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AIDSRIDEDC FAQ Section 3. Health and SafetyThis section contains these subjects:
3.1 Hydration and Hot Weather Survival Tips for Riders (and Corp)The training and survival tips presented here are the result of suggestions from many different riders and crew who participated in previous AIDS Rides, here and around the country. (Thanks to Lynn Kutner for compiling these!) [Often, you will see Gatorade mentioned here; almost always, unless the context indicates otherwise, this is really a reference to sports drinks in general. RG] Each person will respond differently to exercising in extreme heat - due to your individual metabolism and physiology, and differences in experience and training. The key points of surviving the heat are summarized below. YOU will need to experiment to figure out which strategies work best for YOU.
Rules of Hydrating and Cooling:If you wait until you're hot, it's too late. Staying cool and hydrated with water and Gatorade is easier than cooling down or getting rehydrated.
Key Points:
The stress on your body rises as the temperature does, but high humidity makes things even worse. (Your body can't cool itself as effectively, because the evaporation rate of your sweat is reduced.) For example, the stress on your body at 78°F and 60% relative humidity is about the same as 100°F in completely dry air. The National Weather Service has a table of equivalent heat indexes available on the Web.
Electrolytes - What They Are and Why They're Important:From a chemical point of view, electrolytes are, broadly speaking, substances that can conduct electricity because they dissociate into electrically-charged ions. In a biological context, electrolytes are minerals that dissociate into ions in solution in water, or blood. (For example, table salt, sodium chloride, dissociates into sodium Na+ and chloride Cl- ions in water.)Your body requires electrolytes (principally sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.) Under everyday circumstances, you would almost certainly get plenty of these in your diet, and never have to worry about them. Your body is generally able to regulate your electrolyte balance fairly well, but in sustained efforts over several hours in hot weather, you may lose more electrolytes in your sweat and urine than you are replacing. Very roughly, you can lose the equivalent of about one teaspoon of salt per two liters (~two quarts) of sweat (that translates roughly into two grams, or 2000 mg of sodium). And you can easily sweat away more than a liter per hour. In hot weather, it is a good idea to boost your electrolyte intake a little:
Again, it's important to remember that different people do differ. You need to experiment (cautiously), listen to your body, and find out what works best for YOU. There is a table summarizing the electrolyte content of some common sports drinks and other common beverages. Again, learn to listen to your body, and discover what works for you. There is a longer version of this collection of tips on hot weather riding and hydration (compiled by Lynn Kutner) available here. There is also a collection (also compiled by Lynn)of links to other useful sites dealing with nutrition, hydration, and hot weather issues available here. Back to Top
3.3 Safety on the RoadYour safety should be your number one priority anytime you ride your bike. Cycling, like downhill skiing, or any other sport that involves moving at speed, is potentially dangerous. If you have forgotten, or didn't take, Physics 101, the kinetic energy of a moving object (you on your bike!) is one-half its mass times its velocity squared. In other words, if you are going twice as fast, you'll hit the ground four times as hard. There are three broad factors that will affect the safety of your riding: concentration, skill, and protective measures. ConcentrationThe best safety rule is this: don't crash. The best way to avoid crashing is to focus 100 percent of your attention 100 percent of the time on riding safely. If you are thinking about the cute guy or girl that you saw at lunch, or a problem at work, or otherwise watching a movie inside your head, sooner or later you will encounter a dangerous situation, and will get acquainted, up close and personal, with the pavement.Even if you are an experienced cyclist, don't get cocky or complacent. There is no such thing as getting too good to have an accident. Fabio Casartelli, an Olympic gold medal cyclist, was killed in a crash in the 1995 Tour de France You should always understand and follow the rules of the road. These were not devised as moral directives, but because they embodied the best way we know for different road users to share the road safely. (There is a summary of these rules in your Get Ready To Roll Kit.) (Good news: if you know how to drive a car, you know almost all of this already. As a cyclist on the road, you are legally the "driver of a vehicle" in all 50 states. Driving your bike like you drive your car will make your cycling safer.) Ride sensibly, logically, and predictably all the time.
SkillConcentration and focus will help you avoid dangerous situations. Skill will help you escape them. You need to practice your skills, because, at the time that you will really need them, you will be frightened and won't have time to think.Ride as much as you can, preferably with more experienced cyclists. Ask for their help and advice. Learn how to dodge around rocks and potholes, and practice making turns. Learn how to use your brakes and gears, and how to do at least basic maintenance on your bike. Pratice your technique, starting out slowly on quiet roads, and work your way up gradually to riding in heavier traffic. Of course you don't want to get hit by a car, but single-bicycle falls account for half of all cycling accidents that lead to injury or damage to the bicycle. [Source: John Forester, Bicycle Transportation, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1994]
Protective MeasuresIf you do have an accident, your primary objective is to minimize injury. The single most important thing that you can do to accomplish this is ALWAYS to wear your helmet. More than three-quarters of the deaths and permanent injuries that result from cycling accidents are due to head injuries.Are you worried that you'll look like a dork when you wear a helmet? We all do. Get over it. Back to Top3.4 Coping with Cold WeatherThanks to Lynn Kutner for contributing this sectionPlease don't wait for the weather to get really warm before you start your training. For the TdF, we have a relatively short training season (yes - you have plenty of time to train!) and a notoriously cool spring. For several years, the entire training season has been in cool temperatures (50's - 60's) and then it's gotten HOT (90's) just in time for the Ride at the end of June. So - what to wear? Layers! The temperature can change quickly and you should warm up some once you get riding - so it's best to have layers to more easily adjust temperature. It will take a lot of experimentation to figure out what works best for you - so keep trying and don't get too frustrated. If possible, avoid cotton. When cotton gets wet (as in when you sweat) it gets very cold and clammy and can actually make you feel colder. Cotton also loses almost all of its insulating properties when it gets wet. Synthetics such as polypropylene, CoolMax[TM], Thermasts[TM], or fleece are best. When it's cold, I often use a silk long underwear top as my "base" layer under a jersey. You should always be conscious of the "built-in" wind chill effect in cycling. Even in still air, if you are riding 15 mph, you are getting the effect of a 15 mph wind, particularly on exposed skin. So be extra careful to keep your vulnerable bits warm, such as feet, hands, ears, and nose. The National Weather Service provides a wind-chill table on their Web site. So, bring a windbreaker. Adding a windproof layer makes a HUGE difference in keeping warm. NO - you don't need to run out and spend lots of money on a fancy cycling jacket. Any windbreaker type jacket will work great. Cold fingers? Try wearing a pair of thin liner gloves under your cycling gloves. Won't keep out all of the cold, but also helps a lot. You can also get full-finger cycling gloves made of lightweight fleece. Cold legs? Try wearing a pair of running tights or leggings over your cycling shorts. Tights that don't have an internal chamois are fine, since you already have one (a chamois, that is) in your cycling shorts. You just want to avoid any long pants type things that are baggy and could get caught in your bike's chain, or cause chafing. Cold toes? How about a pair of thin wool socks? Alternatively, wear a pair of thin wicking socks under a pair of wool socks. For really frigid conditions, you can use booties that slip on over your shoes. Cold face / ears / nose? Lots of options including "ear bands" or "neck gaiters". And wear a hat: most of the heat your body loses goes out of the top of your head. A cycling cap or polypropylene skull cap will fit under your helmet, and is easy to stuff in a jersey or jacket pocket if you get too warm. A windproof helmet cover is another alternative. There are lots of creative options for stating warm which DO NOT involve spending lots of money. Also - ask around! Your friends may have outdoors clothing which you can borrow for cycling. If you need to buy clothing, remember to check out general outdoor (camping, hiking, etc.) retailers, not just bike shops. Finally, an article about cold weather riding would not be complete without mentioning the Icebike site, "Home of the Winter Cyclist (and other crazy people)". It has a wide selection of tips based on real-world experience, as well as some great photos. Back to TopThanks to Sian Cook-Hallman-Coburg for contributing to this sectionIt's no big deal to get wet on a bicycle. The exception is when the weather is sufficiently awful that it becomes a safety hazard to be out riding. That would be the case if it's pouring so hard drivers can't see people on bicycles, or there's lots of thunder and lightning going on, or there are flash floods and mudslides leveling houses, that sort of stuff. You do, however, want to make sure you'll stay warm even when you're wet. There are two things to be aware of here:
The best way to do this is with a windbreaker or rain jacket over a long-sleeved jersey, a jersey and arm warmers (removable sleeves), or some other synthetic-fiber top that will keep you warm even when it's wet. Cotton is not your friend in the rain. (See also Section 3.4 Coping with Cold Weather in this section of the FAQ.) Some Riders have also used cheap ponchos (make sure it won't get caught in the wheels or the chain), or have manufactured emergency rain wear by cutting head- and arm-openings in large plastic bags. A super-duper waterproof rain jacket is often more of a hassle than it's worth on a bike ride. If it's truly waterproof you'll overheat inside the jacket while you're riding, so you'll be soaked anyway. And they tend to be expensive. All you really need is something that is water-repellent and that will keep out the wind. Bright colors are a big plus when visibility is reduced. If you're out shopping for a windbreaker or rain jacket, get the most obnoxious, day-glo color you can find. Earth tones are definitely not the way to go -- on a bicycle it should be strictly Colors Not Found In Nature. You might also consider a see-through rain jacket with a brightly-colored jersey underneath. If you do feel you need a rain jacket, make sure you get one that is well ventilated, or you'll get your own private little sauna going inside. Back to Top
3.6 Thunderstorms and LightningA Rider Asks: "What's the best thing to do on a bicycle during a thunderstorm? I know that being in a car is good and that being on a golf course with a metal club in your hand is bad; I assume bicycling is somewhere in between."Being on a bicycle is probably not all that different from walking, as far as danger from lightning is concerned. You don't want to be the highest point around, or anything like it (standing in a boat in the middle of a lake is a Real Bad Idea). Stay away from isolated trees, flagpoles, power poles, metal fences, and so on. If the lightning is close (less than 8-10 seconds between the flash and the bang), consider trying to find shelter indoors, or in a vehicle. If you feel your hair standing on end, you are in immediate danger! Here are some additional tips from a publication by the American Red
Cross: If Caught Outside...
Protecting Yourself Outside...
Be a Very Small Target!
Whether you ride with clipless pedals, or the frame composition of your bike, probably makes very little difference. Remember that the electric current in lightning is travelling through air for a considerable distance, and air, even with some water droplets mixed in, is quite a good electrical insulator. Perhaps more to the point, either the bike or the cyclist will conduct electricity considerably better than air, even air saturated with water vapor. The electrical potential difference between a thunderstorm cloud and the earth can reach ca. 100 million volts. Small amounts of insulating material (e.g., rubber-soled shoes) make very little difference. Sometimes people think that being in a car is safer because the rubber tires insulate it from the ground. This is a correct conclusion for the wrong reason. Mostly, the safety comes from the fact that you are (approximately) inside a closed metal container. (This was called a “Faraday cage” in physics class -- the net electric field inside a closed conductive surface is always zero.) Being inside a steel-framed skyscraper is also very safe for the same reason, as is being in a railway car (which of course has steel “tires”). The US National Weather Service has a page of thunderstorm and lightning safety advice. Back to Top
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