On Friday I returned from my summer tour around north Wales, and again it was one I cut short. In contrast with my last tour, which was cut short because of poor weather and tiredness, this one was cut short because of heat. We’ve had weeks of sun (for a change) and while it’s been fantastic for lazing around in, it’s not great for cycle touring in. I’d followed through with my training plans, and had been cycling a lot more, including a lot more hills, so I was feeling fit and strong ahead of this tour. However, it was still difficult to ride a fully loaded touring bike up lots of the hills on my route, and again I spent a lot of time pushing. In the intense heat, this meant that I was sweating huge amounts, with it running into and stinging my eyes, yet I was having to ration my water intake as there weren’t many places to top up along the way.
