Posts Tagged ‘Cycling’

Day 283. 89km. Khao Kalok – Prachuap Khiri Khan

Posted: January 4, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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This coast is stunning. Calm roads, calm waters. Kaarst formations jutting out of the plains and out of the sea. Palm trees lining the roads next to the sandy beaches. And a cave that is a massive sinkhole in the kaarst landscape – the sun shining in like a beam from the heavens lighting up the golden temple. Amazing.

Temple at the Phraya Nathan cave

Temple at the Phraya Nathan cave

We were woken up by the rooster orchestra, and by the fishermen preparing their boats for the day. It was a beautiful light, and a quiet road before everyone woke from their slumber.

Fisher boats in front of the tent

Fisher boats in front of the tent

The coast in the morning light

The coast in the morning light

The coast in the morning light

The coast in the morning light

The walk to the Phraya Nathan cave was steep, first to get to a beautiful palm-lined broad, wide, sandy beach, then then to get to the deep sinkhole in the kaarst mountain. It was just beautiful.

The beautiful coast

The beautiful coast

Phraya Nathan cave

Phraya Nathan cave

Phraya Nathan cave

Phraya Nathan cave

Arne was having some problems with his tyres, and then his brakes, so we are having a rest day tomorrow. I’m looking forward to lazing around in this beautiful place. No blog tomorrow.. ☺

Day 236. 76km. Jingdong – Zhenyuan

Posted: January 3, 2016 in China, Cycling
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My piss is red! A quick google. The dragon fruit is the culprit. I ate two of them just next to where they were growing. The woman was asleep at her table when I arrived, in the shade under the umbrella, next to the plants. I’m cycling through dragon fruit land!

Dragon fruit

Dragon fruit

The road follows the river, rising above it, then dropping down, only to rise again. Above the river I cycle through dense greenery, in the cool shade, with the cicadas. They are almost deafening, their call rising to a crescendo and then subsiding in waves. I hear the hoot of a bird – unknown to me, but, it sounds tropical. I can just imagine its bright colours and impressive plumage. The hills around me are very pointy, rising steeply from the valley. They are all densely covered in tropical green. The air is humid, and a comfortable temperature in the early 20s. How everything has changed from the barren, cold mountains I have left.

River

River

River

River

Field

Field

Day 282. 118km. Phetchaburi – Khao Kalok

Posted: January 3, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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The sea. Palm trees. White sand. Camping on the beach. The sky silhouettes the mountains as it turns orange, pink and then fades to black. It’s a summer holiday in the tropics – and I have cycled here from Holland. Happy.

Khao Kalok

Khao Kalok

We cycled more on smaller roads today that followed the coast, and passed through the first beach resort towns. We cycled past an official viewpoint every kilometre. None of the viewpoints had a view.

A viewpoint without a view

A viewpoint without a view

Arne has cycled from Belgium to here via India, and camped almost every night. He brought me over my renewed fear of camping (when there are perfectly good beds), and we have our tents on the beach (in perfect view of the road). It is kind of cool, camping just metres from the water on a sandy beach.

Early morning light

Early morning light

The water plains

The water plains

Khao Kalok

Khao Kalok

Day 235. 109km. Nanjian – Jingdong

Posted: January 2, 2016 in China, Cycling
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Today was bumpy. Like in Finland, the bumps are 50m down and 40m up. On and on. So, I went down a valley, but it was hard work. The scenery was nice – seeing more palm trees now.

Mountains

Mountains

The road down

The road down

Day 281. 132km. Bangkok – Phetchaburi

Posted: January 2, 2016 in Cycling, Thailand
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Leaving megacities takes time – time on big arterial roads with lots of traffic. Its not pleasant cycling, but it was safe enough with the wide side lane. Cycling along minding my own business, I was overtaken by another cyclist – Arne from Belgium. He’s heading to Singapore – like me, so we cycled together along the busy, flat, straight road.

The beautiful road

The beautiful road

We are now close to the sea – the sea I have not seen since Turkey (except briefly at Bangpoo). Bring on the beach!

Arne and me

Arne and me

Day 234. 119km. Dali – Nanjian

Posted: January 1, 2016 in China, Cycling
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I could hear the crickets and the cicadas. The sun was out, it was warm, and there were eucalyptus trees. I got all teary. It felt more familiar – in some ways it felt like Australia. But it was foreign too. Chinese writing, markets and food stalls. And more tropical plants. I am entering the tropics!

Familiar trees

Familiar trees

It has been cold and wet. It has been hilly. The going has been very slow. The daily displacements have been small – 100km on windy roads doesn’t bring you far as the crow flies. Today the sun came out. The road was still hilly, but, with the familiar vegetation and the warmth, it felt like I was cycling on a different planet.

Valley

Valley

Yesterday was another rest day – in Dali. When it’s raining, the urge to cycle is low. I was in Dali with Ann and Liam (the English name I gave him), and we had a nice walk to a temple on the mountain behind Dali.

Me, Ann and Liam

Me, Ann and Liam

Day 233. 108km. Diannan – Dali

Posted: December 31, 2015 in China, Cycling
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Grey. A bit of rain. I wanted to get to Dali to catch up with Ann and Liam, who I spent the day with in Lijiang. It was cycling straight ahead in the cold, to arrive at the tourist destination of Dali. Oh. I passed 20000km in reality (not just celebrated it).

2000km

2000km

Fields

Fields

Day 232. 88km. Lijiang – Shigudiqing – Diannan

Posted: December 30, 2015 in China, Cycling
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A fixed bike and a rest day in Lijiang, including an early 20,000km celebration, meant I was all ready to continue on towards Dali. It was grey with a few drops of rain, making for a rather uninteresting ride.

The scenery is changing

The scenery is changing

Thank-you Ann – one of the friends I met in the Tiger Leaping Gorge. She spent all afternoon looking around Lijiang for a bike shop that would try to help me. She was doing this while I was destroying the screw holding my frame together in Shigudiqing.

After about half an hour of despair in the bike shop, where the screw refused to budge, finally, after a bit of RX7 lubricant and elbow grease, the guy in the shop finally got it to move, and we were able to fit the new carbon drive.

I decided to stay in Lijiang and spend the day with Ann rather than return in the car to Shigudiqing to continue today in the rain.

American lunch

American lunch

20000km

20000km

Day 231. 60km. Qiaotou – Shunggong

Posted: December 29, 2015 in China, Cycling
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It’s good it didn’t happen in the long tunnel forbidden for bicycles. It happened just before the road turned into a dual-carriageway. In the rain. Uphill. My ‘carbon-drive’ – what I use instead of a chain – made of Kevlar and unbreakable – broke. Without being able to pedal, I rode down the hill I had just climbed to the first little village, and stopped to contemplate.

Broken Carbon Drive

Broken Carbon Drive

I have a reserve carbon-drive, but to put it on, you have to pull apart the frame at the one point the frame is connected by a screw. A screw that it is rusted and not movable. A screw that destroyed two Allen keys, and was mangled itself in the process. I have now arranged a taxi to the nearest bigger town – Lijiang, to see if the bike shop there can unscrew my screw. Fingers crossed.

My time in the Tiger Leaping Gorge meant that I met three new friends, whom I walked through the gorge with. We walked through the green, in the bright, warm sun, gazing at the line of teeth-like pointy grey rocky mountains, reaching in to the heavens on the other side of the river. It was gorgeous.

Tourist stuff.. :-)

Tourist stuff.. 🙂

Come Inn

Come Inn

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Teeth mountains

Teeth mountains

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Day 230. 101km. Shangri La – Qiaotou

Posted: December 28, 2015 in China, Cycling
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Today I left the Tibetan Plateau, I dropped below 3000m, and will stay there for the rest of the trip. The drop was fun. First 60km of small ups and downs staying at 3400m, and then down and down and down – to 2100m in 40km. It was fast.

On the way to the Tiger Leaping Gorge

On the way to the Tiger Leaping Gorge

Today the goal was the Tiger Leaping Gorge. A guy at the lodge knew all about it. I should leave my bike and stuff at the base, and climb up to the first guesthouse on the mountain today. It is too hot and unpleasant at the base of the walk. So.. 100km cycling, and then 2 hours of hiking. I am now looking out over a wall of pointy mountains as the sun goes down. The Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Teeth mountains

Teeth mountains

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