Monthly Archives: February 2017

Julie

Ko Chang rest day

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We arrived in Trat safely yesterday afternoon after a swim in an old quarry.  I was surprised at how nervous the boys were, to go swimming in a blue pool of fresh water. I think they have watched too many episodes of river monsters.


We decided to travel to an Island off the coast of Trat called Koh Chang. We were going to cycle to the ferry terminal and bring our bikes to the Island with the intention of cycling around the island. What stopped us was a quick look at the topography of the Island. Very very mountainous.  Instead we caught a tuk-tuk to the terminal and we are hiring a car tomorrow to do our own waterfall tour. There are 6 waterfalls on the island and Robert wants to swim at all of them. 

There is a pool at our accommodation and Allister become king of the kids. Three local girls joined the boys in the pool and they all had a great time. 

Robert

Beyblades 4

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When we were in Trat, we went out to dinner at the night market, which is famous for it’s great food. Of course, Patty and I were looking out for any toy stores. We found one with Beyblades. When we asked how much it is to buy one of them, the store owner told us he was a wholesaler and that we had to buy the whole sheet of them. Patrick and I did not think we were going to get all six of them. As we were walking away, Mum pulled out money and bought them. We were very excited and surprised.

P.S. I Thank all my viewers for sending me a :-).

Julie

The thunder chunder.

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Patrick has developed an amazing gag reflex. When he smell something bad he gags. If the smell continues he vomits. 

In the past the bad smells have been rotting rubber or garbage trucks but yesterday we cycled past a prawn farm that was being emptied.  The smell was like rotting seaweed with a hint of fishy sewerage.  

The smell was thick and lasted for about 50 meters.  Patrick ended up doing a thunder chunder.  We stopped once we were past the smell and I had to use a whole bottle of water to wash off the rear pannier. 

We all laughed about it for about an hour. 

Allister

Day 48 – Khlung to Trat

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Back to our standard ride today. A mix of back roads and highway riding. As per usual we tried to keep off the highway, Google Maps was not quite up to its usual standard today and we had a couple of dodgy roads that we had to backtrack.

However, we had one unexpected highlight. While riding past an abandoned quarry the water caught our eye. The water looked very inviting and we couldn’t resist a quick swim. Julie was the bravest and led the way.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/881329020/

Julie

Amazing day.

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Today we had our usual 50 km planned but it was broken into three convenient section.  Last night we stayed in a remote beach hotel. There was no shops and very few restaurants.  We have been purchasing all of our staple foods from 7-Eleven’s. There is a 7-Eleven around every corner in Asia, except last night.  We were running out of bread and had no apple juice or fruit left. We checked on the map and the closest 7-Eleven was 15km further down the road. We decided to eat what was left of our food and then just cycle straight to the 7-eleven for morning tea. 


We also planned on visiting a waterfall on the ride today. The waterfall was a perfect 18km from the 7-eleven.  When we arrived there we were the only foreigners.  There must have been 200 Thai’s and us. It was amazing. 


As you can see in the next photo. We were not the only animals swimming in the water. 


There were hundreds of carp. They were harmless but they did bite a little bit.  


Patrick

Snapping metal 

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Today, the part of the bike that holds dad’s seat snapped.  So we had to  adjust the bike so that it would work. Robert was hoping that it could not be fixed and we would have to get a taxi.  We talk about what injuries dad would have got if we were cycling downhil. Some of the injuries we imaged sounded painful.

Allister

Day 46 – Pak Nam Prasae to Bang Kachai

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Another extremely scenic day riding around the coast. Most of the time you can’t actually see the ocean, but route took us through some interesting areas. It got me thinking that we could run our own guided cycle tour adventures during the summer holidays with all the experience we have gained.

At one point we road up a hill and there was a quarry on both sides of the road. The quarry had filled up with water and the boys were fascinated and went off to explore.

The most exciting part of the day happened just after the quarry. As we continued up the hill I notice my seat move a little, so I thought maybe it was not done up tight enough and I would check it at the next break point. A couple of minutes later I noticed that the seat moved even further forward and before I knew what was happening it had disappeared. I quickly stopped the bike and found Patrick still holding on to his handle bars and my seat, but it was no longer attached to the tandem.

Instead of a bolt shearing off like a couple of days ago, this time my seat post completely sheared off. Lucky we weren’t riding fast down a hill when it happened and Paddy did a great job keeping a hold of it. The boys thought this may put a stop to the days riding, but Julie and I were confident we would be back on the road in no time. And so it was, within five minutes we were back on the road again.

The Bike Fridays are so flexible and adjustable that we raised the frame (telescopic frame) and put the seat post that was protruding out of the frame into the extended frame. With all the travel we have done it is probably safer to have a shorter seat post and raise the frame. In hindsight, it probably should have been the way we set up the bike in the first place. Now looking at Robert’s see post we will make the same adjustment.

 

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/878579511/

Julie

Two nice days with one hiccup. 

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We have had some really pleasant cycling over the last two days. Beachside roads with a slight sea breeze.  Just about perfect.  Coffee shops in the middle of nowhere. Scenic bridges. Deserted quarries.  Single lane tracks through prawn farms.








The only hiccup was Allister’s seat post fracturing while he was cycling.  Luckily he felt it going and didn’t hurt himself.  It could have been nasty. 


It was an easy fix as the frame has a telescopic extention and there was enough seat post left to use again. I will be letting bike friday know about it though.  Allister is not a big guy, I am assuming that the seat post had a fault line.  The boys and I were horrified imaging what sort of damage he would have done it himself if it fractured while he was going fast downhill.

Allister

Day 45 – Rayong to Pak Nam Prasae

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Extremely scenic days ride. Can see why we saw our first guided bicycle tour group today, because the roads are in good condition, not busy, flat, riding along coastal beaches, mangrove wetlands, small fishing villages and through forests. It is the type of ride you could easily sell to the non adventurous cyclists.

We came across a peloton riding down a bridge, but they weren’t carrying any gear. As we road up the bridge we noticed a support vehicle and a couple of guides with Spice Roads branding. The tourists didn’t take any notice of us, but one of the guides stopped and kindly offered to take our picture on top of the bridge – see below.

Check out my ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/877590113/