Shortly before heat stroke
N 10°28'57.6'' E 104°17'42.7''
Date:
01.05.2017
Day: 671
Country:
Cambodia
Province
Kêb
Location:
Kep
Latitude N:
10°28’57.6”
Longitude E:
104°17’42.7”
Daily kilometers:
36 km
Total kilometers:
23,649 km
As the crow flies:
20 km
Average speed:
23 km/h
Maximum speed:
35 km/h
Travel time:
1:30 hrs.
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Maximum height:
10 m
Total altitude meters:
70.988 m
Altitude meters for the day:
50 m
Sunrise:
05:45
Sunset:
6:15 pm
Temperature day max:
37°C
Departure:
12:30 p.m.
Arrival time:
5:00 pm
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
“Oh, you want to check out already? I would have loved to cook for you every day,” says Mika’s wife when we announce in the morning that we want to leave for the border today.
37° C in the shade and the enormous humidity are still causing us problems today. We cross the region’s salt extraction basins in the sweltering heat. After just a few kilometers, we think we’re going to fall off the bike at any moment. Sweat runs out of your pores in rivulets. We can hardly keep up with the drinking. After 10 kilometers, we leave the road to seek shelter from the merciless sun under the roof of a petrol station. I put my bike on the stand and stagger to the gas station building to sit down on a step in front of it. Tanja sits down next to me in silence. I have rarely been so exhausted in my life. My heart is beating like crazy and the sweat is still running down my body in rivulets. Somehow I have the feeling that I’m burning up. After a short time, I get up again and run to my bike to get my water bottle. I empty them over my head. The hot water runs down me without relieving me. “I can hardly stand it any more,” I moan, settling down next to Tanja again. My gaze falls on a refrigerator in the gas station. Groaning, I get up again. I actually discover a bottle of water that is reasonably cold. I force the liquid down my throat. The result is an even greater flow of sweat. “So, are you feeling a little better?” asks Tanja, a little worried. “A little, but I wonder if what we’re doing here still makes sense?” “What do you mean?” “Riding my bike in this monkey heat and crazy humidity of almost 100 percent. I’m seriously worried that I’m on the verge of exertional heatstroke. The conditions for getting something like this are perfect in this country at this time of year. What’s more, we wear long-sleeved shirts to protect us from the sun. Long-sleeved shirts are important in winter. Sure, you don’t want to freeze to death, but now in the Southeast Asian summer, these shirts are more of a killer. I feel like I’m wearing a condom. Sweat can’t be wicked away to the outside air. It’s simply down to the material. Maybe I should try a wool shirt? What protects you from the cold may also protect you from the heat. Either way, the combination of high ambient temperature and high humidity is massively stressful for our bodies. Because of the humidity, the moisture can no longer evaporate, so there is no evaporative cooling that could cool our bodies down. For this reason alone, the important cooling effect is missing.” “True, but we knew it wasn’t far to the next place.” “And yet I’m sitting there now, after just ten kilometers, and would love to jump into an ice lake. It’s kind of crazy. In winter, I always longed for the warmth and now I’d really like it if the temperature dropped by 20 degrees. But we’ve talked about that a lot in the last few weeks.” “And what do you think is the solution?” “Hm, I don’t know. The fact is that heatstroke can be fatal. It doesn’t matter whether you’re young or old. We should take a very close look at the kilometers ahead of us. We may have to shorten the route. It won’t do anyone any good if one of us falls off the trestle unconscious.” “Totally agree with you. For now, let’s ride to Kep and find accommodation for the night. Tomorrow we’ll have to drive the remaining 40 kilometers to the border to renew our visas. Then we’ll sit down together and plan a sensible, feasible route through Cambodia,” Tanja suggests…
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