A Social Run and a Social Ride

Yesterday I woke up and went from a social run from 08:30, for 7km before returning home, and dressing for cycling. I then cycled 77.48km according to Strava via Garmin. What surprised me is that I wasn’t knackered at the end of the ride.

The run wasn’t slow. The pace was sustained for 7km with some gradients and trail running through a forest. It’s when we stopped at Colovray, and stood in the sun that I felt like I was overheating and in need of shade. That’s why I left the group early to change into cycling clothes. I had already checked tire pressure and more.

I cycled to the cycling meeting point, had a croissant and a coffee. We then cycled along the lake before climbing, and then heading back towards the Signal de Bougy and back.

At one point someone was riding a little slower than the group and I think this really helped me save energy. By riding a little slower I had time to save my reserves of energy, to use later.

I struggled with the heat while cycling. I think my struggles with the heat are due to one key issue. I live in a building that is 30°c non-stop from morning until night, and I’m sleeping in 30°c heat. I think that this pressure on my system, or body, is reflected when cycling. Yesterday I felt that I was overheating. That’s why I put my feet in two fountains, and why I wet my face, my arms, and my neck. That’s also why I use a bottle of water without electrolytes as a portable shower.

I could feel after the Signal de Bougy that I was skirting heat stroke/overheating. I stood in the shade and I poured a little water on my head, to cool. It worked. I shivered.

I had plenty of snacks with me for this ride, and two water bottles. One with electrolytes, and the other with water. The idea is to drink one, and then the other, and at water fountains to fill both. The other aim is to have a “shower bottle” as I call it. A bottle of clear water that I can spray myself with to cool when I need it.

After the climb from Signal de Bougy I really needed to cool myself. It’s amusing because we felt a welcome breeze at one moment. This summer we have had canicule after canicule. We have been in a permanent heat wave for months, especially those of us living in Minergie Hell.

Yesterday I was surprised that I still had energy reserves.Usually when I ride with this group I’m knackered by the end. I don’t know whether slowing down for someone helped. It could also be because we had 900m of climbing rather than more. It could also be because I fuelled well, and because my fuelling strategy was right. The fuelling strategy was simple.

We will see if it works next week if I repeat the experiment.