Bike Tour of Northern Thailand – Preface

[Inspire]

Bike Tour of Northern Thailand – Preface

This blog has been provided by BALDBRADY’S BLOG for Inspire.

 

 

I am beginning this blog on the day before leaving on a 2 week, 1000 km cycling tour of around Northern Thailand.

 

Here is my planned route. Yes, I am going it alone. I have always said that if you wait for someone to go with, you will never go and this is particularly true for a cockamamie trip such as this. My friends’ usual response is “you are crazy riding a motorcycle so far on the dangerous roads of Thailand”. When I tell them that no, I will be riding a bicycle, mostly they can only shake their heads before their eyes glaze over and they change the subject to their latest ache and pain, surgery or ailment. A few will ask “WHY?”. That is a legitimate question. I am not sure that I now the answer really. I’ve toured by car around Thailand, so the scenery and towns are already familiar. I’m not running (cycling) away from anything, at least not consciously. Most likely it is for the physical challenge and the fact that while on a physically demanding extended trip like this, I can eat as much and whatever I want without worrying about getting fat. It is also because it will feel oh so good when I am finished.

 

This will not be a wilderness experience. No camping for me. I will stay in modest resorts, guest houses, and hotels along the way. I will live off the land – meaning I will eat at whatever local restaurants I can find along the way. I will try and smell the roses and resist the urge to make this a race to the finish – although I know that eventually (probably sooner than later) it will become just that. I won’t be off the grid – but I won’t be glued to my computer/ipad/iphone like I am while at home. I am taking only some cloths and such miscellaneous toiletries that are necessary for a man of the modern age.

 

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/lifestyle/bike-tour-northern-thailand-preface/

 

 

-- © Copyright Inspire Pattaya 2017-11-19

 

[George Bowman]

Sounds like a good story is in the works. Be safe.

Edited November 19, 2017 by missoura

[rebo]

Good luck (you will need at least a little bit ...) and an always safe ride!
BTW - I agree with you that Mong Cycles is the best place I know in Chiang Mai to let your bike thoroughly and competently check and prepare.

Edited November 19, 2017 by rebo

[Enoon]

 

‘All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.’

                                                                  Blaise Pascal, 1623-1662.

 

 

[ksamuiguy]

Keep us up to date, Be Safe!

[SiSePuede419]

Nice panniers. ✓

[connda]

"You're a better man than I Gunga Din."  And much braver to boot.

Having just completed a 700 km drive with my wife to Mae Hong Son to see the Tung Bua Dong sunflower fields and visit some national parks, what never failed to be constantly on my mind was the absolute insane driving of Thai drivers.  One of the primary bad driving habits of virtually every vehicle I followed was a failure to maintain their own lane while driving.  So most Thai drivers drive on the center line, in the oncoming lanes, and cut corners by driving on the road shoulders while coming around blind corners - and often at excessive speed. It's the norm. 
So you'll be fine until you're not.  My personal concern if I was on a bicycle on those mountain roads would be the danger to you every time you're on the opposite side of a blind corner especially those with minimal shoulders, because as I mentioned, even if there was a shoulder, the average Thai will be driving on the shoulder while cutting the corner short - which is extremely dangerous for anything moving slow like bicyclists and pedestrians on the opposite (blind) side.  Out of the 700 km I drove, probably 500 km fit that description. 

I think your chances of getting hit are magnitudes greater than in Western countries or countries where the government actually enforces its traffic laws, i.e., where cops ticket drivers if they fail to maintain their lane.  But, I'm sure you'll be fine.  You're simply playing the odds.  So best of luck. 

Edited November 19, 2017 by connda

[connda]

but I won’t be glued to my computer/ipad/iphone like I am while at home. 

 

And thumbs up for that.   Turn off your Wifi and Mobile Wireless services when you leave and use the phone as a camera or an emergency phone if needed.  Write your vlog, turn on the services long enough to publish, then turn them back off.  Personally, I sort of miss the days when personal communication was a piece of paper and a pen, or a phone sitting on a table or hanging on the wall.  Life was simpler with less distractions.  

[Mangkhut]

Sounds like a great trip. Want to do something similar in the future. Good luck give us a roadtrip report will ya...

[SpokaneAl]

Good luck! I will be looking forward to following your adventure.

 

[whaleboneman]

Happy pedalling. Will you ride on the left or the right? I always ride on the right here so I can see all the guys that are trying to kill me. So far, I've never gotten a ticket.

[deadbeat]

Yes good luck and enjoy. I cycle  around France and Spain every year for a month or so and it's the best way to travel by far, take your time and smell the flowers. Looks like you're an experienced cyclist but you really should get a rear view mirror for your bike, it'll let you know what's coming and give you half a chance if a trucks coming your way. Have a safe trip.

 

[ianf]

1000km in two weeks? I do 500km + every week in northern Thailand and have done so for the past 8 years. In 2004, together with some UK friends and a Thai friend, I rode fro Mae Sai to the Malaysia border in 10 days. You'll still find that ride online. That was 200km a day for 10 days. So 1000 km in 2 weeks is not such a big deal.

Edited November 20, 2017 by ianf

[ianf]

21 hours ago, rebo said:

Good luck (you will need at least a little bit ...) and an always safe ride!
BTW - I agree with you that Mong Cycles is the best place I know in Chiang Mai to let your bike thoroughly and competently check and prepare.

Also try Bicycle Addict on the Samoeng Road at the Hang Dong end. Superb.

[chickenslegs]

4 hours ago, ianf said:

1000km in two weeks? I do 500km + every week in northern Thailand and have done so for the past 8 years. In 2004, together with some UK friends and a Thai friend, I rode fro Mae Sai to the Malaysia border in 10 days. You'll still find that ride online. That was 200km a day for 10 days. So 1000 km in 2 weeks is not such a big deal.

 

You are entitled to brag about your achievements, but why belittle someone else's?

[naboo]

Just read your blog, excellent stuff! Really good read.

[InMyShadow]

buy exercise bike, cycle 1k in safety of room and still eat anything you want.
Thailand is not the place for such a cool adventure. why not fly out to Europe and enjoy real scenery without dying of heat stroke and drunk drivers

[SpokaneAl]

buy exercise bike, cycle 1k in safety of room and still eat anything you want.

Thailand is not the place for such a cool adventure. why not fly out to Europe and enjoy real scenery without dying of heat stroke and drunk drivers

 

One kilometer on a bike trainer is a few short minutes of riding. Perhaps you made a typo - either way riding a bike trainer is purely exercise that one chooses to endure while those of us who ride outside do it as a life long hobby and for many more reasons than to just work up a sweat and raise our heart rates.

 

 

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