07/04/2026
Check out the Bishop Training page where I post some useful content about the training. If it's a race or a personal best it makes sense to learn about how to make your goals your reality!
Training and Racing in the Heat
They say if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. For a lot of athletes, that's simply not an option.
For millions of people on the East Coast, this Fourth of July weekend is shaping up to be one of the hottest in a decade. Bear Creek nationals I remember used to be brutal and with major humidity and nationals this year in Roanoke is sure to be spicy again too! This had me sharpen up on some of my old tricks.
Thermal regulation, as sports scientists call it, is a huge part of how our bodies perform across a wide range of conditions. Cyclists face plenty of challenges in the heat. While we're moving faster than runners or football players, high humidity dramatically reduces the body's ability to cool itself. Once temperatures climb above 90 degrees, heat stress can become a serious performance limiter—and a genuine health risk.
Back in high school science, we learned that heat is transferred in three ways: conduction, radiation, and convection. All three come into play when you're trying to stay cool on the bike.
What isn't so obvious is that your body has what I think of as a heat-sink battery—your capacity to absorb excess heat, disperse it, and tolerate it before performance begins to suffer. Like any battery, it has limits. Riders that do heat training can increase their tolerance for high temperatures and bump up the central governor limit blood volume increases as does vascularity but these things take months.
Before major hot-weather races, we'd often pre-cool after our warm-up by wearing a phase-change cooling vest. These vests contain paraffin wax or ice packs that transition from solid to liquid while absorbing heat from your body. We'd also use fans, umbrellas, and strategically place ice along major arteries—inside the thighs, under the arms, around the neck, and on the head.
During especially brutal races, we'd cool from the inside, too. Popsicles, ice slushies, or ice-cold drinks can all help reduce core temperature.
One race that really stands out was the National Championships at Bear Creek. The humidity was close to 80 percent, with air temperatures around 95 degrees and a heat index approaching 115. Those were some of the most miserable conditions I've ever raced in.
The reality is that we also have what's known as the central governor—the brain's built-in mechanism that prevents us from pushing beyond safe limits. You can improve your heat tolerance through training, but you never want to override that protective system. If your core temperature gets too high, your body will force you to slow down. That's not weakness—it's survival.
So be smart with your workouts. Anticipate climbs before you're already overheating. Break long efforts into shorter intervals to maintain quality, and cool down between them by sitting in a cold stream or dousing yourself with ice water.
Over the years, I've experimented with just about every cooling trick imaginable. Frozen bottles inside insulated bottles, hydration packs filled with ice that provide conductive cooling across the back, and lightweight, highly breathable clothing all make a noticeable difference I like the mesh Diablo jersey and bib shorts from Eliel.
For high humidity just water wont work. The trick in lap races I take ice in a panti hose and put those around my neck and inside of the front of my hips near the femoral vein, Back of the neck does little so make sure to zip up your jersey and get ice to set near your jugular vein.
The bottom line is that heat tolerance is traininable and cooling strategy matters! Train smart, stay cool, don't overdo it, and remember that a little planning goes a long way and keep it short. Save the long training for pre dawn and cooler days.
Your body—and your performance—will thank you!
This photo is from Cape Epic where we saw 114 real temperature once. OOPH!
