…is the day like we had today for most cyclists we know. We had more decent than ascent and the vehicle traffic was minimal. We started later than we had planned due to my alarm not going off (stop laughing Ann Texas), but it was nice to get the extra hour of sleep. The highway out of the town we’d stayed in last night had a nice wide paved shoulder that was almost like having our own lane. The temperature was perfect and cooled down into the 70’s when we began the climbing into the mountains. The ride reminded us both of our first tour two years ago when we left the Redwoods in Northern California and reached the Coast of CA again except it was more tropical and not as cold as Nor Cal is in July. We were both looking forward to the 10-15km of downhill after the 200m of climbing and it was “what dreams are made of” for sure.
As we’ve toured through Thailand these past 5 months, we will pass dozens of Temples on any given day in the saddle, and became quite familiar with several in Chiang Mai we passed on a regular basis while taking our break. Google says: “There are a total of 40,717 Buddhist temples (Thai: Wat) in Thailand as of 31 December 2004, of which 33,902 are in current use.”. They each are distinct and beautiful beyond measure so today I took a couple of pictures I hope you enjoy. Right after these temples we stopped for an early lunch at a quaint little roadside restaurant and ordered a Pad See Ew (similar to Drunken Noodles in the states for those that like Thai food). It was 30 Bhat each (93¢), and one of the best ones we’ve had. Tim was able to practice more of his Thai language skills, and the sweet woman that owned the place was impressed. She also showed us a Mama cat in a tote with two new born kittens.
The skies were as blue as my Irish/German eyes, with white fluffy clouds, and stunning farming and mountain views the rest of the way after lunch. It didn’t take long for the heat to reach near 💯 farenheit again and we missed the tree coverings we had earlier in the morning. We were craving an iced Thai coffee before the last 20km and another hill and finally found a stall on the side of the road for 30 Bhat.
During the last 15km the headwinds started and we were both getting Heat Angry and ready to finish the ride. We were getting ready to stop and check the directions for the room Tim had stared for the night when a pickup truck pulled over and a guy jumped out handing us two cold waters. We said thank you in Thai (it’s 1 of the 3 phrases I do know). After nearly 5 hours in the saddle there is nothing quite like a cold water to quench your thirst. The kindness of strangers is the BEST thing ever in this world. We looked at the map and had just 3km to go to get to our next night of rest.
Our lunch stop
Our Iced Coffee stop
Our bed, bar, and cafe for the night that closed at 6pm, so we went to dinner at 4:30 and felt like snowbirds in Florida. They had Bud’s Ice Cream Cake from San Francisco in a big cooler that brought back memories from home. We split a piece of Chocolate Chip Cookie and it didn’t last long enough to get a picture.
The rooms are named after coffee drinks so they showed us the “Flat White” one and said sure that will do for 500 Bhat a night.
L😆L
Start Time & Temp. 8:25am, 29C (84.2F)
Saddle Time 4:53:54
Distance 105km (65.4 miles)
Elevation 450m (1476ft)
End Time & Temp. 2:30pm, 38.5C (101.3F)
Looking good Tim!