While putting away the bike I have just been riding, I noticed something a little odd about the appearance of my Giant TT Bike on the next rack. Closer examination revealed it was being claimed by a 70cm Green Tree Snake...a common, aggressive, poisonous, but not very dangerous snake in these parts:
Here is something you don't encounter every day...
While putting away the bike I have just been riding, I noticed something a little odd about the appearance of my Giant TT Bike on the next rack. Closer examination revealed it was being claimed by a 70cm Green Tree Snake...a common, aggressive, poisonous, but not very dangerous snake in these parts:
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A race was held not far from where we live...too good an opportunity to ignore, so I entered the long race, which was advertised as 80km but turned out to be 90km. The race takes in hilly routes to both Ta Kwai and Ta Meung Khmer Antiquity sites right on the border with Cambodia.
There were 300+ competitors, and about 200+ of them were serious riders. Many had advanced kit, such as carbon fibre frames and electronic gear shifters. I was the oldest competitor and also the only foreigner...consequently I found myself being pressed into many group photo opportunities, and felt like a bit of a celebrity.
It was a tough race for me, but I was finally quite pleased with the results...10th place overall [which was good enough for a trophy and a podium presentation]...2nd in the 40+ category, and would have been 1st in the 50+ category if there was one.
Mostly I just ride about in my own World...a place where there are no other Strava Users. This morning I took my car to Prasat for its 10k service...had a couple of idle hours while waiting, so took my road bike and made the most of an opportunity to measure my cycling performance against the many regular Strava Users who record their efforts on the 30km North:South highway between Prasat and Surin cities.
I was quite pleased with my first outing on this route...averaged 32.6km over 60km and recorded the 8th fastest All Comers time for one segment of 23km. Don't all laugh at once...this all important data when you are in training for the...you know...Big One! I spend a bit of time looking at the offerings on the biggest Web Store available to Thailand folks. There is an increasing catalogue of bicycles and bike-related stuff.
I crossed my fingers and placed an order for a lycra bike outfit...super-cheap and shipped from China...you have to pre-pay for items shipped from outside Thailand, but The Web Store guarantees there are no hidden taxes and/or import duties. Within the estimated delivery time, the item was delivered to my door! It was exactly as advertised, and there were zero extra charges. The quality seems very good , and I can scarcely believe my good fortune at being able to acquire such an outfit for 611 baht [about $US20]. So, I now buy with confidence, and have yet to be ripped off. My latest acquisition was a set of aerobars...650baht [about US$22]. I had a bit of difficulty in fitting them, and did a little bit of damage to the bar attachment clamp. However, they are now firmly fixed on my MTB, and...surprise...give me about 4kph extra speed, and greater endurance as they offer an opportunity to rest on the forearms and so relax the hands. Winner! Here is a snap of me, showing off Lycra outfit and aerobars: Most of the kids who attend the Village school, just behind our house, ride to school on various bikes...clapped out little single speeds as well as Mum's town shopper.
But the kids know almost nothing about bikes. They have zero understanding about how bikes work, never perform preventative maintenance, and get a shop to replace the inner tube whenever they have a puncture [most punctures are pinch flats, caused by having insufficient air in the tube and running over a sharpish stone]. As it happens, I also have a job [a labour of love, with zero monetary reward] teaching Conversational English to all the kids at the school. I decided to try to combine these two things. I devised a class exercise in which I brought my road bike to the class, along with materials to help me to call out the names of the various bike parts. I have conducted the class a couple of times...managed to keep the kids interested, and got them to accurately attach sticky labels to all the bike parts. Included in the exercise...I brought my bike shoulder bag along...emptied it out, and showed them tools, tyre levers, tiny pumps, replacement tubes, puncture repair kits. Ah well...it is a start!
A pleasant, relaxed 20km with Mawin starting about 0600 in the cool of the morning. Near the end of the ride we went off-road in the jungle...great fun in the wet sand on single-track and no-track.
After the disappointment, yesterday, of missing a PR by 3 seconds, I decided to give it another go this morning.
Better result...30 seconds under my previous best time for this circuit...this challenge still has legs, though, as I am still 2 1/2 minutes shy of my 1 hour target.
Sometimes how you feel is not an accurate reflection of how you perform. Despite feeling unenthusiastic for riding this morning I pushed hard from the start and took 25 seconds off my best time for the 8km sprint...just a touch off 36kph average speed.
Very pleasant ride. The first 6km were off-road through the Village jungle...earth wet, but not flooded, making the track a pleasure...see pic.
I went a bit further than usual this morning....65 kilometres. I seem to be blessed with lovely roads in all directions, and can invent a circuit at will. I ran out of energy at 50km...up till then I had been cruising along at somewhere close to 30kph, but I finished much slower...perhaps next time I will eat breakfast before heading out.
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About RayI love cycling, whether rolling about in Bangkok or on country lanes. Recently I have also been attracted to bike racing as a means of challenging myself as I mature into that category known as The Elderly. Categories
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