Thais nation-wide ready for the biggest bicycle ride of the year

 

 

Altogether 25 roads in Bangkok will be closed as of noon on Sunday until 8 pm to facilitate the biggest cycling event of the year, the Bike UnAiRak 2018, to be led by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha and HRH Princess Sirivanavari.

 

In Bangkok, the cyclists will take a 39-km bike ride from the Royal Plaza to the Lat Pho health park in Phra Pradaeng district of Samut Prakan province.

 

Cyclists can bring their bicycles on board the BTS skytrain and subway whereas nine parking lots around the Royal Plaza and 76 other parking space are being made available to accommodate up to 20,000 cars for motorists who have already registered to take part in the bike ride.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thais-nation-wide-ready-for-the-biggest-bicycle-ride-of-the-year/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-12-09

Very nice....A return to paradise ,if only for a few hours...love the sound of a bicycle bell....Merry Christmas...

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by mok199

The police has much better things to do...

Excellent. With all the governmental problems and with the country going down the pooper at a rate of knots -  go for a nice bike ride, that'll fix it all up and no mistake.

 

Must don the required uniform tp verify your membership of da club, and absolutely no poor people allowed. They'll be wearing the T-shirt for weeks afterwards - so everyone knows they're in da club. Bragging rights assured for all.

 

Bound to be a roaring success, good luck all round in this monumentally important endeavour.

 

 

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by HalfLight

A Grammar Police post has been removed.

 

Please be reminded that ThaiVisa is not permitted to change or re-word quoted material. What you see is what was in the original article be it right, wrong or indifferent. 

Will the moterbike taxis be allowed to drive their usual slalom on these 25 roads? If not, will they do it anyway?

Nattion-wide eh? Impressive stuff.

 

I sat by the main road in our village waiting to cheer on the cyclists but all I saw was a Kubota towing some sugar cane. The only thing on a bike wasn't more than 6 years old and he didn't have the right tee-shirt on.

 

 

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by HalfLight

I drove along the route and saw a few cyclists, maybe 5....i saw more than 15 policemen and rescue/ambulance staff though.

 

I almost drove into a cyclist because he didn't stay in the dedicated lane behind the cones...he acted like he owned the whole left lane.

 

The weather for this event is perfect today, no sun, grey sky and sometimes a few drops rain..

Causing absolute havoc and aggression on the roads where I live. 

 

Wont be surprised if today’s death toll is higher...

Is there supposed to be some point to this event apart from demonstrating the participants affiliation ? If so , what is it ?

gotta luv the guy, doing all the right things. 

2 hours ago, Denim said:

Is there supposed to be some point to this event apart from demonstrating the participants affiliation ? If so , what is it ?

its image enhancement

22 minutes ago, kannot said:

its image enhancement

we all believe the same thing, we stand for Thai values.  We are brainwashed.

We have nice new haircuts.

3 hours ago, Denim said:

Is there supposed to be some point to this event apart from demonstrating the participants affiliation ? If so , what is it ?

 

That's a very good question. Apart from a ra-ra event, what's it for?

I wander if the route goes past the now closed down zoo?

Just watched it on Thai TeeVee. what a wonderful spectakle. All those government employees having the most wonderful time; cheering. Lots of flags being waved. Reminds me of all the wonderful, spontaneous commitment outside Buckingham Palace just as the queen of England comes to the balcony

 

I like this new king. Doing all the right things. Nice bike he is riding; black. Is it a race? Or just a leisure trip. 

 

 

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by owl sees all

5 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Is it a race. Or just a leisure trip.

Who was in front when they got to the end?

3 minutes ago, JAG said:

Who was in front when they got to the end?

I never saw the finish. Who actually won? My dosh would be on the king. Only fictitious money, I hasten to add. 

4 hours ago, Denim said:

Is there supposed to be some point to this event apart from demonstrating the participants affiliation ? If so , what is it ?

Well this is the chance for rich men to show their very expensive bicycles and outfits...

 

And for the outer world to show how nice Bangkok is, they can have cycle on the roads (when there's police every 300 meter).

 

Was there another cycletour last week? I  saw loads of police/soldiers on the roads placing cones by then.

1 hour ago, HalfLight said:

 

That's a very good question. Apart from a ra-ra event, what's it for?

Well there sure are some vip's joining the tour and they also love to cycle. Also in Germany.

Very flattering and encouraging comments from aliens living in a country. Can anyone prove that this ride was open for only rich people?

Get a life...at least keep quiet of the only country that is hosting you, even if you dont see anything good about it.

Bike ride eh? Heard nothing about it here or seen anything

Is it the Tour De France?

15 minutes ago, poohy said:

Bike ride eh? Heard nothing about it here or seen anything

Is it the Tour De France?

 

No.. that would be in France... 

 

Tour of Bangkok... perhaps....  There certainly has been much much less hype about this years even than that of a couple of years ago...  

 

It would have been fun to cycle around the city on a day which is made safe for such activities...

1 hour ago, ravip said:

Very flattering and encouraging comments from aliens living in a country. Can anyone prove that this ride was open for only rich people?

Get a life...at least keep quiet of the only country that is hosting you, even if you dont see anything good about it.

 

Agreed.  What a bunch of Scrooges.

 

A few years back, I went downtown to be a spectator at that year's event- and it was amazing.  Great energy, very well organized, lots of support in the form of medical and food and water available all along the route.  Sadly, I had just recovered from heart surgery and was not able to ride, but I still thoroughly enjoyed mingling with the locals, who all seemed to be having a great day.

 

It also showed me how wrong a bunch of TVF'ers were when they claimed that there is no market for selling high end bicycling gear to the locals. I was gobsmacked to see tens of thousands of bikes, with thousands of them being mid-high end.  And those who claimed it was just a bunch of rich folk showing off their high end bikes and lycra suits were just as wrong.  It was an amazing cross section from 8-80's, rich and not-so-rich, all getting along very nicely.

 

I wasn't in Thailand for this year's ride.  But I'd have been enjoying a great day of riding (or spectating) had I been in country.
 

If you don't enjoy that kind of thing, so be it.  But there's no need to diss the thousands who do.

 

Edited December 9, 20187 yr by impulse

So great to see such a wonderful initiative from HM The King - he is proving to be a very popular successor and a hands on monarch.  Long Live the King. 

48 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

So great to see such a wonderful initiative from HM The King - he is proving to be a very popular successor and a hands on monarch.  Long Live the King. 

Setting a great example, bright clothing, lights, and, helmet, let us hope his lead is copied by Thai people

1 hour ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

So great to see such a wonderful initiative from HM The King - he is proving to be a very popular successor and a hands on monarch.  Long Live the King. 

It was a wonderful event. Where I was at watching, the ordinary folks were all excited to see the ride, were having a great time, were all dressed up in yellow and waving flags, there were cheers and smiles and shouts of a slogan and the happiness was infectious. I had a front row seat too, the folks around me insisted I sit in the front row. And I, being a foreigner, in no way felt out of place as the crowds around me went out of their way to make me feel comfortable in an event that was important to them.

 

Its nice to see people forgetting about their differences and taking pride in their country and showing respect to their traditions. Some of them sat cross legged on the sidewalk for two hours just to catch a glimpse of the ride.

 

Who am I, a guest in their country, to critisize what these folks believe in? Or make cynical jokes?

3 hours ago, impulse said:

It also showed me how wrong a bunch of TVF'ers were when they claimed that there is no market for selling high end bicycling gear to the locals. I was gobsmacked to see tens of thousands of bikes, with thousands of them being mid-high end. 

There were some nice bikes, ranging from road racers to Mountain style bikes and a lot of foldables. There was one dude riding a powered wheel in a Captain America suit.

7 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Agreed.  What a bunch of Scrooges.

 

A few years back, I went downtown to be a spectator at that year's event- and it was amazing.  Great energy, very well organized, lots of support in the form of medical and food and water available all along the route.  Sadly, I had just recovered from heart surgery and was not able to ride, but I still thoroughly enjoyed mingling with the locals, who all seemed to be having a great day.

 

It also showed me how wrong a bunch of TVF'ers were when they claimed that there is no market for selling high end bicycling gear to the locals. I was gobsmacked to see tens of thousands of bikes, with thousands of them being mid-high end.  And those who claimed it was just a bunch of rich folk showing off their high end bikes and lycra suits were just as wrong.  It was an amazing cross section from 8-80's, rich and not-so-rich, all getting along very nicely.

 

I wasn't in Thailand for this year's ride.  But I'd have been enjoying a great day of riding (or spectating) had I been in country.
 

If you don't enjoy that kind of thing, so be it.  But there's no need to diss the thousands who do.

 

"Great energy, very well organized, lots of support in the form of medical and food and water available all along the route."

It has been the same this time, I was told by some 'not so rich' participants. Apparently this was not a competition/race, so there are no winners. Unfortunately I could not participate as my arrival in Th would be at the end of this month.

Simple things like this, could  add some happiness to life, if you let it.

If these last few comments from the farang Thai nationalists are true about the event been so wonderful and such a success, even though some admit to not being at the event, let's hope the Thai authorities follow through and start making Thai roads safer for cyclists all year round, not just when there's lycra clad officials on the road. More cycle lanes and stopping vehicles from using the already existing cycle lanes would be a great start.