Well, it’s finally happened. After a spring that couldn’t decide whether it was April or November, the mercury’s properly climbing. As I write this the lanes around Stamford are sweltering and the forecast for the weekend is creeping into the low 30s. By club standards, that’s a heatwave – and judging by the WhatsApp group, half of you are buzzing about it and the other half are quietly dreading the Sunday ride.
I get both reactions. There’s nothing quite like rolling out of town on a warm, still morning, the stone of Stamford glowing gold in the early light. But heat changes the game. It asks more of your body, your bike and your planning than a grey ride in March ever does. So here’s everything I’ve learned over years of riding these roads in the sun – the genuinely useful stuff, not just “drink water and you’ll be fine.”
Ride early, or ride late – but think twice about the middle
The single biggest thing you can do is pick your moment. When it’s heading for 31 or 32 degrees, the gap between a glorious ride and a grim one is mostly about when you set off.
I’m a big fan of the dawn patrol on hot days. Out of Stamford by half six, you’ve got cool air, empty roads and that lovely low sun raking across the fields. Loop out toward Rutland Water and you’ll often have the Hambleton peninsula almost to yourself before the day-trippers arrive. By the time the heat really bites at midday, you’re home with your feet up and a cold drink.
Evenings work too, once the worst of the heat has bled out of the day – though watch the timing, because nobody enjoys finishing a ride in fading light with no front beam. The hours roughly between 11am and 4pm are the ones I’d treat with the most respect. That’s when the road surface radiates heat back up at you and there’s no shade to be found on those exposed stretches near the viaduct.
Hydration: start early and don’t wait until you’re thirsty
You’ve heard it a thousand times, but here’s the bit people miss – by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already behind. On a hot day I start hydrating the evening before and top up first thing, well before I clip in.
On the bike, two 750ml bottles is the minimum for anything over an hour and I’ll happily carry more on a long Rutland loop. Plain water is fine for shorter spins, but once you’re sweating buckets for a couple of hours you’re losing salts as well as fluid and water alone can leave you feeling oddly flat and crampy. That’s where electrolyte tabs earn their place – a tube of something like SiS or High5 in the bottle makes a real difference on the big days. The NHS and British Cycling both flag the importance of replacing salts, not just water, in serious heat, and I’ve felt the truth of that the hard way on more than one ride.
One small warning from bitter experience: bottles left in direct sun turn into warm soup. If you’re stopping, tuck the bike in the shade. Warm electrolyte drink is a special kind of disappointing.
Know the warning signs – and don’t be a hero
This is the part I won’t gloss over, because it matters. Heat illness is real and it can creep up on fit, experienced riders.
The early signs of heat exhaustion include feeling dizzy or faint, a thumping headache, cramp, nausea, and skin that’s clammy and pale despite the heat. The NHS guidance is clear: if that’s you or a riding mate, stop, get into shade, take on fluids and cool down. Most of the time a proper rest sorts it. But if symptoms don’t improve within half an hour, or someone becomes confused, stops sweating, or seems genuinely unwell, that’s heatstroke territory and it’s a medical emergency – call 999. No ride, no Strava segment, no club average is worth pushing through that.
We look out for each other, and on hot rides that means actually checking in with the person at the back, not just assuming they’re fine. If someone goes quiet, ease off.
Kit that keeps you cooler
You don’t need to spend a fortune, but a few choices help. Light-coloured, breathable kit beats dark colours that soak up the sun. A decent pair of sunglasses saves you squinting into glare for two hours. And sunscreen – genuinely, slap it on, and reapply, because that cycling tan line on your arms is the friendly version of what the sun’s doing to you. Factor 30 minimum, don’t forget the back of your neck and your ears.
A cap under the helmet does more than you’d think, and dunking it in cold water at a café stop is a small miracle on the hottest days.
Look after your bike, too
The bike feels the heat as well. A couple of things worth knowing:
Tyre pressures rise as the air inside warms up, so if you pumped up in a cool garage and then leave the bike baking in the sun, you can end up running higher than intended. It’s rarely dramatic, but on a scorcher I’ll set pressures a touch lower than usual and not stress about it. For most of us on modern wider tyres there’s plenty of margin anyway.
Your drivetrain doesn’t love dusty, dry conditions either – hot weather tends to mean dry lubes work better than wet, which just wash away and attract grime. A clean, well-lubed Shimano drivetrain runs sweetly in the heat, and there’s no excuse not to give it a quick wipe-down after a dusty ride.
If you run a Garmin, it’s worth knowing the unit will happily show you the ambient temperature, and you can set heat and hydration alerts on many of the newer head units. It sounds gimmicky until you’re three hours in and it nudges you to drink – at which point it’s quietly brilliant. Mounted in full sun the screen can run warm, but I’ve never had one actually throw a wobbly on a British summer’s day. We’re not riding Death Valley.
Plan the route around shade and refuelling
On a hot day I’ll deliberately choose a route that passes a café or two. It’s not just an excuse for cake (though, let’s be honest). A mid-ride stop in the shade with a cold drink resets you completely, and Stamford and the surrounding villages are blessed with good spots – Fika in town is a club favourite for a reason.
Tree-lined lanes, river valleys, anywhere with a bit of cover – these become the routes of choice when it’s baking. The fully exposed drags across open farmland are gorgeous in spring but brutal at noon in July.
So – should you ride this weekend?
Absolutely, with a bit of sense applied. Get out early, carry more than you think you need, throw in some electrolytes, mind your mates and pick a route with shade and a café. Do that and a hot ride around Rutland is about as good as cycling gets in this country – and we don’t get many of these days, so it’d be a shame to waste them.
See you out there. Early. With sunscreen.
Got a hot-weather tip of your own, or a favourite shady summer loop? Drop it in the club WhatsApp — we’re always after good local knowledge.
