Day 4 was by comparison to the days that preceded it a relatively 'easy' day. Still over 100 miles, and with 2000m of climbing, but yeah... easy.

It all began brilliantly. I felt much better than I had done yesterday, and we all did a nice big group climb before stopping for a drink at the top. All very social.

A big descent and then a 90km flat stretch took us to the shores of Lake Como. What a sight to behold. Sparkling water and lush green hills made for an amazing arrival. The ride over was hot, but it was great fun to ride as a pack and really get into the swing of operating as a team to protect each other from the wind. I got told I was very good at it, which was a nice rare compliment! I can also tell you that when riding for hours and hours in the blazing heat, watermelon tastes like it was handed to you by the gods themselves.

Then it all went wrong.

We stopped by Lake Como for a quick dip of the feet in the water (bliss) and an ice cream (also bliss) then boarded a ferry over to Ballagio.

My word it was hot. I felt the sun bake down on me and it instantly made me feel bad. I chugged a couple of cans of coke, some pizza, a sandwich, some sweets and thought 'great, I'll be fine to get up a 12km climb'. Wrong.

3km in, and my head was spinning. I emptied both of my bottles over my head, but it made no difference. I felt like I was going to topple over, so I brought myself to a stop and then collapsed to the ground. A few other riders stopped to ply me with drink and cover me with water. One then checked my pulse and said it was extremely low. My pupils were the size of pin pricks. A quick call to the tour organisers and I was shipped off into the van. Two days in a row. Fuck. It was devastating but utterly the right decision. Had I gone any further I would have passed out and who knows what else from there.

Tomorrow is a shorter, much flatter day, so hopefully I can bounce back.

Here is the video diary from today. I hope to have a happier one for you tomorrow! https://youtu.be/TJsq9RsImd8

Please make this suffering worthwhile, and help improve the lives of those who suffer far far worse: www.justgiving.com/simon-lewis-fireflies-tour-2019

Fingers crossed for tomorrow,
Simon