This morning I cycled from home in Udon to Nong Khai (Friendship Bridge) and straight back to Udon.  59km each way (making it 118km door-to-door). Took me 5 hours. I left home at 7am when it was 11 degrees C.

 

The interesting thing was as I was coming back towards Udon, as I hit the 100km point, I felt pretty knackered. (I felt the same when I first did the same trip exactly two years ago on 5-12-2017).

So today I stopped at the side of the road and lay my bicycle on its side and lay down on the grass next to it.

Within ten minutes three Thais stopped to see if I was OK. It’s was very kind of them, but two of them seemed confused that I said I was just tired from cycling a long way and was just having a rest.

 

The first guy was in a pick-up. When I told him I was on my way back home to Udon, he offered to put my bicycle in the back of his pick-up and give me a lift into Udon. I politely refused and thanked him for stopping to check.

 

Next was a woman who seemed to think I’d had an accident and needed to go to hospital. I explained the situation to her too, even though she was still really keen to call an ambulance.

 

Third person was a guy on a motorbike. When I told him what I was doing, he understood. He told me he goes cycling around Udon with his boss, and asked me where I lived in Udon. He lives on the other side of town to me, and seemed happy when I decided to get up and carry on cycling.

So an interesting trip from a perspective of concerned Thais who mostly don’t seem understand the idea of having a rest when cycling, even though it was hard work cycling that distance for me.

 

Great story. Too many people are all too happy to bash Thais while the concern and eagerness to help is more common.

I can also understand their concern. In my many, many years of cycling, i don't think I've ever seen anyone laying in the grass on the side of the road.

8 minutes ago, el jefe said:

Great story. Too many people are all too happy to bash Thais while the concern and eagerness to help is more common.

I can also understand their concern. In my many, many years of cycling, i don't think I've ever seen anyone laying in the grass on the side of the road.

Maybe they don't have hills where you come from.

To be fair, I don't like lying down in case the ants get food poisoning, and it's so hard to get up from there.

 

It probably makes a big difference being on your own as well.  Passers-by assume, if you are not alone, that your buddy will flag them down if you need help, while if you're sprawled out on your back they might figure perhaps you're somehow unfit to ask for help without it being offered.

Brings back memories, in 2015 I was riding around lake  Mabrachan the picturesque man made reservoir on the outskirts of Pattaya  and literally fell off my bike, breaking 5 bones in my right leg including 1 very bad compound fracture., this happened at zero speed   whilst turning in the middle of the road after catching a "cats eye".

 

(Never EVER have your pedal near the floor when turning in the direction of that  lowest leg, Figure that one out ha ha ha especially near a cats eye eye in the middle of the road)

 

This was early in the morning and happened opposite  the "security office" of one of the "gated" communities that are prevalent in that area.

 

I think that every passing car and there were a few stopped and tried to give me some help, One chap trying to stop the  arterial blood spurts. whilst others trying to make me comfortable, others diverting traffic.

 

I shall never forget the help and kindness form the Thai people that day 

 

 

 

 

Yep, was walking my bike to the local repair bicycle shop and a Thai bloke and his wife pulled over and he got out and dropped the gate and waited for me to reach him

It is a bit unusual to just stop at the side of the road and just lie down, how many people do you see doing that. I cycle 1000km a month and wouldn't just stop and lie down, if tired i would keep going slowly or find somewhere to stop for a life saver coca cola and food perhaps

36 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

It is a bit unusual to just stop at the side of the road and just lie down, how many people do you see doing that. I cycle 1000km a month and wouldn't just stop and lie down, if tired i would keep going slowly or find somewhere to stop for a life saver coca cola and food perhaps

I wasn't hungry or thirsty so wasn't looking for anything to consume. For me 100km in one go is pretty hard going, so I was purely after a rest.

Ironically, less than one km after I started off again I saw a sala that I could have sat down at, but obviously I didn't know it was there initially.