Hello, heat...

Rode a quick, early morning loop with Grecia this morning, then decided to carry on for a bit because it was a glorious day. After dropping in to Otsu over Hieizan (one of my favourite 'test' climbs) I decided to head south and do the East side of the Omine Forest Road climb, the other side of which we did on February's Rapha Cycle Club ride. Turns out it's less steep from this side, and the descent is absolutely stunning. I'll try to record it sometime. Definitely one of my favourites now!

Hot day...

The heat started really messing with me a couple of hours into my solo venture. I was trying a new hydration approach but it's just hard to drink enough when it's this hot. I tried bringing one bottle of pure water, which I would drink from frequently and could easily refill, and a bottle of super (x3) concentrated energy/electrolyte drink, which I would drink from about every 15 minutes and wash down with water.

Labelled bottles: left, water (W); right, electrolytes/energy (E)

My scheme seemed to work well and I stayed feeling relatively good right up until maybe the last hour, but my performance on the climbs wasn't great. There's only so much you can drink! Not sure what else to try - I'm thinking that riding in these conditions is just going to be more endurance than KOM-grabbing...

Cold coconut milk with tapioca beads - really good mid-ride refreshment!

Top of the Omine Forest Road climb.

Uncontrollable sweating makes for the best photos, I find.

We're just getting to summer. It's only going to get worse from here.

God help us here in Kyoto...