Follow Mike on his 2024 journey cycling through Thailand on his self-made bamboo bicycle. Check back often for updates!

January 31, 2024 - First crash and transitioning to new groups

This will be the last week of reports until Allen and Marilyn return from Antarctica. They will leave the end of this week, so bon voyage and some words to Allen, "Leave them penguins alone!"

I'm in my fourth week here and I've been asking around town for info on the many other groups. I see them on the road, meet them in coffee shops and field their many questions about the bamboo bike. It's getting time to link up with them. I'm now in full knowledge of their meeting places and times. As for speeds and styles, I know nothing except they're probably faster and more reckless than what I'm used to here.

It looks like a slow week. The weather is still excellent but there have been many illnesses and mechanical problems with my usual groups. Our numbers are way down. Only one Dutchman and I went out this morning for the hill assault.

Here's the danger in Thailand. We're riding in darkness with our lights on climbing a hill on a busy road. A truck is parked blocking the shoulder and part of the road. I pull out to avoid the truck and at that moment a motorbike going the wrong way appears and is heading straight toward me. I stop in time to avoid a head on collision with the motorbike and the Dutchman rear ends me. We're completely entangled but somehow there is no obvious damage. We do what everyone does in Thailand, we pick ourselves up and continue. None of that insurance information exchange protocol. I've seen huge smashups here and if there is anyway for the vehicles to continue moving, they will. Now you know why everything is cheaper here...NO LAWYERS!

Well, the bamboo bike has some scratches which I can repair easily at home in the shop, a little sanding, a little brushwork and it'll be good as new. If it was carbon fiber...I won't even go there, too easy of a target.

The hill climbing is getting easier each week. The workouts in the gym, the swimming, the climbing of eight flights of stairs to my room and the 10 km evening walks each day are having a positive effect. It doesn't take long for the Thai transformation to occur. I eat more fruit, more vegetables and more seafood here than in the States. Mostly, I eat in my room but once a day, I eat out and it's always a Thai dish of excellent taste and quality. If for no other reason, come to Thailand for the food. The Thai restaurants in the States cannot compare in freshness and flavor.

Wednesday was just a scenic ride in the country. 75 kilometers to the beach areas, sea side coffee shops and back to town by 10 am. Many cyclists dismiss the slow, scenic ride but they can have enormous benefits. This is supposed to be fun after all. Apart from that, one can make a good workout at slower speed. Shift to a higher gear than usual and grind, practice standing on the pedals, or work on pulling upward on the pedals. Think of it as a gym session but without the barbells.

I expect the rest of this week to be a repeat of last week and to keep Marilyn's web site work to a minimum, I will sign off until her return from the southernmost continent. Hopefully by then I will have reports on the international groups, the Thai clubs and maybe even some groups of Thai lady cyclists. At least we can hope.

Bon voyage mes amis,

Mike in Thailand, the Land of Smiles

1) Cappuccino at Bang Sarai beach

January 28, 2024 - Week 3 wrap up and monthly costs

For Sunday and the last ride of the week, we had a group of seven. Half of the group split off after 35 km to Phufa Coffee house and my group went a bit farther to Dog Shit hill. Sorry, but that's the word for word translation. So named for its rather flat, sloppy aspect and its lack of vegetation, brown all over. What a roller coaster! I'm getting used to the long, steep climbs here but going downhill is still another matter. We reached 65 kph several times. The Thais descend with complete abandon while I'm covering the brakes praying for deliverance. This is the fastest I've ever cycled in my life. As most of you know, I'm still new at this. My first group ride was May 2022 with Sussex Cycling Club and I got dropped on the Friday Beer trail.

We stopped at a beautiful restaurant with a garden setting for drinks called PhuYangNong. This was way out of our normal zone and probably the reason we met so many Thai cyclists. Some on Colnago bikes but many more on Cube.

On the route back to home base, Jittawan, the Thai lady cyclist, and I had brunch at a Thai roadside stand. 70 baht or 2 bucks for stirred fried rice with vegetables and two eggs.

The day's ride total was 78 km making for a week total of 276 km = 171.5 miles.

Having paid all bills for January, I can give some figures for the cost of living here.

Rent for apartment 10,000 baht

Internet service 350 baht

Electricity and water 400 baht

I don't even budget for food and restaurants since it's so cheap.

Haircut for men 100 baht

Massage per hour 200 baht

Beer 60 baht or 80 baht at a bar

Spectacular sunsets free every evening

Exchange rate is trending favorably and is up to 35.30 baht per dollar.

At this rate, I can't afford NOT to be here.

1) Small lake way out in the Thai boonies with Canada, USA and UK.

January 25, 2024 - Riding with friends, dental visit, track work

Enough of the serious stuff, sometimes a ride into the country with good friends makes for a perfect day. This is ad hoc cycling at its finest, no distance, no speed is set. It's like being a kid again and your mom wants you out of the house. As a bonus, you get to play with your favorite toy, the bicycle.

We meet at the corner of second road and soi Watboonkanchana at exactly 6 am. All arrangements are agreed upon using a messaging app called LINE. All the cyclists use this same app here.

Jittawan, the only Thai lady in this club, will decide the route. She has GPS and she has experience. The other rider is David Maybe. We have several Davids in this club. This David is so named because Maybe he will show up. He's a fine ole bloke from London who is determined to change his ways and become a role model for his beautiful Thai/English children. Cycling is his road to recovery.

We go to many of the familiar places using Jittawan's own route. It's long, meandering, scenic and most of the time I feel lost. The road system here is labyrinthine and most roads have no signage, not even in Thai. She's the perfect guide here and soon we are at the Many Coffee farm aka the Jungle bar. I've been here dozens of times, freshly ground Thai coffee, fresh produce from the farm and service with the widest smiles on the planet. We meet some of our friends from other clubs and I get the low down on speeds and styles. These guys like a reasonable speed of 30 kph which I thought was lower than expected. The "International" group likes it around 36 kph. This may be what they call "full gas". It can't be pleasant considering the conditions here. Cycling 23 miles per hour average on these roads... Suicidal! I had to out run a pack of street dogs on this ride. Maybe with their help I could keep up.

Distance for the ride was 63 km. Average speed was fun.

I don't do video content, so for an idea of what touring in Thailand is like, Johnny does a fantastic job. This video records his tour of the Mae Hong Son loop.

Watch "Solo bikepacking the most iconic route in Thailand - Mae Hong Son" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/TwWR1YYEoXE?si=Nrc3-H1m4xIH0Ba6

Thursday is an off day, so I made an appointment to get the choppers checked and cleaned one week ago. In and out in 15 minutes, no papers to sign, no insurance forms, just a hello and thank you. 1000 baht and I'm good until next year. As always, the only form of transport is the bike. I wish I could live so simply in the States.

Friday riding is a bit more serious. It is considered by this group to be speed or interval training. Only the core members participate. It's flat out racing around a track for 30 km with no obstacles and no stops. This is where I can set benchmarks and strive to reach goals in a safe cycling only environment. The goal this season is to top the hills at over 30 kph and maintain 40+ kph on the flats.

Track cycling day arrives and only one Dutchman shows up. We head out at 6 am on a longer, hillier route to the Mabprachan cycling track. The weather has changed. For the last three days it's been overcast and windy but temperatures are still reaching 90+. This is a better route than the usual one. We pass the Siam Polo Club and I presume this fact accounts for the better road conditions. There are no potholes, uneven storm grates nor packs of homeless animals. One thing I've noticed about the Dutch; they are on average the fastest cyclists. Go anywhere in the Netherlands and you'll be amazed by the number of cyclists. The ones that come here are the most avid, serious cyclists to be found anywhere. I tried to drop my friend several times on the track but to no avail. He was always on my wheel and stayed there to the end. We had a few Thai cyclists join our paceline during the 30 km circuit but all dropped before the hill. The Thais apparently don't like climbing.

We stopped for a coffee break at the track, talked to an English cyclist who has been living in Southern Spain but now wants to move to Thailand and then headed back to town with one small detour. The Dutchman wanted to do Buddha hill. It seems any hill with a Buddhist temple at the top is called Buddha hill. This one was steep, probably 15 to 20 degrees gradient, a real lung busting grinder. If you're clipped in, you can't stop at any point until it levels off at the top. We get to the top and he immediately turns for the descent. Sorry no photos this time.

We finish at 9:30 with 72 km for the day.

Next group ride is Sunday. I have no idea who or where. Every ride is a surprise.

Please stay tuned and keep up the riding,

Mike

1) Our guide to the countryside

2) At Silver lake with Mr. Maybe

3) At the dental clinic

4) The start of the track

5) Tea and Coffee at the end (YouTube Video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwWR1YYEoXE&authuser=0

See Part 1 for prior entries