Summer is peak cycling season here in CNY, and over July and August the club has the largest number of ride options, with rides Tuesday through Sunday every week.
- Ride start times: Remember that from July 16 – July 31, weekend rides start at 8:00 am. Check the August ride calendar for start times as they vary with ride length.
- Tuesday night time trials: As part of our weekly rides, every Tuesday night at 6:15 the OCC holds a ‘Race of Truth’. Even if you don’t race competitively, a time trial can be an excellent way to both gauge and improve your fitness. This year time trials continue through September 6th. See the OCC Time Trial page for location, course and other details.
Events of Note:
- 2022 Tour de France: 21 stages over three weeks of the most grueling sport in the world. This year the race runs from July 1st to July 24th with two rest days. Mountain stages are always exciting, and don’t miss the race finish around the Champs-Élysées on July 24th. In the US you can watch live and re-runs either on the USA network or stream on peacocktv.com. Official guide to the 2022 TdF.
- 2022 Ride and Run for the Rescue: Saturday, July 30th at Long Branch Park in Liverpool, this is a local fundraiser that always sees a large OCC turnout. Select the Onondaga Cycling Club as your team, and do either the 5k walk, or ride the 10, 20, 40 or 62 routes. Ride and Run for the Rescue!
- Annual ‘unofficial’ Summer Picnic Ride: Saturday, August 06 is our annual summer picnic ride hosted by Mike Lyon. There are five distance options ranging from 10 to 54 miles. Come out and ride and stay for the post-ride picnic. See the ride calendar for more details.
- Annual Fall Charity Ride/Century: Saturday Sept 10 is our annual century ride with 21, 37, 63 and 101 mile options. The ride includes supported rest stops and a cook-out for lunch at the end of the ride. Fall Century.
- You can find lots of other recreational rides by searching BikeReg.
Riding in the heat: While there isn’t anything much better than riding in nice weather after a long CNY winter, when the temperatures get really hot some extra care needs to be taken to keep yourself safe and healthy. Drink before you’re thirsty, and be aware of the signs of heat exhaustion or sun stroke (see below).
- Sunblock: To prevent sunburn and reduce your chances of skin cancer, you should definitely be using a sunblock while you’re riding; broad spectrum UVA+UVB of SPF 15 or higher is highly recommended. Even when it’s cloudy, 80% of the sun’s UV rays can reach the ground, so don’t reserve your sunblock for only sunny days.
- Physical (mineral) sunscreen ingredients (including the minerals titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) block and scatter the rays before they penetrate your skin.
- Chemical sunscreen ingredients (like avobenzone and octisalate) absorb UV rays before they can damage your skin.
- More information can be found at the Skin Cancer Foundation web site.
- How does your sunblock rate? The Environmental Working Group publishes an annual Guide to Sunscreens.
- Signs of Heat Exhaustion or Heatstroke: Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can be serious medical conditions if not treated quickly. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms in connection with riding on a hot day (or any activities), find a shady spot to stop, rest and re-hydrate. If the symptoms are severe, as those shown in connection with heatstroke, seek medical attention.
- Signs of Heat Exhaustion:
- a headache
- dizziness and confusion
- loss of appetite and feeling sick
- excessive sweating and pale, clammy skin
- cramps in the arms, legs and stomach
- fast breathing or pulse
- a high temperature of 100C or above
- being very thirsty
- Signs of Heatstroke:
- feeling unwell after 30 minutes of resting in a cool place and drinking plenty of water
- not sweating even while feeling too hot
- a high temperature of 104C or above
- fast breathing or shortness of breath
- feeling confused
- a fit (seizure)
- loss of consciousness
- not responsive
- Signs of Heat Exhaustion:
- Riding in Hot Weather:
- A few tips to help beat the heat:
- Drop a handful of ice cubes in your water bottle.
- Make sure you have a sports drink in at least one of your water bottles. You quickly lose salt and electrolytes riding in hot weather, which need to be replaced.
- Double-check that there are stores along the route where you can re-fill bottles, or plan to carry enough water for the entire ride,
- “Preload” before the ride with 1/2 liter of water.
- Don’t be embarrassed to pull over and take a break to spend a few minutes in the shade to cool off.
- Consider freezing one of your water bottles the night before. The ice will melt as you ride and drink from other bottles, and the water will still be cold when you switch to the frozen bottle.
- Even better, put the frozen bottle in the center pocket of your jersey…it will keep you cool while the ice melts.
- A few tips to help beat the heat:
Don’t forget cyclocross! Cyclocross season starts at the end of August and runs through December. As an added bonus, this year Salt City Cyclocross at Longbranch Park is also the New York State CX championship. Racing on a closed loop, CX is a great spectator sport, and if you’ve ever thought of racing competitively, CX is a great way to start.
- CNY CX Cup: The CNY Cup is a series of local CX points races.
- CNY Cup web page
- This year the series will consist of the following races:
- Bonkwerx CX at the Clear Path for Veterans (Chittenango NY)– September 18th
- Cross Out Child Abuse (Oswego NY)– October 2nd
- Salt City Cyclocross (Day 2) (Liverpool NY) – October 16th
- Dave Panella Memorial (Awards ceremony!) (Green NY) – October 23rd
- Other local CX races can be found on BikeReg.