one rough joint. I applaud your efforts to PT, I used to try to run early but it still felt like running in a toaster oven. Good luck, shipmate.

Pat

and i was amazed how quickly the morning low of 84 ramped toward the high of 110. The one day i ran i went at 9 am and it was already 98 as i checked the weather getting my shoes on in the room--nothing better than black asphalt to amplify that. Reminded me of hitting the indianapolis motor speedway one very hot year at the end of in the indy mini half marathon--running the banked turns and just feeling the heat being reflected at me off that curve of asphalt.

every 4-5 weeks would get old--although i bet there are far better choices for eating etc now than then

[totally_fixxate]

welcome to the desert.

[Ray]

Riding in Yuma in the summer in anything even approaching daylight hours is just flat crazy! I grew up in Tucson and didn't do anything much more strenuous than play golf (at least outdoors) during the heat of the day. I'd run or ride my bike EARLY but I'm talking being finished by 6 or 6:30. And I was a kid then! And Yuma is waaaaaaay hotter than Tucson.

Just not a good idea.

-Ray

[konstantkarma]

When I lived in Tucson it was not uncommon for a visitor to be found on hiking trails either dead or unconscious from dehydration/heat stroke in the summer. One guy had come down from Ottawa for a vacation. He went to Saguaro Natl. Park, for a hike. The Rangers found his clothes first, stripped off in his delirium, then they found him DOA. Desert heat and heat stroke is nothing to mess with.

FWIW, I used to finish my bike rides by 9 AM in the Summer in Tucson.

[jimcav]

Desert heat and heat stroke is nothing to mess with.

FWIW, I used to finish my bike rides by 9 AM in the Summer in Tucson.

I had heat exhaustion once, in the summer of 1988--and that is enough. I can tell easily--I start getting chills when i start to overheat. For me that was right at 45 minutes, and that was why my 1 hr run actually took 66 minutes or so--had to stop twice during the last 15 minutes--having the wind to my back on the way back would normally be nice for a negative split, but in this case i just got hot that much faster...