Biking Mission

Technorati tags: Rama 9 Cycle Club, Cold weather, 91km, Cannondale, noisy crank

Well well well seems we are in the middle of another cold snap here in Bangkok - I'm actually cold today! Bizarre! Still at least I'm not writing this journal entry from England - snow doesn't make the best surface for cycling from my experience!! lol

Anyway yesterday morning was deliciously warm and in celebration of that and of managing not to drink myself stupid the night before AND managing to get out of bed - easier said than done these days - I set myself a formidable target of 100km for the "Day of Rest"...

Standard mission on the way out - along the Sukhumvit Road towards Asoke then up towards the New Petchaburi Road then along that thing for ages before turning off to head towards the Rama 9 Cycle Club practise area...

The only problem on the way out was a god awful head-wind which made the journey at least twice as hard as it should have been - I was still smiling to myself as I knew the tail-wind on the way home would be my saviour.

Still only managed to put in two laps around the practice area before swinging the bike around for the return leg.

On the way back a normally desolate road (that runs parallel to 10 lanes of Rama 9 expressway traffic) I was reaching speeds in excess of 45kph with little effort - that's how strong the wind was!!

Got back near home with a mere 66km showing on the odometer which meant picking another direction and carrying on - I carried on alright - ended up on the Khao San road! A place I must say I quite like - despite the fact that it's filled with "chankan mogs" and manky packpackers - I even found the time to pick up a few more CDs - I love these cycling jerseys - you can fit so much stuff in the pockets!

Riding towards the cycle shop and I'm starting to tire - my legs feel like lead - perhaps the stop did more harm than good! Got to the Cannondale showroom with 91km showing on the clock - this time that's all I'll be doing as the bike is in for a service and check-up - with any luck we'll get to the bottom of the weird and wacky noise that's been plauging my crank - we can only hope!

There's no people like TV people...

Technorati tags: TV, Queen Sirikit Park, cycle track, arrogant.

Yeah yeah went for a mini-ride today - a mere 30km - as I had to head into the office for a spot of work!! Yuck!

Rode around Queen Sirikit park and couldn't believe my eyes... Seems some TV crew was filming in the park - fine. Some bright(less) spark decided it would be a great idea to put the director and all that shite slap bang in the middle of the cycle track! I mean as far as stupidity goes this is pretty damn dumb! I even heard some Aussie twat saying something like, "Can't we put someone there to stop them?" Arrogance of the highest order and it nearly drove me to have a good lengthy rant - this time however it was easier to ride somewhere else and bite my tongue...

Rama 9 Mission

Technorati tags: Rama 9, Phra ram gow, strange noises, energy food

Wow! Set a new personal best two weeks ago! Has it really been that long since I last posted?! 

I rode over to the area used by the Rama 9 Cycle Club in Bangkok, then did a couple of laps and rode back home - all in all 70km! I'm happy - it felt good and I didn't need to stop and nurse my legs which clearly means I'm ready to throw a few more laps on the table next time around!

I want to add another 30km next time but that might be going too far too fast - I shall have to see what I can muster and it will no doubt help if I don't go out the night before and get moderately plastered...

The bike is still making strange noises when I peddle - I was even lucky enough to see my mechanic while out doing laps - he listened to the bike and suggested I bring it into the shop for (another) look!

Last weekend I only rode 13 km - had to meet my girlfriend but as it happens we didn't meet up until late in the afternoon - so perhaps I should have gone on another Rama mission?!!

This weekend I'll have another crack at the Rama 9 route - I plan to ride somewhere between 80km and 100km - once again it will depend largely on how I feel... Must get some power nuts - that's nuts in honey and sesame seeds - a mouthful keeps you going for miles!

I thought I hated mountain bikes...

Technorati tags: Chiang Mai, Pai, Schimano, mountain bike, heavy frame, chunky tyres, Cannondale, Northern Thailand

It's the start of another year (and a Happy, Properous, Joyful and Healthy 2007 to you all) and while I was on away from my bike for the longest time since buying it (ten days in all - I mean - can you believe that!) I still managed to get out and about by pedal power while out in northern Thailand - a lovely little place called Pai to be exact!

Unfortunately the bike hire firm didn't have anything as sophisticated as a Cannondale racer so I had to make do with a "common" mountain bike (oh I'm such a bike snob!) but as it happens I really had a good laugh - not only did I have a go at riding off-road (without falling off despite near hysterical laughter) but I also found the road riding section to be most reasonable - okay so I couldn't sprint for quite as long, nor climb to such great speeds as I've seen on my own bike but it really wasn't bad at all as an added bonus the seat was disturbingly high too (yes believe it or not - I actually had a bike that fitted me - perhaps not frame-wise but certainly the seat-peddle-handlebar ratio was correct!)

The only thing I really couldn't handle was the climbing - it was freaking hard and not very rewarding! This was undoubtedly a combination of chunky tires and heavy bike... The quick shifters weren't bad although full-throttle changes were best avoided due to the nowhere-near-smooth change action and the lack of toe-clips...

I liked riding around Pai so much I'm actually considering moving to the northern city of Chiang Mai - not only does this city have a more diverse geography (that means more hills to you) but with far less traffic on the roads it should be a whole heap safer... Actually scratch that last bit - I passed a nasty road traffic accident on the way into Chiang Mai in the early hours of New Years Day and the poor fellow who was riding a scooter involved in the incident simply looked like that ride was to be his last - alas the coach I was sat on-board didn't stop so I've no idea whether he made it or not...