Archive for the ‘Cycling’ Category

Day 287. 105km. Phum Riang Beach – Phang Kan

Posted: January 9, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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I got up before dawn and walked out onto the beach, the waves lapping at my feet, and the panorama of stars laid bare above my head. And then I saw her. Majestically hanging in the sky. ‘Hello. It’s been a while. I’ve cycled from far-away climes to see you!’
The Southern Cross.

Sunrise at Phum Riang Beach

Sunrise at Phum Riang Beach

It is warm, but there is a light cool breeze. My eyes are adjusted to the dark. All I can see are stars and the silhouettes of trees. And the glimmering water. The water is calm, lapping over the damp sand before receding for the next wave. In the distance is a bright star – it is approaching. As it nears, I see a beam of light pointing forward from the star. At its side there is a red light, flashing every few seconds. Then I see a shooting star, falling from the heavens towards the water. I feel at peace here. By myself. The sand between my toes and the breeze ruffling my hair. And the Southern Cross on the horizon. The day will start soon, but now – right now – the world sleeps and time has lost its meaning.

The morning was beautiful, but, the small roads past lonely beaches was not on the agenda today. Instead were main roads with traffic extending in straight lines across the hot, dry landscape. I avoided the biggest of the roads but navigating my way along side roads with Google Maps. Tomorrow a dash down to Phanggna to catch the ferry.

Day 242. 81km. Menglun – Mengla

Posted: January 9, 2016 in China, Cycling
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The old road on the map got even wigglier and steeper than yesterday. Today I didn’t see the cycling forbidden signs, and cycled smoothly up and downhill on the new road that rarely was on land – either on massive stilts above the valley, or in carbon monoxide tunnels. I saved about 50km,10000 kcal and one day of cycling.

Banana plantation

Banana plantation

Motorbikes were also forbidden, which didn’t deter anyone. I must have cycled past at least a dozen policemen. The road was OK to cycle on.
The valleys were very steep and absolutely dense in the greenest of green foliage. Looking down from my lofty perch on a bridge, the jungle below reigned supreme. I could not help but think how hard it would have been cycling here, on the old road.

Misty mountains

Misty mountains

Mengla is the last sizable town in China. Laos – here I come!

Day 241. 65km. Mengyang – Menglun

Posted: January 8, 2016 in China, Cycling
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While curving my way up and down and around and around, I wondered what the fractal dimension was of this road. I wondered this when regarded as projected onto a 2-dimensional space (like a map), or when in its true 3-d space. In 2 dimensions, taking a scaling factor ε=1/3, and using the formula

I think the fractal dimension is the same as the Koch Curve – namely 1.2619.

Equally nerdy, I remembered the puzzle – if you have 100km to go, you can go 50km, and then have 50 to go. Then, if you go 25, you have 25 to go. Then, going 12.5, you have 12.5 to go. If you continue halving the distance travelled, you never reach the 100km. This is how I felt, winding my way in ever tighter curves, towards the Laos border. All the while either climbing or falling on the steepest of steep slopes. Its beautiful, but tomorrow I’m taking the main road with long, badly ventilated tunnels. I’ve had it with hills.

The valley

The valley

It's hilly

It’s hilly

It's hilly

It’s hilly

It's hilly

It’s hilly

Day 286. 134km. Sawi – Phum Riang Beach

Posted: January 8, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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The descent down the east coast continued along small, quiet roads. Far from the noise and traffic of the main road, I meandered through a palm-studded landscape with regular beaches. The wind picked up as I set up my tent on the beach. Empty coconuts aren’t heavy enough to keep the pegs from blowing away.. ☺

A beautiful beach. Shame about the rubbish.

A beautiful beach. Shame about the rubbish.

Today I passed 25000km from when I started in Eindhoven.

25000km

25000km

Tomorrow I head across to the other side of the peninsula. The excitement mounts.

Bridge on the back road

Bridge on the back road

Day 240. 85km. Puwen – Mengyang

Posted: January 7, 2016 in China, Cycling
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My bum hurts. There is no respite from the constant up and down, and today I crawled into Mengyang rubbing my backside. It got a good workout.

Tea fields

Tea fields

I cycled the ‘old road’ which winds around every corner, climbs and drops over every undulation. The neighbouring freeway rests on stilts, flattening the landscape and smoothing the ride. Then it leaves off into a tunnel, only to be seen 30km of wiggles later. The old road is almost void of vehicles. This is so precious. I realise that the constant noise of cars has been deafening. Traffic noise pulls the conscious away from the now, away from nature, and into a whir of stress. I cycled through a cacophony of nature. The jungle is loud. The constant background of crickets and cicadas, with a high-pitched cricket variant. Then the birds. Frogs. I cycle, listening, immersing myself in this natural paradise. Every turn reveals new trees, plants, animals, and new sounds.

And then I heard of the elephants. Excitement. Imagine seeing an elephant on the road. The elephants are to be found in the ‘Wild Elephant Valley’, amongst the busloads of elephant watchers. I rode straight past, and back into the chirps of the cicadas.

The road

The road

This morning was a market breakfast, followed by the realisation that Sydney is only 8973km.

The market in Puwen

The market in Puwen

Not far to Sydney

Not far to Sydney

Day 285. 132km. Hat Bang Bird – Sawi

Posted: January 7, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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I planned the cycle trip route before I left Eindhoven– in more detail at the beginning, and less at the end. Regularly en route the plan has changed – sometimes just by a little bit affecting a day or two, and sometimes by a lot, affecting months of cycling. I had been planning to cross to the western coast of Thailand soon. Today I met two groups of cyclists, and that all changed.

A french cyclist with some great tips.

A french cyclist with some great tips.

The west coast has only the main (busy) road, whereas the east coast is beautiful. I now have a new itinerary and several islands I need to visit. Being flexible is the name of the game. Koh Yao Noi, Koh Lanta and Koh Rok – here I come. (Although Koh Rok was on the agenda already.)

The road again followed the coast for a while. The scout/girl guide camp left a bit of rubbish on the beach.

The girl guides and scouts were naughty

The girl guides and scouts were naughty

There were some views,

View from the temple

View from the temple

and some back roads (meaning I could avoid the freeway-like main road entirely).

And just before my destination I was changing batteries on my phone when a woman pulled up on her bike, took out her phone, and took multiple selfies with me. She then followed me wherever I went, videoing me cycling behind her with her phone. It felt like in China.

I'm famous

I’m famous

I lost her in the town. She meant well, but I just wanted to be alone. ☺

Back road

Back road

Day 239. 90km. Ning’er – Puwen

Posted: January 6, 2016 in China, Cycling
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Tea covering the steep, green hills. And now banana plantations. It gets lusher and lusher. And no less strenuous.

The tea hills

The tea hills

The day’s cycle is determined by the passes. I sleep at the bottom of them, and do one, or at most two 500-600m climbs in a day. The rest of the day is up and down anyway. Today I’m at the bottom of the next 500m climb, in the banana plantation village of Puwen.

The tea hills

The tea hills

The tea hills

The tea hills

The tea hills

The tea hills

Day 284. 127km. Prachuap Khiri Khan – Hat Bang Bird

Posted: January 6, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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Cycling alone again today, the beaches just kept on getting more beautiful, and more peaceful. Ban Krut never ended with its white sands lined with palm trees. I ended at another cute little beach with the standard kaarst structures on the horizon and the calm, tranquil sea.

Ban Krut - time for a swim

Ban Krut – time for a swim

Arne decided to catch a lift to a bigger town to get his bike seen to, so, it was me keeping myself company again. I like being by myself, and cycling through this amazing landscape. It is perfect being able to stop and do whatever I like, when I like. I stayed off the main road except for a short 28km stretch in the morning, and then drank up the serenity of the back roads following the shoreline.

Sunrise at Prachuap Khiri Khan

Sunrise at Prachuap Khiri Khan

The beach road

The beach road

Ban Krut

Ban Krut

Hat Bang Bird

Hat Bang Bird

Ban Krut

Ban Krut

Day 238. 63km. De’an – Ning’er

Posted: January 5, 2016 in China, Cycling
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The high passes follow each other without a break in between. Climb 500m, drop 500m, then directly up 600m, then down. I stopped early in Ning’er leaving the next 600m climb for tomorrow – opting for an afternoon siesta instead.

The mountains

The mountains

The silence of the high plains has been replaced by crickets, cicadas and birds. The yaks have been replaced by water buffalo. The mountains have been replaced by.. mountains. I am inching forward towards the Laos border. My displacement each day from the day before looks small to me on the map, but I know what climbs have been conquered. This will not be a fast dash.

Water buffalo

Water buffalo

Day 237. 85km. Zhenyuan – De’an

Posted: January 4, 2016 in China, Cycling
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An imaginary line circles the globe at 23.43724 degrees north – where the sun reaches directly overhead on mid-summer day. I crossed this line today, and am now officially in the tropics.

On the Tropic of Cancer

On the Tropic of Cancer

I am on the couch out the front of the little shop in the tiny village. The sun is shining brightly, and I sit in the shade, devouring my ice-creams. Inside, in the gloom, the television is running – a daytime soap – in Chinese. The drama and suspense oozes from the television as the breathless woman’s voice pleads with her handsome lover. The music adds to the suspense, as I listen from outside. The little old woman who sold me the ice-creams watches inside with bated breath. Outside, the village is peaceful. The sun is all-powerful. Nothing moves. Then, a motorbike pulls up. The boy buys some cigarettes and then rides off into the glare. I study the map.
The woman taps me on the shoulder. She hands me a big chunk of gingerbread cake. She smiles and nods as I thank her with my eyes. In her eyes I see her inner peace and her kindness. ‘Good on ya, lad. This is for you!’

The up-and-down cycling was interspersed with stops in the villages. One village was fruit gorging time. A few dragon fruit, pears, apples and grapes. One village was ice-creams. One village was real food. It is slow going – it is never flat, and often quite steep. It is beautiful, though, cycling through this mountainous, tropical landscape.

The morning mist lifts

The morning mist lifts

River

River

The valley

The valley

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