Two Wattbike Atoms, two iPhones, three pairs of bone- conducting headphones, a pair of Nissan Qashqai keys and about £50 in cash. No, I haven’t just had a happy half hour in Cash Converters; these are in fact a list of things I have, over the course of the past two years, sweated into oblivion. Yes, perspiration positively gushes from my brow in huge roiling tides. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked, “Oh, is it raining outside?” when, no, I’ve merely been for a 30-minute bike ride on an 18oC day. And as for turbo sessions, well, let’s just say that I’m fairly sure I’ve compromised the structural integrity of my garage.
I wanted to get to the bottom of this: why do I leak like I’ve got several washers and a screw or two loose? Am I specially adapted to lose heat, or will I one day be found shrivelled up by the roadside looking like a large prune? Seriously, I wanted to know whether sweating in such ludicrous volumes is detrimental to performance. It means I need to consume more water and, potentially, electrolytes while racing, but is that a disadvantage?
