Day Five - Chumphon to Paknamlangsuan - 113kms

Getting back on the bike after the rest day was hard and it took us all time to get our legs working.  I held everyone up for a while because I had to get new cleats, which had completely worn out. We had a beautiful ride along what was left of the Gulf of Thailand coast before we start crossing over to the Andaman coast tomorrow.

It was very hot with some sharp hills, which were challenging but we all got up them. 

Mitch from NZ finished his lunch to find his lunch had been strapped to a tree with tape that said IDIOT ZONE - DO NOT ENTER.  This was apparently punishment for calling Tony "an old codger"!  Kiwi/Aussie rivalry is alive and well!

One of the highlights of the day was arriving at a sleepy village to find a young 18- year old boy called Tom who said he lives in New Zealand and is in a home stay in Forest Hill, not far from Carol and me. We got talking to him and have invited him over when we all get back in February.  His mum and dad arrived to say hello although speak no English.  They own a prawn farm and, unbeknown to us, showed up later that evening at the hotel we were staying with enough prawns for 52 hungry riders.  It was so generous and so kind.  Tom and his brother Ton will come for dinner in Auckland and we have also discussed the possibility of weekly Thai lessons!

Rest Day is the Best Day....to have a birthday!

Rest day in the sleepy fishing village comprised of massages, Pirate burgers and a silly hat party to top it off!  It was a great day and I feel so lucky to have shared it with so many wonderful people. 

I was joint winner of the hat party with Frankie and Willie - most of mine came from raiding the kitchen and hotel garden.  The staff thought I was mad! 

The photos can speak for themselves!

Day Four - Prachuabkhirikhan to Chumphon 127kms

Peter Baines has always said that the ride is the reward you get for the fundraising effort that we all did last year. Yesterday, I really understood how true that is.

I can honestly say that this was the best day I had ever had on a bicycle. It was long, very hot but sufficiently challenging to really get into some wonderful riding, accompanied by some great tunes and conversations. The group is really bonding now and I am so lucky to be with so many extraordinary people, not to mention the head gear and eye wear!

Sue was our intrepid leader for the day and I was amazed at how strong her riding is now. No accidents or lost riders today either, although Dan did have two punctures!

The road was long but the hills were undulating and the highway had wide shoulders which were perfect for riding. Long climbs up the hills were rewarded with fast downhill stretches which served briefly to dry off the sweat that was running off us. Each of the six legs were about 20kms each with a welcome water stop in between, where we refuel on iced coffee, fruit and electrolytes before getting back in the hot seat. Riding on long stretches like that gave us the opportunity to ride in groups and benefit from the stronger riders’ slipstream! When you have been riding as long as I have (!), you start to learn all the terminology!

We had a fantastic lunch, starting with ice cold young coconut juice and very spicy pork skewers , salads and fried rice. The chillis certainly cleared the sinuses and the stops are very welcome and rejunenating. 

Local kids come out to greet us at some of the stops.

We arrived at the beach village near Champhon at about 5pm after about 9 hours on the road to be greeted by some of the staff and girls from BTN, with Kru Prateep, such an amazing and inspiring woman, who was born into the slums but ended up in government and now heads up her foundation which works with Hands.

Some of the girls from the Champion home were there to perform for us.  For those of you that attended the Auckland Night of Celebration, these were the girls that performed there. The boys from the New Life project who put on a fire eating show.

Peter shared about the 5 year vision for Hands which was wonderful to hear.  It is incredible to see the results of how much our efforts make a difference to these children, some of whom are now at University. 

The rest of the night turned into an overdue excuse to let our hair down and to celebrate my birthday.  There is another girl, Jodie on the trip who shares the same birthday, which meant double trouble.

What goes on bike tour, stays on bike tour.

Day Three - Prachuap Khiri Khan to Ban Krut - 88 beautiful kilometres!

 After a late massage in my room last night, I was grateful to be lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean and not air conditioning.   Slept so soundly, until 5.30am when it was time to begin again and in addition take on the responsibility of the Team Captain.

I was greeted as “Captain Darling”, but I told them they could just call me darling. Trevor, Team Captain from the previous day, had gone undercover due to the fact that he managed to lose ten riders on one leg!

In the back of my mind, I was very aware of what might go wrong, knowing that any accidents or indiscretions that happened on my shift would result in a fine that night at dinner.
A committee has been formed to hand out fines for dropped water bottles, any accident (small or large), lost riders, lost property and other indiscretion.  The find is only 100Baht but I know that the over-zealous collected close to A$1000 on the Northern ride, all money of course going to the kids.
I didn’t stand a chance!

I set off with the team and Khun Mae Thiew, who was struggling slightly today. This lady has terminal cancer and rides to provide inspiration to the HIV children at Home Hug that she cares for. Mae Thiew has been determined to do BOTH rides i.e. the full 1600kms on her own.  She never complains and is so inspirational and strong.  I know she was in pain today.

We rode out into the cool morning through the air base and into the edge of a forest where we were greeted by Dusky Langurs, gorgeous and very gentle little monkeys, native to Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. We spent a lot of time with sharing peanuts and playing.  There was one baby which was a contrasting golden colour, although they lose their brilliant colour by 3 months old.

We then continued in the shade through some spectacular scenery, everyone progressing well and complimenting me on my great job as Captain Darling.  Then suddenly one of the riders slowed, another caught his wheel and down went John and Tony.  John split his helmet, damaged his bike and left some bad cuts on his knees, head, buttocks and elbow.  Tony also has some grazes and cuts, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt.

We were to visit a beautiful temple before lunch but the stop meant lunch would be quite late. The temple was worth the very steep climb up to it, only the fittest and bravest of cyclists making it to the top.  Most of us had to get off and walk about two thirds up.

We ended up in a small town called Ban Krut at a restaurant run by an American and gorged ourselves on pizza and lasagna.  Food had never tasted so good!

Later this evening, Peter and I were interviewed on Radio Jones in Spain (my little sister)!