cycling in thailand

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 Maetaman 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.

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 (top thai brand of bike) 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.