Two Portuguese die from Heat Exhaustion
 

Just want to share some sad news with you all.

Last Tuesday 2 portuguese, Carlos Ramos, 39 years ols and younger brother António José Ramos 35 years old,ridding Hondas Varadero 1000 died near Erfound.

From what I could gather,3 bikes where doing a piste near or on the Erg Chebbi, with lots of sand ridding, apparently getting stuck often, and having to work hard to dig the bikes out.

On what became the 2 brothers last time stuck in sand , they where unable to release the bikes from the sand. Their friend noticed they where not talking coherently and decided to go find help alone.

When he returned 40 minutes latter with help they where dead .

It's still to early to know what really happened, the bodies are going to autopsy, but first indications is that they dehidrated badly, all that protective clothing, helmets, heavy bikes ( varaderos ) and with all the rush to release the bikes and finish the piste they didn't notice they where dehidrating.

I don't know what temperature was there, but my guess is that it must be hot, in Ourzazate max air temp was 38, min 22.

The lesson I take is simple ,to take plenty of water, drink,be carefull what time of the year to go. Going to the desert is like the sea, must be respected all the time.

If anyone of the forum members understands a litle of Portuguese you can read the full story here : Dois irmãos morrem de exaustão em prova todo-o-terreno - Portugal - DN

Has one final note to this tragedy, they died on their mother's birthday .

Tito

Sad news indeed.

Very sad
 

Indeed sad; 40 minutes is more than enough time to die of hyperthermia = heatstroke, which is far more serious than heat exhaustion.

So, a further lesson is to know about this issue and be able to spot the symptoms, early, and know what to do about such instances - intervening in cases of heat exhaustion early is preferable to trying to deal with heat stroke:-
BBC - Health: Heatstroke

Bottom line: heat stroke can lead to death very quickly and it needs urgent treatment to reduce the patients' core body temperature.

Hi Walkabout, that's what I meant to say, just didn't know the right word, everything points to heatstroke.

Tito

Please note a strange phenomenon: When close to heatstroke, you stop sweating !
And about the confusion: I was close to a heatstroke on a bicycle trip through Australia and after lying down in the shade, under wet clothing, I wanted to continue, but I had to give up packing my thermarest, as I couldn't get all the air out, which normally don't give me any problems.

Sad news!


"40 minutes is more than enough time to die of hyperthermia = heatstroke, which is far more serious than heat exhaustion."

I didn't know that it could take only 40 minutes......a lesson learnt.

Thanks; I just wanted to put out that information - it can't do anything for the poor unfortunate guys who died in Morocco, but maybe someone can benefit from these sad cases.


A good example of the symptoms and well described! Even the simple things become difficult to achieve, and the mind becomes confused by the bad state of the body, leading to poor decisions; in your case, you wanted to push on - I have seen people with the same "wrong" decision process in the mountains in bad weather when "exposure" can lead to hypothermia.

I have seen more examples of hypothermia ( Hypothermia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) being in the UK, usually, but the symptoms of each are quite similar despite the very different circumstances that prevail - they can both result in death, and rapidly.

The human body can only survive in a very tight range of core body temperature; too high or too low is not good!!

Every single body will react slightly differently in these circumstances but the end state is just a matter of time if treatment/preventative measures are not done; that is the really sad aspect, because such incidents of death are preventable, in the main.
Two or more people together, riding bikes or whatever, should look out for the symptoms in each other = the buddy/buddy system, because those entering the early, mild, stages of both hyper- and hypo-thermia will be the last to realise what is happening.
The first person who identifies the issue needs to take charge and deal with it; those suffering from the symptoms will probably resist, wanting to carry out a bad decision while in a confused state.

I'm especially pointing this out, because many sites don't mention this.

On my trip I noticed that my jersey was dry, but I just thought that my new jersey was very good at transmitting sweat to the outside. I didn't recognise the symptoms as it wasn't mentioned when I researched this prior to the trip.

My wish to push on was selfpreservation. I had been lying for half an hour in the shade, continually drinking and wetting my clothes and did feel better. I also knew that there was a watertank, 25 km ahead and a chance to meet other people.

I did bring a satellite emergency beacon, epirb, but didn't find that my situation warranted the use of it just yet.

Insane bikes - Tragic Story
 

A really sad story

If there is another lesson here (apart from Dont be in Morocco in Summer) its that guys, PLEASE dont take heavy road bikes like Varaderos to ride Dakar Pistes or sand dunes.

Its nuts. Its ridiculous. Its insane.

This big bikes for Adventure routes thing is really going to far. When are people going to learn. They are just for the asphalt. Its one thing making yourself utterly miserable trying to ride a Varadero or Super Tenere or 1200 Triumph Explorer across dunes, dakar pistes or other remote off road routes, its another thing altogether when the risk of that misjudgment of your / the bike's capabilities is death :censored:

Bad news !!
I was on the same piste, back the Erg Chebbi !!! last week !!
easy to be lost !!....and 40°

So sorry to hear about all three of these people. Especially for the two poor souls who died, but it can't have been nice to come back to your friends like that, either.

I agree that large bikes have limitations. I'm going to Morocco next Summer (it's the one time in the year when I get the time to do so), but am going to be be as sensible as I can with my F800GS. I like the idea of going off the beaten track, but will draw the line at major sand / pistes. Especially as my experience is not high with these conditions; the name above is an aspirational one!

My thoughts are with their families.

Shocking how quickly it can all go wrong, but IMO the size of the bikes was not the main issue - scores do Moroccan pistes (98% stony) every year on giant Advs and manage what little sand there is with a bit of a fright.

It was just the wrong time of year. When it's hotter than body temp, exposed on a bike the margin for error becomes very small. One little problem (unsuitable tyres, falling over, lack of water, vapour lock) and it becomes a matter of survival.
Iirc, in 2008 a tourist died sitting in a punctured car near Remilia while her partner staggered around looking for a phone signal. And before the road was built, others have perished on the short drive back from Merzouga to Erfoud.

None of this would have been a drama in the cool seasons.

Ch

"So sorry to hear about all three of these people."

Linking these two together, this 3rd guy will blame himself for a very long time; that is the nature of such incidents, increasingly as time passes.
The one who survives asks himself how that came to be, and, and ............. it goes on for a long time.
I hope that he continues to ride, all in due course.

+ for any single one of the unfortunate chain of events it can be survived (while those involved don't even realise how close they have got to a non-happy ending) but putting them all together becomes a litany of decisions, chance and choices - "there by the grace of" go all of us.

How terrible for them, I was there in May and it was hot then. No way i'd take a big bike on the dunes it's madness.

Very sad. My first thought was for the two guys and their families: they were brothers! What a hard time for their family. And the 2nd thought for their friend who survived, he shall be now enduring the toughest moment of his life, hopefully he will overcome it. Sure his friends wouldn't want him to blame himself when he tried his best.

Add that in summer in dry and hot climates, what may be feasible at 9:30am may be almost suicidal at 3pm, so plan ahead to avoid midday hours when the sun is more vertical (ex. 12pm-4pm).

An experience here in Andalusia: table olives are still harvested by hand in the 1st days of September, so it's still very hot. Olive pickers start at 6 or 6:30 am and stop at ca. 12:30pm, working 6 days/week instead of 5, only in order to avoid the hottest hours of the day. Keep in mind that we are west of GMT, so it's actually 1 hour less (aka start at 5-530), so pretty early. This has been done for ages. Thus, hearing cicada song means it's good time to stop any activity.

If no chance to avoid the activity at that risky time, apart from the typical advice of looking for shade, wearing a hat and drinking a lot, act in slow motion: yes, move very slowly, do not overexercise at all to avoid sweating profusely and wet your face, head, neck and shoulders with water to keep you cooler. The same effort that can be done at 9am, should be avoided at 2pm. If possible, just go for a siesta instead, it's not by chance that during the summer we do it...

Esteban

PD: Thanks for sharing that precious info. I didn't know it either, fortunately I have never seen myself a headstroke.

Very sad indeed!

Another sign of heatstroke is rigors (uncontrollable severe shaking) which I had once in Israel, another time in Greece. Because I am not good in high temperatures I have an accurate temperature gauge fitted to my bike with the sensor in the shade away from heat.

My take is as follows:
20C typical English summer day
24C English heatwave
28C lovely--warm enough to ride in T-shirt
32C about as hot as I like it. Take lots of water, sugar, salt
36C getting silly, especially mid summer, head for a swimming pool
40C TURN BACK, head for the coast or mountains

Once it's over 40C you can no longer raise your visor to get air flow over the face as it's like facing a hair dryer, so you have to ride with the visor closed. These are shade temperatures and you have to understand that 36C in October isn't the same as 36C in June/July when the effect of the sun is far more severe.

I also was in the same area last week. I had been planning to do the route Foum Zguid - M'hamid - Taouz - Merzouga - Rissani with Alfie, my son-in-law. He was flying in to Marrakech, so before he was due to arrive I was checking out some of the pistes around Zagora. But the conditions were insane with highs of 41C and overnight lows of 28C. Coupled with absolutely zero shade... I saw two groups of Spanish riders on pogos, but no northern Europeans.

The only way to deal with heat like this is to start real early (I started pre-dawn once) and then find somewhere with a pool to handle the heat of the day which is from 2pm to 6pm. But when it doesn't cool down overnight your body can't handle it. The high overnight temperature was the main cause of the 14,000 heat-related deaths in France in 2003.

Another trick, if you have access to sufficient water, is to soak your clothing in water. This particularly helps if you are riding, even slowly, but is less effective if you are stuck. I have been doing this for the last few days as it is still hot in Morocco, it was 36C yesterday leaving Marrakech. But you can't do that if you are with little water in the sand dunes.

Because of the heat I decided that when Alfie arrived we would discard the idea of the southern sandy pistes and after visiting Ouarzazate we would go to the Todra then into the High Atlas at Imilchil and then head west to check out the connecting pistes across to Anergui and then on to the Cathedral. Nevertheless the 39C temperatures of Ouarzazate took their toll and on the road to Boumalne du Dades Alfie was complaining of headaches. He was fairly well hydrated but we stopped for sugary mint tea and I mixed up three rehydration sachets and more salt (really essential as salt encourages the body to keep hold of the water rather than passing it straight through).

After we got to the Todra Alfie could go no further--bad headache, lethargy, nausea. So even though it was only about 2pm I organised a room in Kasbah les Roches and off he went to sleep in the cool dark room. Later that evening he was much better and we cooled down in the freezing cold spring water of the Todra river and once we got used to the cold water we spent 30 minutes immersed in the stream cooling down our core body temperature.

Icy cold water of the Todra - YouTube

Then more helpings of salt with the evening meal and lots of hydration. After that, the altitude did the trick as the next overnight stop was at 5C! And after finding the highest navigable tizi in Morocco it was me who was suffering, this time from altitude effects with slurred speech and running out of breath.

Exped Mira II tent - YouTube

This was year and month when we were riding through Alps and southern France with my mate on 2 roadster bikes in full leathers for 10 days. We made it, but we were pouring water each chance we get all way over leathers and helmets and drinking water all the time and only slept high in mountains each time. One day we decided to spend night on the seaside and this was worst night I had. I was amazed how cold leathers get when soaked in water and riding anything above 30 kmph.

Some people seem to be able to take it thou...my wife just came back from trip to Israel "on feet" where she faced +47 to +55 daytime and +42 at night and she loves it. But she hates cold.

You both are right the man is indeed passing a bad moment!

Found the tv news with the interview of the rider that survived, the emotions on his voice are very touching, brings a tear to the corner of your eye. if anyone understands a litle of Portuguese you can hear it here http://www.rtp.pt/noticias/index.php...=8&layout=122&
visual=61

I'll be back to Morocco next year and definitely better prepared.

Tito

Very sad.

Last June/July in Morocco we experienced 3 weeks where the minimum temperature (overnight/early morning) was 32degC!

I spoke to a very experienced desert biker a year or two back who despite all his experience still ended up with heatstroke. The route was through dunes, and riding along the tops the breeze kept him and his friend cool and his camelbak sipping was part of his riding. A rider in front came down in a hollow so they went to help. Suddenly he was distracted into forgetting his sipping regime, and the dune hollow had no breeze, he was out of it very quickly. His friend was OK and more help came quickly, so thankfully all were fine, but it surprised him how easy it was.

More than one and well beyond the corner of the eye. Hard to hear when he bursts into tears explaining how he tried to resuscitate his friend and failed, unable to get a single sign of life from him and the soldiers tell him his brother dead as well. God, that has to be tough. I try to figure out that with my friends and part of me would be dying that day, I hope he will be stronger than that.

They had to push a couple of times the bikes out of the sand and after 30 min like that the fatigue was extreme. When one of the brothers started to talk incoherently, the 3rd guy removed all the luggage from his bike and rushed to look for help (if the images of video are form his helmet camera, he was riding a 1200 GS). It looks he was unaware of the seriousness of the situation, as if he could not expect that at all. I read elsewhere that it was their 4th day in Morocco and the 1st on sand/dune.

I agree mate that the size of the bikes was not the biggest issue. But my personal experience there indicates it is still a major issue.

I was there in first week of sept last year (like june a fringe summer month) in 41 degrees the day I rode the dunes at erg chebbi and 43 the next day for the piste from Merzouga to Tagounite.

If was fu@king hot ... but because I was on a bike 100 kgs lighter, I only had to dig the bike out in erg chebbi a couple of times, and never at all on the Merzouga-Tagounite piste. The few times I did had to dig it out were much easier than it would have been on a 250+kg Varadero.

So contrasting my experience with this, the time of year made no difference. The difference was how many times I had to dig the bike out, and how easy it was to dig the bike out. - i.e. the physical effort resulting from the weight factor.

Obviously the time of year was the main factor, but weight and the ability of the bike to handle the terrain seem to have led to the exhaustion, that would not have been there in exactly the same conditions on a lighter more suitable bike.

The reason I decided to cancel our intended southern route from Foum Zguid through M'hamid to Taouz wasn't because I was worried about the size of our bikes, but rather that there isn't a scrap of shade the whole way and I could envisage a situation where we would be stuck with a puncture. The lip on the Tenere rim makes it particularly hard for tyre removal.

Although I was carrying a tent and also a footprint that would act as a tarp, the thought of changing an inner tube in 40+C heat was enough to persuade me to head for the mountains.

It's reckoned that by the time you feel thirsty you are already 10%* dehydrated, yet just 5% affects your judgement. The following exchange of texts between me and my wife from last July indicate how it can creep up on you (and this is in northern Morocco).

Tim: Don't want to worry you but I'm not very well mentally at the moment which is probably why I've 'retreated' to Azrou. Confused thoughts, can't remember what I've been doing, much thinking going off at tangents.

Irene: Can you go to the people you know there who will be sympathetic? I don't think you should be on your own if you are feeling vulnerable. Could you stay at the Childrens Haven? Let me know when you get this.

Tim (next day): I've realised it's dehydration. I've listened to my notes on my voice recorder and my speech is frighteningly devoid of expression and very slow. Since then I've drunk one litre of coke, 1.5 litres of water, five banana milkshakes and will keep pumping in liquids and salt/sugar the remainder of today.

The point in the exchange above is that despite my past experience of dehydration, once it hits you lose the ability to detect that you are in trouble. And this is probably what happened to these guys. The only good thing is that it was a quick, and not unpleasant death--light headedness and loss of consciousness.

*10% is probably wrong, but certainly by the time you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.

This is a sad story but thank you for posting as I have learnt already reading this thread.

My girlfriend and I are riding through Europe at the moment and riding through Macedonia and Albania. The highest temperature that we have had at the moment is 37 degrees. Mostly around 33-35 though and so we have been pouring water on ourselves and are sure to drink a lot of water and we never ride longer than 2 hours. Being from QLD in Australia where the average summer temps are very high we are pretty used to the heat although 2 winters in a row (one Australian and then the European) has adjusted us back to the cooler weather. After about a week we seem to be handling it again pretty well.

One point below that I think is really important is the cooling of the body overnight which allows you to handle the heat again the next day. We have been staying in hostels and budget accommodation and not all of them have air con. Sometimes when they do have aircon, they come in and turn it off at night to save on the bill and then you wake up in a pool of your own sweat. We had to argue with them to turn it on. One point in that BBC thread is that travelers not used to the heat because they come from colder climates need to be more aware... sometimes local hostel owners here don't understand why someone from Britain can't sleep easily in a dorm room with 28 degrees. So atm our priority when booking a hostel or room is air con and we confirm they have a liberal policy with regards to use.

One thing not mentioned so far... Sunscreen. It reflects a lot of light, stops your skin getting burnt but also helps to stop you absorbing heat into your skin. Will help against heatstroke in a huge way. Face, neck, arms, any exposed skin.

We have both made a decision to get up earlier now and head off in the morning when it is cooler and not ride in the middle of the day like we have been.

I agree with colebatch, big bikes are unsuitable for heavy conditions. Only chosen ones are able to manage that bikes in sand and usually they do it with lighter bikes.

The first time I rode in Spain, I found I started developing headaches during the mid afternoon. It took me a couple of days to realise this was caused by dehydration.

Normally I seem to be able to take any amount of heat but I do naturally move quietly when hot. Over the last ten years or so I have become more susceptible to heat but in turn seem to be able to accept more cold than I used to. I used to find I would really come alive and feel great in 28-35 c but now much over 30c I really have to shed workloads dramatically. So now to avoid dehydration I make a point of stopping frequently from noon onwards, for not just a drink, but also to cool and rest. The head ache thing is for me the first warning that I have exceeded my design limits.

staying hydrated - MHO
 

Regarding dehydration (much less severe than heat stroke which befell the two brothers), if planning on riding in Morocco at this time of year it's worthwhile mentioning that there are two types of powders that deal with it.

• the relatively expensive Dioralyte/Rehydrat/[+Supermarket versions] which I'd classify as 'medicinal' for when you're losing it as Tim describes above. About 50p a shot (200ml). Also good if you have the runs and are losing water that way.

• the less expensive 'preventative' tablets like High5 Zero or Nuun tablets, or 'isotonic' tubs of powder like Gatorade sold for sports activities. Tabs about 60p/litre.

Dioralyte/Rehydrat especially are much more than just sugar and salt, though that mixed at 8:1 is better than nothing if you're feeling crook. They include a specific ratio of other key minerals to rebalance your body's electrolyte levels, the medium through which signals are transmitted back to the brain and why your senses (eyes, balance, touch, etc) all start to go when the electrolyte balance is off as you lose minerals in your 'salty' sweat. I've watched a person staggering around and seeing double come round in minutes after taking a Rehydrat.

I always carry a few Tesco-branded 'Dioralytes' on my travels but rarely use them these days unless I get the runs. I think that's partly because I now regularly use Zero tablets when doing energetic stuff in warm places.

And if i'm in a hot place (as we were in AZ/Utah a month ago when temps hit seasonal records), I'd buy it in powder form by the tub. We got through a kilo in ten days but had no headaches or other dehydration symptoms walking 5 hours at up to 40C.
On ebay High5 Isotonic Energy Drink 2kg (not quite the same as sugar-free Zero) goes for 23 quid and they say makes 24 litres @ up to 40°C, maybe twice that if it's less hot.
When I do my camel walks (Alg winter, <30C) I take one tube of H5s per four days, plus plenty of Rehydrats to dish out as needed.

Riding one time in southern Algeria in September (a big mistake...) I was having to stop and drink every 30 mins (10 litres a day and another couple at night trying to keep up). So that tub would have lasted me two days. I appeciated then how, without water or shade but not exerting yourself in any way (like the puncture example given above) you'd be too far gone to help yourself within just a few hours.

Just drinking water was not enough. After a few days I came over all groggy, realised what was happening, did the 8:1 thing and recovered.

btw, plain salt tablets are not the same, and are now discredited AFAIK. The one time I tried them after a long day on the sands in Mori with the runs, I threw up (normal reaction when ingesting too much salt at once). 8:1 is better.

So if you're riding in Mk in summertime I'd strongly recommend drinking something like Zeros regularly (along with taking all the other usual precautions to reduce water loss which others have described).

Ch

PS:
That did not look right to me so seeing as we're all having a go at Tim's stats, I'd suggest this may not be accurate.
A quick Google to a health site came up with:
4-5% = mild dehydration.
'Severe dehydration (>/= 7%)'
So 10% down and you're collapsing or worse.
I'd guess thirst kicks in at 2-3% - the first symptom of gradual dehydration that I experience. Which is another good thing with those tablets: the fruity flavours make you want to drink them more than plain water.

There's been even more unseasonably hot weather in Morocco. Yesterday Marrakech airport recorded a high of 46ºC and low of 29ºC . The 'low' illustrates JetJackson's point about the body not having a chance to recover.

The high of 46ºC is only a few degrees off the all-time high for Morocco of 49.1ºC recorded at Agadir's Al Massia airport. Higher temperatures might well have happened elsewhere but official records can only be recognised when taken with properly calibrated instruments.

____________________________________

You're undoubtedly right, Chris, on the percentage issue. It was something Si Pavey was trying to drill into my head on a particularly hot day and I obviously haven't remembered it correctly. Maybe I was dehydrated ;)

Though I'm pretty sure the 5% bit was right...

Here we go again.
 

Bump.

Because:-
1. It's that time of year, again (comes around every year, strangely).

2. Some folks never learn, so reminders are valuable. Others never knew.

3. It is pretty hot across most of Europe, not even considering other bits of the northern hemisphere - it's your turn next, in the south, by the way.

4. The news in the UK has this subject as a topic at present.



This thread should be a sticky???? (maybe in the health/safety on the road forum).

with 23 years in the Army medical services, heatstroke, heat exhaustion and dehydration are things I know a bit about and have seen many many times. I have worked in temperatures upto 65degrees for short periods and 45 degrees for sustained periods.

I have seen a soldier collapse from dehydration and heat exhaustion in the snow. He was wearing too much clothing whilst undertaking strenuous activity and wasn't drinking enough because of the cold - he didn't feel thirsty.

You can become dangerously overheated in a lot less than 40 minutes.

Drink little and often. small sips regularly. You should not feel thirsty. If you do you are already dangerously overheated and will struggle to make up the deficit. You are drinking to stay alive, not because you are thirsty.

be careful how you cool down. wet rags on areas where the areties come close to the surface help. namely in the groins, around the neck and under the armpits. Also wet the head. DO NOT throw cold water over some one or soak their clothes with water. You will cause the skin to chill, this causes the peripheral circulation to shut down and the body core to super heat.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen can help the body reduce it's temperatures.

If someone collapses from heat exhaustion/heat stroke they must seek medical advice. they will need blood tests to monitor their vital organ functions. The test should be repeated after 3-4 days. Death is from multiple organ failure. This can have a delayed onset after the person appears to have recovered.

damage to your pituitary gland means if you have had heat strok once you are more likely to have it again.

watch your pee!! The old adage was pee clear twice a day. However, early on in Iraq the army ran into problems with guys knackering their renal(kidney) function trying to achieve this. You will not pee clear in hot conditions. You should aim to pee straw coloured AT LEAST twice a day, preferably more.

If you have diarrhoea and vomiting for other reasons (i.e. food poisoning) seek cool conditions and do not exert yourself, you are at significantly higher risk as you are already dehydrated. even if you are vomiting, continue to take small sips of water. some will be absorbed even if you vom it back up.

watch each other, and monitor each others water intake and toileting habits! If you think someone hasn't had a pee today, ask them!

we had bottled water with electrolytes added, diorolyte is ok, but tastes horrible I think. Energy drinks are pretty much as good, but of course more bulky to carry than a few sachets of Dioroylite added to water bought as you go.

Don't drink caffeine containing drinks or alcohol. They will dehydrate you more. Also, because they increase urine output, they give a false idea as to your true state of hydration. They make you pee clearer than you would otherwise because of the additional diuresis so you may think you are ok when you aren't.

Working hard in those conditions could easily require a water intake of 10 litres a day, maybe more. It sounds like these guys weren't carrying enough with them.

Sorry, long post, but hopefully useful

Extremely useful, rest assured.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed post. I'm sure we all learnt something we didn't know about this crucial issue. Really appreciated.

Esteban

Thanks Moggy good stuff
only part I didn't understand or would disagree on would be
What I heard is that ice water or water below 15 degrees shouldn't be used as it can impede peripheral blood circulation. 15-18 is optimal, the more the better.

Not being a biker I am less exposed in my 4x4 (but no AC or fridge).
Being in Algeria and Mali in May was a new experience to me.
I've spent years in the tropics but here we had 40-50 daytime and not below 28 at night. There was no respite, and limited water supply.
When your drinking water is too warm to drink and the nearest shower is days away it gets interesting.
Usually I get by just with soaking my beret - helps a lot!
Now I had to soak my shirt too and let it evaporate. Thankfully it was windy every day.
Strangely, I felt really great all the time.

Definitely!
When travelling in veeery hot weather by car with no AC, my wife and I carry our "sissy summer kit": we spray water all over us and move our Spanish "abanico". It cools you down inmediately, feeling great relief from the heat. In our experience, it works much better if all items are pink...:eek3:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gkb8CDHBF2...0/Blog+012.jpg

http://www.azulychocolate.es/WebRoot...anico_rosa.jpg

I would advise against soaking with water at all. More than once I've seen soldiers who have been soaked in water from peoples water bottles, so reasonably warm. On one occasion he went unconscious and started to fit (end of career by the way), almost certainly as a result. On all occasions the soldiers concerned were more poorly than they probably would have otherwise been (compared to others at similar times on the same exercise and in similar weather conditions)

We used to be issued sweat rags. It's a lightweight fabric square, basically a large hanky, that you wrap loosely round your neck and keep wet. Also stops your collar rubbing

Recurring news item
 

Still not a sticky.

Since this thread was started there has been a case of hyperthermia that occured during the making of a documentary TV programme (for the Brits, channel 4's "Walking the Nile").
The events leading up to the event, including the final hours of the life of the deceased, were broadcast as part of the first of the four episodes.

The Adventure Blog: Journalist Dies While Walking The Nile With Levison Wood

As an aside, after the broadcast an amount of shock and horror was expressed from some quarters at being exposed to death on documentary TV, rather than via the more usual, everyday, news outlets.
But, perhaps some people, even just one or two, learnt a thing or two from that extra publicity?

I should perhaps add that soaking will only work well if there is a wind, as when you are in/on a moving vehicle.

Water On Raghead
 

I used to do a fair bit of weekend walking in the Omani Jebels.Even in the winter temps could be over 36Deg and usually 28-32Deg. Used to start at 5-6am and finish by 10-11am when it was to hot to safely do more.I always wore an arab Shamag(raghead) around my head and found that when I started to get really hot a good dousing with water on the head to keep the 'rag' wet really helped. I also always carried an electrolyte drink as well as water.

Once or twice I overdid the exertion and was very debilitated - not recommended!

Recommend the raghead for outdoor use in these kinds of places. People may think you look like a poser but - do they really know?bier

Coincidentally, I intended to mention the ubiquitous shemag in this other thread, and then forgot to do so in my general enthusiasm for silk scarves.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...layering-84365

Thank you for the recommendation. Was in the desert last month near Mhamid, and boy was it hot. I managed to get tubes of them for £2.50 each from wiggle. Bargain. However, I put them in the bike luggage and they turned to powder, the ones stored in my rucksak didn't! Cautionary words, although I could still use the powder, what was left of the tablets didn't want to come out. They did when I smashed them with a tyre lever. :-)

Have had the same prob but powder is powder - easier to snort ;-)
Got 3 tubes to last me this week: warm and getting warmer.
Don't normally come here this early.

Just as another anecdote about the heat:
We recently had a blow out on the very hot Tarmac in Sudan, cruising in our 4x4.

Changing the tyre, getting tools out etc probably took ca. 45 minutes, though we weren't clock watching.

We had to get out again after 5 minutes with the spare tyre to replace the valve: too long waiting to get used.

But, that day, our 2nd in Sudan after the cool mountain temperatures of Ethiopia: we each drank 4.5 litres of water and pee'd TWICE... that's ridiculous!!
I wonder if we were already dehydrated leaving Ethiopia and hadn't noticed.

More importantly here probably is that we are in an aircon 4x4 with little physical activity required, except for that midday tyre.

You can think up the sums yourselves for when you're out in the dunes having a (beached) whale of a time....

keep your fluid and mineral levels up!!! It's terrible to read of such incidents of bikers dying so quickly.

Hearts out to the friend and families.

Pretty hot here in Nouackchott too. Got stuck in gridlock traffic after coming into the city yesterday, well above 40C. Had already been on the bike for 4 hours and expecting to park at hotel, in 30 mins and it took 2.5 more hours. Had to get off the bike at one point and lie on kerb in shade to avoid passing out. Locals offered cold water which I poured on my head and body armour, to get back my senses. Was over 30 mins before I could ride again. Makes you realise how dangerous it could be in this heat stuck in the desert.

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Above 40C you won't notice if your sweating or not because it evaporates so quickly.
Piss straw colour twice a day, minimum.
Caffeine drinks such as coffee or cola will make your pee clearer so may give a false impression of how dry you are
Don't wait to drink until your thirsty, by then you are already well into a fluid deficit. Drink regularly, your not drinking because your thirsty, your drinking to stay alive.
These guys didn't dehydrate and get heat stroke in 40 minutes, they were already into the advanced stages when their friend went for help. This will have been developing for sometime.Look for the early signs such as headache, lack of concentration and irritability.
Be aware that if you've had a close call with heatstroke, your still at risk of going into organ failure for several days, so stay somewhere you can get help if you need it.
when your working hard, digging out etc, strip down to loose light clothing, then put your stuff back on when you need it. It's a fag but you need to try and stay cool.
If your getting a bit desperate, piss on a rag and wrap it around your neck and/or pack it in your groin to aid cooling (if you can piss!!)
Don't start on a deficit (because you've been out on the lash the night before for example)
Drink plenty when you can, i.e when your at a water source, so you have a good positive balance on board when you start. Once away from the source, don't drink large volumes at once as you'll just piss it back out again, little and often.


That's my advice off the top of my head born of 23 years as an Army medic, and seeing plenty of full blown heatstrokes