LawrenceN

I moved here from the U.S. in June of this year. Brought one bike with me on the plane and shipped one which arrived with household items six weeks later. I'm glad I brought two, and extra wheels (more on that below). In my case, one is a road bike, with CF frame, etc. I'm finding good rides in the Chiang Mai area, some potholes, but not too bad; I haven't dented a rim yet. The other bike is my cyclocross bike. There's no CX here, but it's a very versatile bike: fits a rack, takes knobby tires up to 38mm. I consider that one to be my "town" bike, mainly because running errands often requires carrying something on the rack. I also use it when I expect bad roads, gravel, or offroad. And I switch to road tires when a friend (who is my size) goes with me on road rides. I think if you bring them both, you'll be glad you did. The reasons you bought two in the first place apply here as well. I'm thinking about getting a mountain bike, too.

I have been avoiding tuk-tuks for years. They're all a big rip-off. In CM (where I live), it's almost always better to use the red song-taew.

I remember the days in Bangkok before taxis had meters. Now that we have metered taxis, they're almost always more comfortable, safer and cheaper than tuk-tuks, and you don't waste time arguing about the price.

The most recent failure was with a Camel tube that has a threaded valve stem and a nut which secures the valve stem in place. I tried this because I thought the failure might be because of the valve stem moving or being bumped causing stress and a puncture or tear.

I'm a road rider using presta valves. I don't trust those knurl nuts on the stem and quit using them a while back. A shop mechanic in the U.S. pointed out to me that there's a temptation to tighten them too much, which can pull the tube into the rim too forcefully. With a wheel upgrade last year, I had to by tubes with extra long stems that have no threading, so no way of using those nuts, which indicates to me that they are really not necessary. Try no knurl nuts on the stems for a while and see if that helps.

I realize that doesn't explain the problem when you rode on Schrader tubes, but maybe the others are right about a bad batch in that case.

Tiger Kingdom just outside Mae Rim has a nice buffet for 200 baht, except when they have a promotion price of 99 baht. There's no admission charge when you simply tell the staff you're only there for the buffet. Plus you can sit on the veranda and watch the tourists take pictures with the tigers in their big enclosure. It's a great place to take visitors. Some of my wife's university classmates (Thai) were here over the weekend. They loved the food and agreed it was a bargain.

Yeah, I realize it's Mae Rim, not CM, but I figure there are lots of readers ot this forum out that way, too.

Korean airlines... thru Seoul, direct to CM.... see other threads for more details or just call airlines.

I have been thinking about the same thing. Surprised nobody mentioned China Airlines, which (according to CAL's timetables) flies from LAX to Taipei, and Taipei to CNX, Sundays and Wednesdays. True also for some other West Coast cities. Problem with this? The layover on the ground in Taipei is over 13 hours. Gee, you think Incheon is a boring airport? Maybe I shouldn't bash Chiang Kai Shek airport; I haven't been there in 25 years. Let me know if it's improved.

What I would do? Ask your travel agent to get you to Taipei in the afternoon on any other airline, then connect to CNX on that evening flight. You might ask your travel agent to take the same approach with other Asian gateways, like Hong Kong maybe. Singapore and KL just seem to prolong the torture, though the OP didn't say: Are you flying first class? If so, you arrive in Singapore refreshed and connect as some of the others suggested on Air Asia.

Me too, I live very close to you in San Sai and have a road bike, I don't ride it much, but am in decent shape and up for a road ride as long as your not a speed demon. I like to ride the same places as you, avoiding the big roads and enjoying the beautiful Thailand countryside. I also have a extra Mt bike and know some nice places to ride around here since I ride a few times a week, sometimes, like I did this morning, with another local or maybe Tonto21 will come down again for a ride and entertain us with his hilarious stories.

Hey 'junglechef' What do you think……………………….OP's gone on a monster ride-out….And not back yet?

No, no monster ride-out. I posted this on the Cycling forum, too. I was watching that one and nearly forgot about this one. Tell me where to meet and when. My phone number is 086-115-7277.

Wife and I were just about to leave for a litle bike trip this morning, just to the Sam Yaek market for some fruit when that downpour started. Geez, dodging the weather is more challenging than the rides.

The dogs were here before your tricycle and you in arse clinging spandex.

That doesn't give them any right whatsoever to rush out onto a public road at cars, cyclists, pedestrians or motorcyclists.

And I would not be seen dead in spandex, nor one of those plastic lids which are probably as useless as they look, nor gloves, nor special shoes nor carry the obligatory water bottle nor ride around in organised groups.

Nope, just like my exercise around the local roads.

And I fail to see why it should be spoiled by a <deleted> untrained canine.

One of those "plastic lids" saved me from a concussion (at best), maybe permanent brain damage. Helmets work, and sneering at them doesn't change that. Health statistics support this, just as they show seatbelts reduce mortality & morbidity. Do you sneer at seatbelts, too? If so, you're welcome to stay right where you are in the middle of the 20th century.

I went down hard, tripped up by a cat that dashed under my wheels from under a shrub alongside a bike path in Madison, Wisconsin in September 2004. I was moving along at about 25 kph. Skinned both knees and a shoulder, and landed hard on my right hip. When my head went "WHACK!" on the ground, I smiled, because I knew my head was fine. That helmet had a big crack in the back. Amazingly, an emergency room doctor saw my crash. Thirty seconds after I hit the ground, I had my joints checked, and pupils (center of the eyes) checked. The doc explained that was a way to check for brain damage. He also warned me not to stop the rest of the way home, because I would stiffen up a few minutes after stopping. He was right. After a shower, I went straight to bed where I spent the next 24 hours. This could have been life-threatening, and the helmet made the difference.

By they way, I also wear spandex. The seams are in the right place, avoiding "sensitive areas." There was a psychological barrier to cross when I first put them on, but they're very comfortable after you get used to them. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

The Citybike looks like it would hurt your knees as the seat is too low. If they can find some way of adjusting it's height then it would be better in my opinion.

I agree. That was my first impression when viewing the video. The rider's legs go nowhere near straight. The effect is the same as borrowing a kid's bike.

I have been thinking about getting a water pistol, maybe even with a holster to mount on my bike. Fill it with vinegar and go for the eyes as the need arises. You animal lovers can save your breath for two reasons: (1) I'll defend myself when under attack, and the animal will learn to leave my alone. (2) The animal will recover from vinegar. I had considered undiluted bleach. The problem with my plan? I can't find a water pistol. The vendors all tell me they're only available around Songkran.

My respect to all of you who ride a bike here. I come from a country where there are supposodly more bikes then people. I used to ride loads of bikes but i would not try it here.

The main problems are that you can't keep up with the speed of traffic + the fact id sweat myself to death.

I ride a scooter and a CBR250R and Honda Jazz. I feel safe in all 3 of those because i can keep up with other traffic. When i first started riding a motorbike i went slow and as a result got cut of many times. I can only imagine how bad it will be on a bike.

I have found it to be quite the opposite: I easily keep up with traffic on my bicycle, especially inside the Super Highway (Chiang Mai). I often pass motorcycles and cars, wondering where they have the training wheels mounted.

I moved to Sansai, NE side of Chiang Mai, in July. I live about 1.5 km past the 3rd ring road just off Route 118 (the Doi Saket road). I would like to find a group of roadies to ride with regularly, preferably starting in Sansai. Hills would be OK. I have been riding alone between Sansai, Mae Joe, and Doi Saket, avoiding the major highways, exploring the little rural roads connecting the villages. Me? I'm 56 years old, a regular road rider in the U.S. for years. I'm a former Peace Corps Volunteer, so have been speaking/reading Thai for over 30 years. The language comes in handy out there, as you all know. My bike is a Cannondale Synapse, carbon fiber frame, lower-end (Tiagra) Shimano components. I have a backup unit, which is a Specialized Tricross that I used for competitive cyclocross last year in Wisconsin. With narrow tires, it's very much like a road bike. Who wants to ride?

I moved to Sansai, NE side of Chiang Mai, in July. I live about 1.5 km past the 3rd ring road just off Route 118 (the Doi Saket road). I would like to find a group of roadies to ride with regularly, preferably starting in Sansai. Hills would be OK. I have been riding alone between Sansai, Mae Joe, and Doi Saket, avoiding the major highways, exploring the little rural roads connecting the villages.

Me? I'm 56 years old, a regular road rider in the U.S. for years. I'm a former Peace Corps Volunteer, so have been speaking/reading Thai for over 30 years. The language comes in handy out there, as you all know. My bike is a Cannondale Synapse, carbon fiber frame, lower-end (Tiagra) Shimano components. I have a backup unit, which is a Specialized Tricross that I used for competitive cyclocross last year in Wisconsin. With narrow tires, it's very much like a road bike.

Who wants to ride?

I moved to Sansai, NE side of Chiang Mai, in July. I live about 1.5 km past the 3rd ring road just off Route 118 (the Doi Saket road). I would like to find a group of roadies to ride with regularly, preferably starting in Sansai. Hills would be OK. I have been riding alone between Sansai, Mae Joe, and Doi Saket, avoiding the major highways, exploring the little rural roads connecting the villages.

Me? I'm 56 years old, a regular road rider in the U.S. for years. I'm a former Peace Corps Volunteer, so have been speaking/reading Thai for over 30 years. The language comes in handy out there, as you all know. My bike is a Cannondale Synapse, carbon fiber frame, lower-end (Tiagra) Shimano components. I have a backup unit, which is a Specialized Tricross that I used for competitive cyclocross last year in Wisconsin. With narrow tires, it's very much like a road bike.

Who wants to ride?