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When a trip to Italy in 2019 ignited his love of cycling, Tom Williamson began dreaming about bikepacking the world. By 2020, he was fit, trained and finally ready to begin. But before his first real adventure had even found its rhythm, he found himself at the side of the road, stopped in his tracks. “It wasn’t even a crash,” says Williamson. “I’d pulled over because my heart rate kept climbing higher and higher. Then I just passed out and toppled over. I woke up on the tarmac, confused, with a cut face.”