I have a thing for just being and doing stuff in extreme weather. Not crazy stuff really, I don’t go searching it out like a tornado hunter or anything, but I like to say “I did X on the coldest/hottest/rainiest/windiest/snowiest day EVARRRRR.”
When I was in Sweden I made sure and stayed up until 00:00 to go out and be in the coldest weather I have ever been in. If memory serves, it was -39˚C (also just about -39˚F). My ears felt like they nearly froze off of my head. I could hear the ice freezing in the trees and popping their limbs.
I rode my motorcycle home from Highline on the Inauguration day wind storm in 1992(?).
I rode my bike home in the drifts of snow last winter and to work in -19˚C windchill
and today…drum roll please…
I can honestly say I rode home on the hottest day EVARRRR in Seattle.
According to the Record Alert on WeatherUnderground site SeaTac reached 39.4˚C (103˚F) today and on that same site I saw Renton Hill reporting 41.2˚C (106˚F) this afternoon at about 4PM.
Okay but how does it FEEL?
The best explanation is by way of my water bottle.
By the time I hit Marginal Way (I had an errand in SoDo that forced me into my least desirable return route) my water bottle that started full of ice was completely melted (it didn’t rattle anymore when I shook it) and it didn’t have any more condensation on the outside.
By the time I hit Tukwila (BECU) it was body temp – I couldn’t feel it’s temperature as I drank.
And the last swigs I took in East Renton tasted like plastic soup.
The good news is that on a bike there is almost always a nice breeze in your face.
As hot as it was (and still is)…I like it.
blief 
A record breaker for sure today! I no longer recognize this place I live, we just don’t get this hot!!
LikeLike
The first time I lived through 106 degree temps we were driving through Mojave, CA in the summer. With no AC. On black vinyl seats.
Needless to say, these sorts of things shouldn’t happen in Western Washington.
wunderground.com reports that Vancouver, WA set an all-time record at 107 for the day.
LikeLike
So, with the air temperature as you neared home at 106 degr F and assuming your speed on the bike was 15 miles per hour (nominal average up the hill and around the corners in your “bayou”), what was the wind-“chill” temperature?
With a sweaty body, I would assume that it would be lower. Bu-uut! With the body dry of perspiration, it ought to be higher, no?!
Congratulations on setting another record (Book of Guiness??).
LikeLike
I rode to and from work on the day before the hottest day on record (too hot to sleep that night so was too tired to ride on the hottest day). I put my camelpack in the freezer at work and took it out about an hour before leaving. It was still mostly frozen by the time I left work and felt really nice on my back. The water stayed nice and chilly which, I think, helped me stay cool on my ride from having it on my back and drinking the cold water. Lief, I agree that the constant air flow really helps. I only felt hot when I got home and stepped off the bike – then I felt like a juicy steak slapped on a charcoal grill.
Tom
LikeLike