Man, is it hot.You know this, unless you live someplace cool, like Death Valley.OK, so Death Valley’s really warmer, but it’s a dry heat. How dry? The forecast for 3 p.m. Monday in Lawrence called for 100 degrees, with a heat index of 107. Death Valley was forecast to hit 116 at 3 p.m. Monday, but it would feel like – and I’m not making this up – a mere 115. That’s dry. When I got around to checking, Lawrence at 3 p.m. Monday was 101, but it felt like 109. Death Valley: 114, felt like … 114. Flip a coin.Given our sudden surge into triple digits, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to all of my co-workers, or at least all of those within sniffin’ distance.I smell.Sorry.I don’t mean to, and it’s not for lack of showering. Really.But when it gets this hot, I can’t help but work up a bit of a sweat on my rides to work, no matter how slow I go.I ride in almost all conditions. I ride year-round, in rain and cold and wind. I don’t ride in thunderstorms or ice, but I’ll ride in just about every other element, including snow and, yes, oppressive, sweat-inducing heat.Truth be told, I have a harder time riding in 100-degree heat than just about any other weather.I always can pull on another layer when it’s cold. I just go slower when it’s really windy. I simply resign myself to getting wet when it’s rainy, though I have been known to pull under shelter when it’s really coming down.But there’s really no respite from the heat on a bike.There’s a limit to how little I can wear without being arrested, and buck-naked is no way to ride a bike. I wear whatever wicking-ware I can and pick the shadiest path possible, and still I get to the office … and drip.And, no doubt, smell.I know there are all sorts of tricks to avoid the stench. I’ve tried “freshening up” in the rest room, but I refuse to mask the odor with manscents. The only thing worse than B.O., I figure, is B.O. and Axe Body Spray.I suppose I could take advantage of the office shower facilities, but then I’d have to come in even earlier and arrange for a change of clothes.So I choose to stink.I just hope my co-workers don’t mind too much. Given the whole buck-naked alternative, I’m sure they’ll find a way to cope.
