Scottish Summer Cycling

An old mountaineer shared a secret with me. In the quest to become a successful Scottish winter climber, one specific tallent is essential. That is the tollerance, first thing in the morning, to dress yourself in yesterday's soaking wet kit. "Acquire this ability", he confided, "and you'll more than double the amount of time you'll climb".

The same is true of Scottish winter cycling. When I commuted by bike, I regularly had to force my body, fresh from a cozy duvet, into soggy lycra. Winter is like that.

But summer? Ahh... Summer is different.

It's bare legs, short sleeves, sunscreen and finding places to replensh your water bottle. Err, no.

When I came back from last Saturday's long ride I swear I found webbing evolving between my toes. 75 miles in just over 5 hours is good for me, although my target is to cover 100 miles in that time. Being able to see through my glasses might have helped. I need windscreen wipers.

On Sunday morning I needed a 'recovery ride'. Nothing big, just an hour's climb and descent to stop everything seizing up. My kit was still soaking wet, so I was back to that winter sensation of forcing the body into damp... everything.

This is a wet summer. Just like the last one in fact. And the one before it. The rainfall figures came out on Monday, showing this July had double the monthly average. Double!