All this hot weather made me think. Going to Afan next W/E and wondered if there are any opportunities along the trails to recharge water supplies (particularly along syline?) Have only got 1.5L and I manage to get through that during a little jaunt to the local woods…

There is nowhere on the Skyline.

If you do the W2 you have a cafe at the mid point

But don’t use the water from the toilets at the afan car park.
It is warm and it gives you the runs. Not pleasant!

Time for a decent sized camelbak…

Time for a decent sized camelbak…

true, true.

cant really afford any more expense. Ill fill the frame up and add a water bottle :p

Take some puritabs & fill up from any streams you might find – however the only really reliable stream I can think of is at the bottom of the Energy trail..

Big camelbak should do it – 3 litre jobber

why use the bogs at afan? – theres perfectly good drinking water taps!

puritabs and the stream at the bottom of whites as said above…

Get yourself some dehydrated water in case you run out

Get a cheap bottle cage and bottle as backup (mine was 2 quid from Aldi). Doesn’t live on the bike but does go on if I don’t want to carry a bag or am expecting to fry.

On big days out in the summer heat you can expect to use 1l of water an hour. That means that even if you use a 3l camelbak, theoretically you could be dry in three hours and pretty dehydrated in four, not to mention the potential for cramps from the loss of body salts all that sweating can cause.

Historically I’ve scheduled stops at civilisation to replenish, but I do have an ‘aquastraw’ and plastic bag to allow me to scoop and drink water in streams and whatnot. Its not as convenient as a pump actuated water purifier or tablets but its lighter. The disadvantage is that it only purifies what you drink at the time you’re drinking, so its no good for completely re-filling a camelbak for example.