– ODO-22631-22787km
– Location- Tegal, Indonesia
– Weather- 26-37
I realised today for the first time that I crossed the equator. On my ferry from Singapore to Jakarta a couple of weeks ago, while I’ll slept in my bunk, I made it to the other half of the globe almost two years since leaving home. It’s incredible to me how much more of the world there is to explore every time I cross into a new state, country or hemisphere. This will be the first of three crossings off the equator by the time I make it back home.
What got me thinking of the equator was the sheer temperature yesterday. Not since a heatwave in Myanmar had I been hit with such immobilising heat. After starting early I was already exhausted but something I didn’t count on is how the volume of sweat would affect my ride. With the wind from my motion, riding along the flat highway isn’t unbearable. What stopped me was the cramps. I’ve never suffered quite like it. My legs jellified and refused to give in. I was drinking litres of water and isotonic drinks but it’s just wasn’t possible to drink fast enough and for it to get absorbed. I decide to stop early at the next hotel, 140km done, for a lukewarm shower and a hot night under the swinging fan.
