Daily Archives: April 16, 2015

Too Hot -

61.2km en 8H20′
Last night we were completely cut off, there was no network from the 3 Internet service providers in Madagascar. We are cut off and the scenery has closed us in. We are surrounded by magnificent mango trees which provide shade while we wait for Serge every 4/5 kilometers. There is a succession of villages, small rivers and bridges. After 5 kilometers Serge is already dripping. We were expecting a dry heat and it is not the case. According to Danz, yesterday’s rain and the heat from the ground are responsible for the humidity. Nothing dries, Serge wrings out his T-shirt because he fears chaffing and he applies anti-chaffing cream every 5 km.
There is something new. From the start Serge has been running without his heart rate monitor. The GPS watch is there only to give his mileage and he never looks at the stopwatch by the way. It shows only the day’s mileage and there is no pressure on his time. A few days ago he thought it was 14H45 but it was only 14H15….This detachment is beneficial and it’s surely responsible for Serge’s serenity on the road. Yesterday, for the first time, after taking his shower and lying down for a rest, out of curiosity he took a reading of his heart beat: 44 hbm.
Another fact, Serge would rather be hot on the road than at the camp site. Yesterday there was not a breath of air and you got wet just standing still. Serge prefers to move in the heat than to rest in the shade at the camp. This morning he decided to leave at 6H00. This evening he is not sure about it because he had a hot flush at the 35th km and another at the 45th. He asked me to look at the site to see the temperature indicated by the beacon and I have to admit my surprise to see 34°C/34°C. I found it hard to believe. It is 18H30 and I’m dripping on the keyboard of the computer, as if I had just come out of a shower, and it is already dark. 34°C, hard to believe and too hot to work, too hot to do anything, even sleep.
See you tomorrow