Back home in Australia, after a long ride on the weekends, my wife often likes to go out to a cafe for breakfast or lunch. This means that I have to shower and change as quickly as possible and head out the door.
When choosing somewhere to eat, I have to be very selective. After riding for hours in the hot sun, drinking a coffee in a cafe that has no air conditioning means that within 5 minutes, I'm sweating like I have a fever and am eating a vindaloo in the desert in the middle of summer.
The hot weather makes it difficult to bring the body's core temperature down and unless I am sitting in a swimming pool or laying on tiles in air conditioning, I have to drink endless amounts of water to rehydrate properly. This does not make recovery very easy.
Here in Girona it's cold. Annoying cold. Not so cold that there is snow and you can go skiing or make a snowman but cold enough so that you have to wear 5 layers of clothes and your face hurts in the wind. On the upside, it means you don't sweat very much.
On a ride here, I don't go through a litre of water every half an hour and don't have to drink the same amount for 3hrs afterwards. The body temperature stays normal and recovery is so much quicker and easier. This means that I feel fresher each day and am able to do better training.
Despite this, I still hate the cold. I hate feeling like the Michelin Man when I'm trying to ride cause I have to wear so many clothes. I hate that my nose is constantly running. I hate that my feet go numb and I can't feel my fingers. Bring on Summer!!
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