Cycling to Morocco mid august onwards

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 GraMc 16 Jan 2015
I'm going to have a chunk of time off mid august onward and thinking about cycling to morocco, I haven't done much cycle touring before so I'm essentially just wondering if its going to be too hot cycling down through Spain at that time of year?

Cheers for any info
 roddycun 16 Jan 2015
In reply to Ginger McGrath:

I would say it could be pretty hot (ie mid 30's even close to 40 in some cases) but as long as you get up early and cycle between 8-12 and then again between 16-19 you'll still have the time to get a fair amount of miles in.

I find also that even in really hot temps the effect of the wind on a bike really takes the edge away making it doable unless it is a particularly steep section. Just make sure to always have lots of water handy and profit from a good lunch in the worst heat and you should be fine.

 Toby_W 16 Jan 2015
In reply to Ginger McGrath:

When I cycled down the east coast of Australia there were a few days inland at the top where the temp must have been over 40 degrees and it was fine until I stopped to buy a drink at which point I found myself standing in my own personal puddle. I started out drinking water but switched to energy drinks (mixed from powder) for the salts as water just wasn't cutting it. In the North we got up and rode from about 6am until 9, stopped for breakfast and then rode until lunch. Waited out the afternoon then rode for a few hours before stopping again.

I'm sure if you're sensible you'll be fine and will adapt (as we did) along the way to the conditions in terms of hydration and sun cream.

Good luck, I'm jealous.

Toby
 Kimono 16 Jan 2015
In reply to Ginger McGrath:

ill be cycling through spain in june which will be equally hot i suspect, but am used to these conditions as i live in the sun.

If you're less used to it then follow the advice above. I found that when it gets really hot (40+) then i stop every 45 mins or so and buy iced water to pour on my head....this is heaven

Enjoy Tarifa
 vixen 16 Jan 2015
In reply to Kimono:

Hello Have done quite a lot of long distance cycle touring in Spain France, Italy Croatia etc in the past and the sun does beat down and it is very hot. Just had to get up at 4 am and get going. Advantage is you're finished by lunchtime and can then doss about all afternoon. hope you have a good one, and are you going to write about it?
 Kimono 16 Jan 2015
In reply to vixen:

write? nah....just drink vino tinto and enjoy the tapas

I'm riding from Valencia to Santander....got any route suggestions?
 dannymil 16 Jan 2015
In reply to Ginger McGrath:
http://www.dazzlabiketrip.com/

A buddy of mine has just arrived on African soil, I'm sure he's got a few stories and bits of advice. You can see a rough route on the website along with plenty of pictures of the landscape.
Post edited at 21:05
 Bob Hughes 17 Jan 2015
In reply to Ginger McGrath:

I cycled from madrid to france a couple of years ago and live in Madrid
You'll be fine. The hottest month is 15july - 15 june when it can hit 40 quite often. By mid-August though things are more bearable and your lookig at 30 - 35 most days. As others have said, doing most of your riding before lunch is a good idea. The days are long in auguts so you can easily be cycling till 9 in ththe evening. I'd get up at 8 and cycle til about 1, have lunch laze around have a snooze, maybe a swim if you can stop by a river, the get going again around 5ish and ride till 8.

The other thing is, across the centre of spain there's a big mainly flat plateau and bombing across flat ground is no problem at all in the heat so long as you have water. Try to time your big climbs so they're either early in the day or at the end of the day. You dont want to be slogging up an 800m climb at 2pm.

Needless to say take a lot of water. I had 4 bottles of 750ml each and would get through those twice on a hot day (i.e. Each bottle refilled once). drinking so much water, you get sick of the taste of it plus i guess you're losing lots of salts as well which the water isn't replacing. I bought lemons and squeezed lemon juice into one of my water bottles so i could have a swig of lemony water whenever i got sick of plain water. Also keep an eye out of Aquarius. Its s sport drink made by cocacola and sold in spain - i haven't seen it in england. But it is the sh *t for when you are dehydrated.


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