Brett Aalfs, left, takes two cups of lemonade from Zoe Skiles on Saturday. Zoe and her sister, Gracie, were offering patrons of Dojo Chattanooga and Suck Creek Cycle a way to cool off as the temperature climbed into the high 90s.Even temperatures spiking well above average levels couldn't keep Kathy Johns off her bike Saturday.
"If I have a weekend day where I'm not on my bike I'm really sad about it," she said. "Even if it's burning up and I'm moving, and I'm actually slightly ill."
Johns was burning rubber down Manufacturers Road at 4 p.m. Saturday, the height of the heat. Her dedication seems typical of hard-core cyclists. Even highs of 95 degrees - six degrees above average - can't keep them off the road.
And if today and Monday hit their expected highs in the low- to mid-90s, those bikers are going to have to endure near-gallons of sweat pouring down their bodies.
Temperatures in June averaged 80 degrees in Chattanooga and highs in the 90s are expected through the week.
"They're either hard-core or gluttons for punishment," Suck Creek Cycle owner Mike Skiles said. "People buy bikes when it's hot, and that always amazes me."
But Johns said that on sweltering days, biking is a tolerable alternative to jogging on hot blacktop.
"When it's hot there's no way I'm going to run," she said. "It seems like a nice denial time because you can pretend like it's not as hot because you've got the air blowing on you."
While Johns and others like her were sweating Saturday out, a few entrepreneurs were taking advantage of the heat.
Skiles' daughters, 7-year-old Zoe and 4-year-old Gracie, had set up shop in front of their dad's Cherokee Boulevard store, selling ice-cold lemonade at one buck a cup.
"I said, 'You may do all right, and you may just be sitting out there being hot and melting ice," Skiles said.
But the two girls did more than melt ice and develop sunburns - in just a few hours, the duo raked in more than $40 selling refreshments.
"It's a way for them to experience interacting with customers and buying product and making it and figuring out how much you're going to make from what you're selling," Skiles said.
With such success, the girls might be back out front of the store once their new stash of cash is burned up on movie tickets and candy, but they'll have to steel themselves to the difficulties of doing business.
"Zoe gets tired after a while," Skiles said. "Especially after her sister spills lemonade on her."