Cycling in a Heatwave... Making Friends with Florals

There are many websites out there with excellent advice on cycling in hot weather. Suggestions include cycling slowly, wearing breathable fabrics, drinking plenty of water, applying sunscreen, and using baby wipes - all of which I do. And there tends to be a consensus that once the heat and humidity get past a certain point (yesterday's 100F weather would probably qualify!), there is just nothing that can be done other than bringing a change of clothes to work, particularly if one works in an environment with a dress code.

While this is good advice for some, changing upon arrival is not an option in my line of work. I have meetings in different parts of the city in the course of the workday, and there is no reasonable opportunity to change upon arrival prior to joining the meetings. Plus, I am on a tight schedule and changing a half a dozen times a day would be ludicrous.

So, what to do? Well, the Boston Globe and Bike Snob have already quoted me on this, but I've never actually written it in a Lovely Bicycle post: I wear fabrics with prints, which helps to disguise the one part of commuting in the heat we cannot control - sweat! "Eww gross!" - I know. But a reality none the less!

The best sort of prints for this purpose are small and detailed with some tonal variation - such as florals. This tricks the eye into not noticing additional tonal variations that happen from sweat stains. Stripes, polka dots, and other busy prints can work as well - but micro-florals and paisleys are particularly effective, because the patterns they form are organic. It may seem too simple of a solution, but this really is an amazing technique at making a sweat-soaked blouse, skirt, or dress look no different from a dry one.

I wore this dress to a meeting after cycling in it for 30 minutes in intense heat and humidity. Can you tell it's wet and disgusting? My colleagues could not, and complimented me on staying so cool in the heat. Yeah, right! Well, at least I can fake it with florals.

How to become a belligerent Italian behind the wheel and finally, Sirmione!

For our last day in Italy we took the early morning fast train from Venice to Verona and from there we picked up our rental car and drove to Lake Garda which is about half an hour’s drive. We want some relaxation and nature for our last day and what better way to spend our lunch in Sirmione in Lake Garda.



Sirmione in Lake Garda - This is the medieval fortification, the Scaliger Castle (from the Lords of Verona) that once fell under the Austrians. The castle dates back to the 13th century.



Sirmione is an elongated peninsula jutting out of the mainland to the lake. Located in Brescia province, already part of Veneto’s bordering region, Lombardy, this little town, like its neighbouring sisters Desenzano and Peschiera, are very popular thus unbearably touristy. We didn’t expect the horrible chain of traffic we’ve come upon after exiting the highway. Cars were manic on the road, as well as this was my first introduction to the Italian contemptuous way of driving.



Now, I’ll expound a little bit on this Italian way of driving because this experience has totally made me furious my blood pressure levels rose to boiling point I was about to explode the Eyjafjallajokull way (okay, who can actually pronounce this? lol ).



OK I’ll be forthright—I am gob smacked to witness the large number of Italians short in driving etiquette. If they were to take a driving exam in the Netherlands, many would have flunked. I would have thought the Filipino drivers back in Manila were worse but many Italian drivers are not only ignoring you, like most bus and jeepney drivers do in the Philippines when they cut you head on, they are casually aggressive and extremely zealous! You can see them raising their hands frantically up in the air and should the car windows are down, you could probably hear them scream, ‘Merda!’ or ‘Cazzo!!!’ while sneering at you. What about the honking, the tailgating, driving above the required speed limit and harassing a pedestrian on a zebra path? HELLO!? I am having a heart attack now.



When someone gets aggressive with me on the road, what do I do? Answer: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Pronto! LOL



Anyhow before I get further deep into this traffic duel, let me tell you that Sirmione is a very, very lovely town! Even when all of Italy went there! It looks like everyone had the same plan in mind that day haha, which was an Easter Monday a national holiday, and with the beautiful weather, the herd of locals flocked to their beloved lake. It took us almost an hour from the highway exit to get to Sirmione town proper when that would have taken us under 10 minutes.











Next: LUNCH in Sirmione!

Mt. Rainier, Liberty Ridge

Jim and Dave saw this mother black bear and her two cubs cross the White River and head off into the woods!




Mama bear and cub crossing river.


Other cub crossing river.




Skiers going over and around crevasses, on the Emmons Glacier, near Camp Schurman.


Glacier Basin.




House sized seracs on the Winthrop Glacier.




Doug, the Willis Wall, Liberty Ridge and Ptarmigan Ridge as seen from Curtis Ridge.



Liberty Ridge.






The Carbon Glacier and North side of Rainier.







A tilted serac on the Carbon Glacier.






Alpenglow on Liberty Ridge.








Sunset the first night.










Mark at our bivy site on the Carbon Glacier.










Mark starting up Liberty Ridge.











Sunrise on Liberty Ridge.













Mark watching the sunrise.












Mark climbing above Thumb Rock.













Mark high on Liberty Ridge with Willis Wall in background.



















Doug below the Black Pyramid.














Mark beside the Black Pyraimid.













Nearing the icy section at the top of Liberty Ridge.















Crevasse at 14,000'.

















A decade of snowfall layers exposed in the Liberty Cap Glacier.













Doug crossing the bergschrund.
















Mark leading up the steep icy section at the top of Liberty Ridge.














Climbing into a cloud!
















Doug following up the steep ice.















Mark on Liberty Cap.
















Doug on Liberty Cap.
















Doug heading toward the Emmons Glacier.















Doug dropping into a hidden crevasse right by Camp Schurman.














Doug and Mark down at Camp Schurman, with Jim and Dave, for our second night on the mountain.













Sunrise at Camp Schurman.
















Mark, Dave, Jim (and Doug) at Glacier Basin heading out. Meanwhile a storm is brewing high up on the mountain. We had to shorten this climb by one day to beat the storm. It was another awesome climb, with good friends, enjoying God's beautiful creation!