Cooling

Waking early is great, to run when it is cooler but it does have a serious drawback. That drawback is that whilst the run might be more pleasant, due to the fresher air, especially evening and morning rain but it has the drawback that if you live in a minergie apartment you never get an opportunity to flush out warm air and replace it with cool air.

Today, as one of my suntan lotion bottles is empty of suntan lotion I decided to clean it with dish soap and water, before adding water to use the suntan lotion bottle as a mister, and so far it has been a partial success.

Today I had the pleasure of going for a run early. I had planned to run at 07:30 to finish right as the shops were opening but I felt too lazy, so I was at the shops by 08:20 and running a few minutes later. I was thinking “Oh it’s still early, so I don’t need to run with water. That was a mistake. What wasn’t a mistake is choosing a course that passes by a number of fountains.

Monday we went for a run in the Canicule heat. For the most part we skirted woods where we could, and stopped twice at the same fountain to drink, splash ourselves, and recover from the heat. In so doing we cooled ourselves and stayed hydrated.

After the run we went to the Plage De Promenthoux for l’apéro, which was mainly chips and a drink or two. We also stood in the water for a group photo. “That’s a lot of shells” I thought. The bottom of the water was sandy with a few stones. It was obviously around 21°c.

Yesterday as I cycled from Nyon to Geneva I felt my mouth become dry so I drank, felt it get dry again, and drank again. The wind that is usually cooling, or cold was warm. I was having a hair dryer ride. This is a term I use when the air is so warm that it offers no cooling effect.

We Ride at Dawn

One solution to avoid such a ride is simply to ride at sunrise like I did with Tête de Course. You wake up before sunrise and head towards the meeting point as the sky starts to gain some colour. The ride itself takes place at dawn, so you’re in 20°c rather than 34°c. It’s 10°c cooler than my bedroom so I wore layers to stay warm. If you don’t like the heat then this is an excellent way of getting a bike ride in before it gets too hot. It’s also a way of getting a bike ride before work.