Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
Distance 307Km (ish)
My mind is full of peddles so I got up early to enjoy the sunrise from my balcony before we head back to Chiang Mai in our sag.
Its quite cool to see how far we’ve travelled although of course I wish I was doing it all again on 2 wheels rather than 4.
Its been an awesome trip. Everything I dreamed it could be and then some. A massive thank you to Tom and Yai and to my old friend Thailand for providing some of the most scenic cycling I’ve done to date. No doubt I’ll be back soon but for now its time to head to the Islands for a bit of a lie down.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
8th February
Distance 67km
I’ve never boiled eggs in hot springs before, then neither have I ever been woken up by the intermittent sound of geezers going off. This place is wicked.
Packed up and back on the bikes we head north for our final day of cycling.
As we are weaving upwards towards the border of Myanmar we stop off at a local village fete. Thanks to Yai we leave there about 45 minutes later having been warmly welcomed by the village, given merit to the new temple (along with our own good wishes for friends granted) and become laden with calamari, prawns and coconut bread.
Stuffed with said coconut bread and calamari we head off for our final ride of the day. The last 20km or so are only slightly upwards – however, I’ve been warned. The final 3 are a killer, with a gradient of up to 20 percent. By the time we get to the final check point Tom states that only mad dogs and englishmen would ride up that hill in the midday heat. Being English and partial to a challenge I trundle off in granny gear while the others shout encouragement as they pass me in the van.
Did I make it? The short answer is no. 2km up and I suspect I may be about to die. I have a nice week on the beach to look forward too, hence, with reluctance and very very wobbly legs I push my bike up for the last remaining kilometre.
My disappointment in not quite making it up the hill is short lived. Our mission upwards was to visit the Karen Hill tribes people (famous for their long necks). Any profits made from what they sell are kept directly by the tribes people, used for education amongst other essentials. There is nothing quite like a bit of therapeutic shopping for easing the joints and the ego. In fact, I believe it may actually be better for you than a Thai massage.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
8th February
Distance 94km
So today is our longest ride and I’m greeted by two flat tyres. Normally that’d be a bit of a pain but team Pedalers insist that fixing them is their job!?
We roll out of yet another amazing hotel and onto the road. We’ve only got one stop off today, the Tab Tao Caves. They’re 50km up the road though so for now its time to peddle.
I had thought that cycling in this heat might get to me at times, but I’ve been really surprised to find that actually it’s fine. In fact, I’d trade the heat for headwinds and rain any day. We also have ‘Daeng’ and our sag wagon at every 10km where he bears fruit, water and cold towels. Daeng is my hero.
We leave our bikes at the gate of the Tab Tao cave temple and enter by foot. The caves stretch way into the mountainside forming a giant underground cathedral with huge stalagmites and stalactites falling from all sides. The whole place is deserted save for us and several hundred Buddha sitting peacefully in the dark.
Back on our bikes we cruise along at about 30km/pr hr. It’s dusk when we arrive at the Doi Pha Hom Pok National Park where a handful of holiday bungalows form our place for the night.
Its been a long day and I’m not in the best shape, so my lead-like legs and I are nearly asleep by 8pm which unfortunately is the time to go out to the local hot spot in town ‘55′ which translated from Thai actually means ‘Ha ha’ – funny! I’m soon very much wide awake again courtesy of the very very loud kareoke. The Thai are well known for their sense of fun and although I must question the combination of Celine Dione and papaya salad the food is, as always, amazing and we have a great time.
Food is a major feature on this trip. I can see why one of my tour predecessors referred to her time on the tour as ‘Eat, (Pray), Pedal’. Yai is a passionate foodie, you can see her food blog on the Pedalers website, “What’s Yai Cooking?” check it out for recipes ‘Yai Style’. She LOVES spice, fruit, veggies and coercing us farang into trying as much Thai food as possible.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
Distance 61km
The only problem with staying in amazing hotels is having to leave. And so, with a slightly heavy heart I jump back onto my bike along with the group and we head off to our destination. You can never be sad on a bike though and soon enough the hotel is but a distant memory.
My fellow bike tour companion is a lovely lady called Linda from Chicago. She has cycled all over the place and clearly knows her stuff but is very chilled out and her focus on this trip is just to enjoy the cycling and the scenery. Tom says that there isn’t really one clear demographic of rider who comes on his tours, the common factor is only that they enjoy riding a bike which by my deduction means that they are all going to be nice people.
Today our main stopping point is at a little known temple called Wat Baan Den. On previous travels in Asia I contracted terrible Temple burn-out, but this place is incredible, its huge, there are zero tourists and each separate temple is decorated with a striking range of colours and glass mosaics.
We finish the day off with a trip to the local hot springs followed by a Thai massage. Normally when I get in from cycling I sit in a luke warm bath in hackney for about 3 minutes before I get cold. The hot springs are about as opposite to that as you can get. Its bliss! The massage, well, it seemed like a good idea but I feel slightly as if i’ve been beaten up, hope I can still move tomorrow as we’ve got a bit of a big day ahead.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
Distance 62km
Bags packed and loaded into our sag (the car that takes all our stuff) and we’re heading out of the city. There are four of us in total, so just enough to form a little pack and get on the road at a decent pace. Its warm, its sunny, there is very little wind, its a perfect day for cycling.
Today we are stopping at an the Bai Orchid farm and then at the Mae Sa Elephant Camp. The route up to the elephant camp is my first proper hill – its about midday and 30 something degrees, not usual peddling conditions for a girl who normally rides in Essex, Surrey and Kent in winter. Its about 10km with inclines of up to 10 degrees. However, there’s nothing quite as motivating as beautiful scenery for helping you climb (even if you can’t see it because your head is down and you’ve got sweat in your eyes) and without too much ado i’m up at the Elephant camp, triumphant and a bit sweaty.
The rest of the day is another lovely ride on to our next guest house. As we ride Yai tells us pits an pieces about the things we are seeing, what crops they are, what the local people are doing.
After about 60km we turn up a dirt road, then another one, weaving slightly up hill. About 1km later and we are at our accomodation for the night. This place is unreal, Baan Rai Lanna Resort, is a health retreat and spa, its hidden in the hillside with the individual guest huts dotted either side of small paddy fields. We’ve just got time for an hour by the pool before the sun goes down.
Its OK, you can hate me if you like.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle, blog
Distance 32km
After a leisurely start (and more time to enjoy this amazing hotel) we’re heading South West of Chiang Mai to visit the ancient ruins of Wiang Kum Kam.
It’s a warm up day for getting introduced to our bikes and time to see a bit more of this capital city of the north. It doesn’t take long to get out of the city and very quickly we are passing through paddy fields and villages, passing and stopping at some Wats along the way. Its picture perfect and exactly what I envisioned when I thought of cycling in Thailand.
The Bike
You can bring your own bike or hire one from Pedalers. Although I don’t think she would actually be that surprised, I imagine Louise might not appreciate me bringing my bike to her wedding as my plus one, so I am loaning one of Tom and Yai’s bikes. Its a Merida highbrid with 700/25 Continental wheels. The gears are 34 to 52 front cog and back 13 to 30 gearset, techtro v-breaks, ultegra derailler and flat handlebars. The bike is kitted out with a computer and Tom and Yai kindly take care of all those other little things, like spare tubes that you would normally have to think about, leaving you free and easy to take in the sights and just enjoy the ride.
Tom and Yai are local to Chiang Mai so that night they take us to their favourite restaurant. There is no ‘Farang’ menu here, only Thai, so Yai orders for us – she is truly passionate about food and really enthusiastic about us tasting and enjoying many different thai foods. We enjoy a beer and piles of fresh and very very tasty dishes, many of which I have never even heard of before, let alone tried. Its a good job we’re going to be eating up some miles as well otherwise they’ll be rolling me back into London.