At of  1:17 pm, yesterday, it was 95 degrees; our heat index was 103; and there was a heat advisory in effect. Today isn’t any cooler; and the lack of clouds doesn’t help.

I  dragged myself out of bed at 4:10 am; went out at 5:00 am to ride some laps around the park; and then did about 29 miles on the levee. That let me finish by 9:00 am or so; and it was already brutally hot by that time!

In heat like that, my ride food get half-melted; and my water and electrolyte drink don’t stay cool.

I waited until I finished my ride to go feed the cat. He won’t starve if he gets his meal a few hours later. The poor thing is lonely, I know; but my friends return  tomorrow evening. They’ve been in England, where it’s cooler than it is here; and I hope the heat index doesn’t give them too much of a shock when they get back!

In this heat and blazing sunshine, I’m using up a lot of sunblock. What a mess that stuff can make! It’s the payoff for not having to wear multiple layers.

When it’s as hot as this, I wonder how Grand Tour riders manage to keep from collapsing. Well, tragically, sometimes they do collapse. How many years of acclimatization does it take to race like than in the heat?