The ride to Bangkok Part 2

jobiker (66)in #bike • 3 years ago

I have ridden bicycles all my life but I have never done a multi day trip like this before so I'm have a great time discovering that its pretty dam fun and pretty dam hard work. I have lived in Thailand a long time and I speak pretty OK Thai so many of the challenges that a visitor may face I dont have to. Like communication of course and knowing where and what to eat.

I have travelled up and down the length of Thailand loads of times by car and motorcycle. The first thing you notice on a bicycle is how slowly you are travelling which means your senses are heightened. When u cycle through a village you see people eyes, you smell what's cooking, you hear people laughing and talking, you see life unfolding all around you. It's almost surreal.

So anyway after my first day of just 56km from Phuket to Khao Lak (see link to post above) On the 2nd day I then had to face the toughest day of the entire trip - crossing the mountains that divide the east and west coasts of Thailand. Now it's not exactly the Himalaya but on a bicycle in the midday heat its bloody hard! I had a 12km hill climb in absolutely baking conditions. I had to stop multiple times and inevitably ran out of water. Total distance 68km.

That took me to a place called Khao Sok. From there it was downhill and thru awesome small county roads to the province of Surat Thani. The 3rd day was 100km exactly. I was super stoked that I rode 100km - it was the longest I have ever ridden a bicycle in my life and actually it was pretty easy (I even had a sneaky beer at the 70km mark)

From there I have snaked north hugging the east coast of Thailand as much as I can (roads permitting). Amazingly there was even some designated bicycle paths which I never expected to see. I have just completed the 5th day and I'm nearly 450km from my starting point. Today was the longest day (110km). Im enjoying it and I'm feeling fit. It's only 5 days so there is no huge change like weight loss or muscle gain, but I feel my endurance has increased and I'm very comfortable in the saddle - it's amazing how suddenly the 1st 30km disappears in the morning before I even think about stopping for a rest.