Anybody been biking in the Sierra Nevada, Spain in July - How hot is it?
Unbearable or OK as long as you're not climbing?
What about at night - do you need accommodation with air conditioning?
Went out with Ciclo Montana in first week of July this year & it was very hot.
Up near Ciclo it varied from 34 to 39 deg. and our overnighter in Granada was even hotter - 42 deg.
It was pretty hard going, but not as bad as I anticipated. The main problem I found was how overgrown the trails were...it made some of the narrower ones very narrow indeed & quite hard to ride, although my mate managed ok so perhaps it was a case of mtfu!
We didn't have air-conditioning apart from in the hostel we stayed at in Granada. It would have been nice, but wasn't too bad without.
Just make sure you are out early. I found it didnt feel really hot until about 4pm so you have plenty of time. Just take plenty of water and top-up whenever you can.
For water, I find it quite useful to freeze a bidon/camelback* the night before. There are two benefits, firstly it stops you drinking too much, too soon and secondly the water won't be tepid after an hour.
*Maybe just freeze a 3/4 full camelback. 😉