Having established that Butt Lite isn’t a walk in the park, and that there are some things I know I need to manage, I’m working on my strategies to prepare.

First, the ‘reduced alcohol intake’ thing… Let’s be clear – I like my wine. Nor am I averse to a good G&T. I do the obligatory 2 days a week without alcohol because my doctor says I should (usually Tuesday and Wednesday because after Monday I need a drink!), but the rest of the week I do my bit to make sure that the NZ Sauvignon Blanc industry keeps ticking over. I understand this isn’t the healthiest habit I could have, but it’s my version of chocolate or ice cream. Given the choice of dessert or a second glass of wine – I usually choose the wine!

So reducing my intake to one (max two) glasses of wine on only three nights a week is going to be tough. To help make it easier I’m doing something I picked up on Jamie Oliver’s ‘5 ingredients’ show and making ‘fruit infused water’. It’s basically a jug of water in the fridge to which I add fruit and/or spices to make the water taste less like water and more like something I actually want to drink. The aim though is to keep the calorie intake down – as far as I’m concerned replacing wine with cordial is just not worth it. So this week is passionfruit water… As I mentioned in the last post, so far it’s going ok. I kept myself to one glass of wine each night on Friday and Saturday and had two tonight just because. The water tastes nice and I can kid myself it’s still a fancy drink which helps me not just keep pouring more wine into my other glass. Week two of work coming up so we’ll see how it goes from here… If it genuinely helps me feel less tired and sleep better, then I’m all for it!

Second, the heat and hydration management thing… The first couple of rides I found this a problem were a few years ago now. Heading down to the Philip Island SBK in 2015 was the first time I’d been on the back of the bike in temps above 27 degrees and after an hour and a half I was well and truly over it. I wanted to get off the bike and NOW. The best I could do to keep cool was hold my arms out with my elbows at right angles trying to get some air flowing up the sleeves of my jacket and I was sweating up a storm. Second time was a loop I did with Kiwi down to Merimbula and back – by midday I had a screaming headache and needed to get off the bike for a nap in the shade… I can only think I was not a desirable passenger at that time.

Fast forward to our first Piwi practice ride for Butt Lite out to Temora between Christmas and New Year 2017 and a very kind Alison Gilbert lent me her airflow jacket for the ride home in 36 degree heat. I can now say I understand what the fuss is about and I have to get me some of that! We have some new Rukka airflow gear on order for me, unfortunately it won’t arrive until April or May but knowing it’s coming is making me feel far better about the riding conditions in the US in Summer. It might not be so unbearable after all! And I also have my own camelback water hydration system which should help with the dehydration – only problem is that with a top box behind me and Martin in front with his own camelback, there’s not a lot of room for me with anything on my back… so that’s the next problem for solving.

Between now and July I’ll be looking for all the advice I can get on making life on the bike easier so throwing it open to the brains trust… Any assistance greatly appreciated!