Best way to ride your bike to Sky Lane

[Hanuman2547]

I have a house near Rama IX Park and want to ride my road bike from there out to Sky Lane and then ride a lap or two and then ride back home.  What is the best way to ride a bike out to Sky Lane?  I've never cycled on the Sky Lane path before but want to try it out.  

[richard_smith237]

I guess the key issue is finding out your access points to the Sky Lane.

 

Is Soi King Keaw 38 a valid access point to the skyline?

Edited November 7, 2018 by richard_smith237

[Hanuman2547]

I don't think that Soi King Keaw 38 is a valid access point although I wish it was!  From what I have read there is only one access point at the northern part of Sky Lane.  

[richard_smith237]

In which case your best and only bet is up and along Lat Krabang Road...

 

MAP

Edited November 8, 2018 by richard_smith237

[thecyclist]

I don't know about the new, supposedly World class, sky Lane, but the old one had two entrances one close to the airport itself (that one as previous post said close to Lad Krabang Road) the other one was accessible from the Bang na Trat highway. 

Back in those days I still had a foldable, which you could carry on the airport link all the way to the airport, from where the main entrance was just a short ride away. 

[OneMoreFarang]

Get another bike, problem solved ????

[HerbalEd]

I guess OP has never heard of Google Map.

[Hanuman2547]

5 hours ago, HerbalEd said:

I guess OP has never heard of Google Map.

Ah yes, Google Map.  I actually used it to see if there were other access points including Soi King Keaw 38.  Didn't look like there were any.  Any other suggestions?  

[richard_smith237]

8 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Ah yes, Google Map.  I actually used it to see if there were other access points including Soi King Keaw 38.  Didn't look like there were any.  Any other suggestions?  

 

Op: How many suggestions do you need for getting from Point A to point B?

What more info / suggestions are you looking for?

 

Ride... along the direct route along Lat Krabang Road

Taxi... take a large taxi which would fit your bike

Drive... do what 99% of people do and drive to the Sky-lane, ride, drive home

[bobfish]

I'm guessing Hanuman2547 posted in the hope that someone had experience/ advice regarding riding a bicycle out to Skylane. The suggested direct routing/ google maps etc may not be the most cycling friendly. Advice on other modes of transport [I'm sure very well intended] comes across as disingenuous. 

I haven't done Skylane, but if I wanted to cycle to there, I would have a look at Strava cycling heatmaps for popular routes.

 

 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

15 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Ah yes, Google Map.  I actually used it to see if there were other access points including Soi King Keaw 38.  Didn't look like there were any.  Any other suggestions?  

Let us know how you get on, once you go.

[Katia]

6 hours ago, bobfish said:

I'm guessing Hanuman2547 posted in the hope that someone had experience/ advice regarding riding a bicycle out to Skylane. The suggested direct routing/ google maps etc may not be the most cycling friendly. Advice on other modes of transport [I'm sure very well intended] comes across as disingenuous. 

I haven't done Skylane, but if I wanted to cycle to there, I would have a look at Strava cycling heatmaps for popular routes.

 

 

 

 

That would be my guess as well.  I can't imagine why I'd want to drive my car so I could ride my bike.  (But, I tend more to ride my bike as a form of transportation than for fun, so I guess it depends on your purpose for getting it out.)

[StreetCowboy]

25 minutes ago, Katia said:

That would be my guess as well.  I can't imagine why I'd want to drive my car so I could ride my bike.  (But, I tend more to ride my bike as a form of transportation than for fun, so I guess it depends on your purpose for getting it out.)

I don’t like putting my bike in the car, except for taking it to or from the shop - even then I prefer to walk home. If you want to ride, then why not take the opportunity of Agee extra km to and from the start / finish?

[473geo]

I think one entrance as the staff check cyclists on and off the track

[StreetCowboy]

21 minutes ago, 473geo said:

I think one entrance as the staff check cyclists on and off the track

This makes me grateful for the ‘motorbike’ lanes on some of the major highways round KL.

[Katia]

On 11/9/2018 at 8:43 AM, StreetCowboy said:

I don’t like putting my bike in the car, except for taking it to or from the shop - even then I prefer to walk home. If you want to ride, then why not take the opportunity of Agee extra km to and from the start / finish?

The Sky Lane is out near the airport, right?  That would be an lot of extra km from Bangkok... just getting there and back would be my workout... no need to ride once I got there.

[richard_smith237]

14 hours ago, Katia said:

The Sky Lane is out near the airport, right?  That would be an lot of extra km from Bangkok... just getting there and back would be my workout... no need to ride once I got there.

 

Same here... From central BKK it takes me at least 30mins to the airport by car - its too much for to cycle safely, the better option is dump the bike in the car (remove front wheel) and ride in a safer environment at the skyline. 

 

Perhaps the use of 'google maps' in 'waking mode' would help the Op - but it still appears that there is no particularly 'bike friendly way' of getting to the Skyline from Rama IX Park.

 

Getting across the outer ring road poses a major obstacle. 

 

I'm not sure I'd want to ride on the road with the fatigue encountered after 2 or 3 laps of the skyline either. Driving to and from is the much safer option. 

 

Its anywhere from a 15 to 20km journey for the op: 

 

MAP 

[bobfish]

Again, I thing the OP can make up his own mind about whether he wants to ride his bike to Skylane.. For some, the trip there and back with a few loops thrown in would be a light 100km workout. 

Edited November 13, 2018 by bobfish

[Hanuman2547]

On 11/9/2018 at 4:07 AM, StreetCowboy said:

Let us know how you get on, once you go.

Reporting back from my recent visit to Skylane on 27 December 2018.

 

I got up early and left my house by 6:00am.  Cycled over to Rama 9 park and then stood out on the road waiting for a taxi......and waiting.  It was one of those mornings with no taxis to be seen or were occupied.  Finally a taxi came by and although he didn't know what Skylane was he does now.  Put the bike in the back seat, wheels off of course, and off we went.  Didn't take too long to get there and the cost was 125 baht.  Unloaded bike and put it back together and headed over to the registration.  Thais need their ID card and us farangs need our passport.  Fill out a short form and they give you what essentially is a chip to open the gate to gain access to Skylane.  You only have to do this the first time you go.  After that you just roll right up and go through the gate.  

 

A few other notes.  The places to eat and 7-11 stores do not take cash.  They only use the chip or you can get a card and put money on it.  That shop is located just west of the 7-11.  It's also only good for 30 days.  Use it or lose it but I guess each time you top up it extends it.  Make sure to carry water with you while riding.  There is no place to get  clean drinkable water once on the track.  I rode solo for each of the two laps that I did.  I did have some guy on a tri-bike jump on my wheel after I went by him.  A little annoying but it was ok.  Faster riders ride on the purple track.  I got passed by one very fast paceline of about 6-7 riders who were on the purple track who were riding probably about 36-38kph.  I spent all of my ride on the blue track riding between 30-35kph depending on the wind.  Skylane is nice and it's pretty safe.  No cars so that is good.  

 

When I finished I got something to drink using my brand new Skylane card and sat down.  Huge covered area so you are not in the sun.  As there are no taxis there I just rode out of Skylane and got on the main road.  I thought that I would get a taxi once out to Lat Krabang road.  However, once I was on the road and going I just said ah, F it and decided to ride back.  It wasn't too bad riding.  Sometimes the red Songthaews are a little annoying as you leap frog them until you finally get far enough away from them.  All in all it was a good day.  I'll probably go back some time.  It can be a little boring at times as the scenery doesn't change much and the track is very straight for long periods of time.  

 

You will also see a lot of people with very high end road bikes.  Quite a few bikes in the 200K baht and up range.  Trek, Specialized S-Works, and Cervelo to name a few brands.  Made me feel safe using the bathroom while my trusty steed was resting on the bike rack.

[ttakata]

I've noticed the Skylane is the most organized and clean place I can think of in this country and its free to use. I am a big fan, but yeah, getting there is the biggest problem. I carried a low security lock before but never used it because of so many more rich bikes unlocked everywhere. I'm curious if anyone has ever had their bike stolen.

[Hanuman2547]

13 hours ago, ttakata said:

I've noticed the Skylane is the most organized and clean place I can think of in this country and its free to use. I am a big fan, but yeah, getting there is the biggest problem. I carried a low security lock before but never used it because of so many more rich bikes unlocked everywhere. I'm curious if anyone has ever had their bike stolen.

If I was a daring bike thief with a truck that's where I'd go!  

 

Seriously though, Skylane is very neat & clean.  Hardly any trash around.  Very nice in that aspect and I hope that it stays that way.