Cycling in Northern Thailand with Simon Barnes

Simon proudly sporting his club jersey

You wake in the morning to various birds tweeting and whistling, across the ground lies a low lying layer of mist, the sky is clear and blue.  The Sun is just beginning to warm up the air from the overnight 18 degrees C.  An air of tranquillity pervades.  A perfect way start to a day and to venture out with your bike.

Unfortunately, I had no bike!

I didn’t want to rent one, so, plan for the day; off to the Local Bike Shop.  But which one?  So, on to the internet and search.  Chiang Mai (our location) is apparently the ‘capital’ for cycling in the region and there are a plethora of bike shops.  I found one within relatively close proximity; however, the reviews for it looked grim!  We decided that we would call them first, my wife being Thai made that easy.  She got a very warm response from the shop and very much welcomed a visit from us.

After some interesting driving challenges in Chiang Mai we found the shop.  Although my Thai is quite limited, I felt they were on my wavelength and they realised I had sufficient knowledge to know what I wanted.  With my personal interpreter (wife), I selected a bike at what I calculated as about £400-500 cheaper than UK prices.  They checked their stock and said I could take it with me.  Immediately they set about preparing it and setting saddles height etc., It was at this time, my wife showed great interest to have a bike too.  Poor credit card!  Now they were preparing 2 bikes and getting helmets and shoes sorted.  Bikes duly paid for, 30 minutes later we departed with a good impression of the bike shop we loaded the car and set off to our house.

So, why did the bike shop get such bad reviews?  I thought they were great.  The reviewers seemingly were not able to speak Thai and the owner said it often happens that foreigners (Farang – as Thais call us) visit the shop and either stand and say nothing or gesticulate, and then complain when they get a bad experience at the shop.  Luckily, my wife is Thai!!

Our Thai house is in the country side and I looked forward to exploring the small roads and riding between the paddy fields and having glorious weather.

Problem 1:  Garmin, whilst it was able to provide a route for me, did not give me any idea of the type of road.  Having planned a 40Km ride, I had to curtail it as I ran out of tarmac road and onto a gravel/ dirt road.  Somehow I did not fancy 5-6km on that surface.  So, for my first few outings there were many U-turns and grumbling peeps from my Garmin!

Problem 2: The rules of the road in Thailand do exist; however, once you hit country roads, I soon learned to treat any wheeled vehicle as my enemy.  I remember approaching a junction and as I turned left, directly in front of me approaching the junction on the wrong side was a moped!  How I missed a collision I do not know, that certainly raised the adrenaline levels.  The main roads can be OK as a number have very wide hard shoulders, but, these are populated by mopeds travelling erratically and at speed.

Problem3: Very rapidly the morning temperature rises up to 30 -34 degrees, a generous smearing of sun cream is absolutely vital.  Together with this, dehydration can be rapid; a generous supply of water/liquid needs to be taken.

Some of the many Paddy Fields

Most of the routes I took were very flat; however, it was not always easy to develop any reasonable speed as some roads surfaces were quite poor or strewn with gravel.  In some places I took a very leisurely pace, which in reality was really nice as I was able to absorb the surroundings more.  I often saw rice farmers in the fields, invariably they would stop and watch me cycle by – I generally would greet them in my best Thai ( Sawasdee Krab) and they were delighted to respond likewise with a big smile.

 As I mentioned, my wife, Ann also purchased a bike so she could join me.  After a short ride to get her used to gears etc.,  she felt happy to go a little further… we cycled about 3 miles and she said she was hungry (very typical)… prompted by a small local restaurant we had just passed!

Time for coffee

Talking to the restaurant owner, apparently the road we were on was a regular route for a local club that did a 600 a.m. ride every day at high speed, I assume to gain the benefit of a quite road.  On the whole I never saw many cyclists on the routes I planned.  I realised after visiting the local bike shop again, in Chiang Mai there is a park that is frequented by cyclist where they do circuits without the hassle of the crazy Chiang Mai traffic.  Another local challenge is the 11km climb to the Temple that sits up on Doi Suthep Mountain (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_That_Doi_Suthep).  This will be a challenge on one of my trips in the coming year.    Also on the nearby mountain Doi Inthanon sits the Thai National Observatory where temperatures can drop into minus figures.

Ann enjoying her new bike

Anyway, back to cycling – so back to Ann’s cycling, having had a typical Thai lunch with a modicum of spiciness, we set off into the Thai country lanes again passing a Temple on the way.  Dogs can be a problem as they tend to be relatively uncontrolled in Thailand.  We approached a dog that had that look in its eye!  We passed it with some trepidation and carried on into the roads between the rice fields, the heat of the Sun now pounding down.  We cycled about 10 miles in all; Ann very pleased having thoroughly enjoyed it.  The next outing for me, I did have a problem with a snarling dog that required a quick sprint to prevent a nasty bite coming my way.  Sadly, Ann is not so keen to cycle in the UK, mainly because of the temperature currently.

Another great thing in Thailand is being able to get a massage at a very reasonable price (avoid the places with lots of pretty girls enticing you inside!!).  I always take any opportunity to have a foot/leg massage and time permitting a full Traditional Thai Massage.  I find this eases my muscles that get used in cycling.  Thai massage involves stretching as well as muscle massage.  It’s a shame any massage in the UK is so expensive.

Whilst I only cycled a limited number of rides with short distances, I thoroughly enjoyed cycling mid-winter under blue skies with no requirement to load on the layers.  Seems strange to have a cyclists tan mid winter!  I’m looking forward to extending my cycling in Thailand on my 2015 visits and perhaps meeting other cyclists on my travels.