Tough ass day........
We had planned to leave the hotel at 7 but I got to my bike and was airing the tires and the valve on the rear tire broke off in my hand. So had to change tube which gave us a short delay. We've been very lucky thus far...that was the first tube change we've experienced on this trip which really is amazing given we've ridden through a lot of glass along the roads (not unlike home). So I slapped a new tube in and we were good to go.
We got out of Khon Kaen in fine shape, then saw a sign which said Phi Mai 168K...I about stopped right there, as that stupid map showed the distance at 130K!!! I hate these friggn maps!!! We knew it was going to be hot, as we were already sweating (or I was anyway..Colin hardly sweats!!) heavily by 9 a.m. Luckily, the road was almost pancake flat so we clicked into the big chanring and just cruised at 26-30K an hour. Around noon, the heat started to really set it's toll and I was hurting big time. We stopped for lunch (noodles again...but they taste so great when you're zapped) and I downed a couple of energy drinks and a coke. The last 40K were really tough as we were in the hottest part of the day, riding an asphalt major highway (there weren't any secondary roads near for us to ride) and traffic blazing past us. But we had a very good bike lane on the highway and felt no danger or discomfort with the traffic. I'd love to be able to ride like this in the U.S. People here are just so respectful, peaceful and love seeing cyclists riding the roads; they really do. They'd never even consider trying to see how close they could get a car or truck to you. They even slow down when they see you and they lean out of the cars and trucks, give you a thumbs up and yell "where you go"..we say toward Bangkok and they just shake their heads!!!
We couldn't resist taking pics Home sweet home in Phi Mai
of these water buffalo!
There's something else I've noticed throughout Asia that you don't see at home. Colin and I talked about this at length just last night. And that is...you don't see ANY GRAFFITI at all!..Anywhere! And I have noticed this throughout my travels in China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, anywhere I've been in Asia...big cities and small cities...you just don't see it. Makes me really wonder what the difference is between our youth and their youth...but then I think we all know the answer to that.
We finally arrived in Phi Mai around 5:00 pm. It was funny, as we turned off highway #2 to head to Phi Mai and it was 10K to the city center (small city of maybe 15,000 people). We were cruising along about 25K and got passed by these two kids on mountain bikes, who were hammering at around 32K an hour. They got about 50 meters in front of me and I clicked into a higher gear and went after them...ended up drafting those kids at 32K an hour for about 6K before they realized we were right behind them on their wheel drafting!! Ha! It was so funny!! Then Colin zips out around me and them and buries them! They didn't know what to say!! Just laughed and gave a thumbs up!! Cool kids............
Once again we had difficulty finding a place to stay...not because of unavailability, but because we didn't know where the hell we were going and these damn maps they put in Lonely Planet really do suck. Finally, we figured out the map and found this place called Boonsari Guest House. Now from the front, it looked like a little noodle shop and a real dump. But Colin went in and checked and came out with a big grin on his face and said that yeh they had two singles for us with hot water, cable tv and AC...for 500 baht a nite (about $16) so we booked two rooms for one night. I was really whipped from the ride and covered in electrolyte salt. And all I wanted was a beer and a shower then some food!
So after getting the beer and shower, we found the night market and set out to get some food. We ended up at a small food stall and again...rice and chicken with basil and chiles...can't seem to get enough of this stuff! Amazing the kind of meal you can buy here for $.50!!!
To bed by 9:30!!
Picturest to be posted later...computer I'm at doesn't allow for USB downloads.
Len
No comments:
Post a Comment