To wick or not to wick ...

...is the question at the moment.

Whether to suffer the slings and arrows of the adventure shops and clean up on all the end of summer bargains in the travelwear department - or just to make do with what I have.

Like everything else, the technology involved in travelling clothes is mind-boggling. I can buy a shirt that is no-crease, lightweight, designed to wick the sweat discretely away from the body (where to? Do I walk around dripping?), deflects the deadly UV rays, and has a collar specially designed not to flop so as to give maximum protection to the back of my neck.

Oh, and is easy to wash and quick-drying.

If I can afford it.

Or I could just buy a few cheap cotton summer tops with long sleeves, which I could presumably wear on subsequent occasions that don't involve extremes of heat and sand.

It's hard isn't it?

It feels important not to build  any unnecessary suffering into a trip that already has quite a potential in that direction, but on the other hand, I don't plan to make a habit of this sort of thing, so it's not that I'm going to need all of these special features in the future.

And I don't have loads of cash to spare.

At the moment my decision is to go with what the locals wear - long-sleeves, loose and cotton as far as I can tell from the pictures.

I did splash out a bit on a new pair of boots, because the feet are important, and I'm not even going to stint on the technological socks (much wicking, cushioning and lack of seams involved) even though they are eye-wateringly expensive. Except for the pair that I got at Aldi, which have all the techno stuff, and are also deodorised. Charmingly they come complete with instructions for use. I didn't keep the label but I do remember the warning  that even though they are deodorised, you do still need to wash them. I'm guessing they're popular with teenage boys - or is that a cruel stereotype?

Oh, and a quick update on training as I haven't been around for a while.

1. Still cycling daily to work - and actually miss it when I don't do as much. (Who'd have thought it?)
2. Did 2 seven and a half mile walks 2 weeks ago with Jonno (Hallo Jonno). Lovely. One in the Cotswolds, and one in the Wye valley.
3. Did my own little miini-triathlon on Holiday Monday: swim in the lovely Portishead outdoor pool (more than 1/4 mile), a walk along the beach, then back home for an hour's serious digging in the allotment.
4. Another walk coming up on Monday - hooray!