Thursday 23 March 2017

Stronger legs?

We have just come back from 2.5 weeks in Thailand, our first proper holiday with no work, for many years. This was a holiday to get back on the bikes after the cold Winter, when riding is no fun as the extremities freeze after an hour.

So we booked onto a trip with SpiceRoads (KE Adventures) to cycle supported from Bangkok to Phuket. We chose carefully, looking at the online photos (to see the type of person on the trip) and picking a trip labelled as 'challenging' to make sure it wasn't a cruisy ride. We wanted this to challenge us and at an average of 100km for 8 days that was enough - having not really done more than about 50k per week for the last few months!

The trip started on Sunday morning, meeting the other guests at the hotel and en-route to the start of the ride, just outside the city. This is always a moment of trepidation as you eye up your fellow riders to see if they look like fitties, or fatties, also what age, demographics and sex they are - it all makes for an interesting holiday, as you never know what you are going to get. It could make or break the trip!

In the end, we got:
  • Andy & Fiona (Scottish Bike shop owners)
  • Barry - Aussie geologist
  • Michael - US retiree
  • Ollie - Swiss bloody good cyclist
  • Alain - French banker
  • Will - Spiceroads newbie employee
  •  - dutch guy who has been on a 3 month holiday
  • Plus our wonderful guides, Kan and Bottle - two excellent Thai cyclists with great choice in food!
The first day was just 60k and we set off late morning. My god the heat was almost unbearable. Having come from 5'C only four days earlier it was a real shock to the system. My shins were sweating and the hot headwind was like cycling in an oven. Also, being the first day, we were all trying to prove something so we didn't want to be left behind. We got to the hotel at the end of the day in Hua Hin, and beautiful boutique hotel on the beach. Happy hour at 6pm couldn't come sooner.

From then on, our days were as follows:
0630 get up, have a cup of tea in the room
0715 (ish) go to breakfast - a mix of cereals, fruit, eggs, or Thai rice/noodles etc
0800 meet for heading off on the bikes.

Ride for 30k, stop for snacks. The riding was incredible. Beautiful smooth and fast roads, some busy but those had big hard-shoulders for cyclists to stay away from the cars. 50% of time we were on back roads through pineapple fields, salt pans, rubber tree plantations, palm oil forests and villages,
Smiley Thai families, cows, stunning scenery.
Snacks involved the sweetest, freshest fruit (pineapple, mango, papaya, banana) bought from the local market each morning, together with sticky rice booked in banana leaves - either sweet or savoury. Perfect exercise food.

Another ride for 30k, stop for lunch. Lunch was usually on a beach in a local Thai restaurant, family run. Wonderful spicy, healthy food of fish, meat, rice, noodles, vegetables. Always lots of it, such that we had to take smaller portions towards the end of the week as we were getting a bit bloated and actually putting weight on!



After lunch we would have another 30k or so before getting to our hotel for the night, or if a long day, another 2 x 30k with a lovely snack stop midway.

Hotels were mostly great, all with pools and on the beach. By the time we got to the hotel, all we wanted to do was sit in the airconditioned room, have a shower and wash our sweaty soggy cycling kit. Dinner was always to meet at 7pm, and was served quickly. We were often in bed by 9pm, dead to the world. Again, wonderful Thai food, spicy, tasty & healthy (on the whole).

By the time we got to Phuket, we had cycled 800k and used a lot of chamois cream! Our legs got used to the cycling, and we got stronger, for sure. The group was good company, with a lot of banter. We were glad of a break at the end, and if I hadn't fallen off in the first week and injured my hip, I would be keen for a nice run!

I would thoroughly recommend such a trip. Such a wonderful way to explore a country and visit places you wouldn't even think about. I feel I have experienced Thailand in such a unique and special way and feel very privileged to have done so.