Sirius-ly? Isn\’t the word \”seriously\”?

Oh, those dog days that seem never to end. It\’s been miserably hot and humid for several months, and by this point even I — who have always felt the cold easily — am more than ready for a stiff cold front.

Why are they the \”DOG\” days? It\’s because Sirius, aka the Dog Star, rises and sets with the sun during this period. But we can\’t skip the rides because it\’s hot, can we?

Well, of course we could, but at a high cost to our hard-won fitness. There are ways to cycle indoors: rollers and trainers, for instance. Using them would mean getting in your pedaling without going out into sweltering heat, with the risks it brings: overheating, dehydration, etc.

On the down side, indoor pedaling is SO-O-O BORING!

While the Tour de France is running — sorry, that\’s ROLLING — I feel sorry for the riders, who have hours of blazing along in that blazing heat. Sirius-ly, it can get into the high 80s during the TdF, and those guys are pedaling at 20-some mph. Preventing heat illnesses must be a constant concern.

Shoving a chilled water bottle down your jersey front sounds like a good idea, supposing you can get one. Then, for a fact, there are times when the TdF runs into hail. That\’s likely more cooling than they want! Between trying to stay cool enough and trying not to freeze, things seem to be quite serious. Or do I mean Sirius?