Delayed

Just to be safe (and to protect the value of my flight...the UA ticket lady said I did a "good job" purchasing my ticket), I rescheduled my flight until next Sunday. The airport standoff resumes and the Thai government is adamantly opposed to violent or forceful measures to remove protesters. It's unbelievable to me that such a thing as closing a MAJOR international airport is possible and quite so easy!

Unrest in the West

Just a quick post to inform I'm aware and keeping a close eye on news from Bangkok. May make for a really interesting trip and/or change of plans. We'll see. For more info check out:

The Nation (an English daily newspaper from Bangkok)
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/

Or more specifically:
http://www.latimes.com/la-fg-thailand28-2008nov28,0,346939.story
or
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/world/asia/28thai.html?ref=asia


If airports are not open by Sunday evening, I'm gonna start calling around a making some alternative plans and or check into options with my trip insurance company.

I have no intention of throwing myself into protests, but as I see it, they're pretty isolated in terms of their threat. Because I don't yet understand Thai politics well, It's hard to tell whether it will be "cataclysmic -- the build up to the end of Thailand as we know it" (see LA Times article) or simply isolated and very well targeted and implemented protests.

More soon!

:)
Jamie

Count Down

Sharon put together a very lovely bon voyage party last night for me and I had so much fun seeing beloved friends before I leave! We made four pizzas, had a ton of food, including nori rolls, freshly made squash soup with squash from our garden, fresh falafel and a sinful chocolate cake! Thanks to all my lovely friends who stopped by to say fairwell! Now, it's time to get down to business!!!

There are last minute things to buy, a bike to stuff in a box, gear to pack, arrangements to make and oh so much more...oh yah, Thanksgiving...

Well, I give thanks for kind and supportive friends and beloved ones who share their encouragement and support. I just have to make it through the next eight days (with oh so much to do) and I'll be under way.

The Final Decision 2008: Tires

Well, I finally made up my mind on tires...after an exhaustive internal battle (with tons of internet research) and wide search through the the actual stock of tires available through local bike shops, I chose these:

Specialized Crossroads Armadillo
http://mikesbikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1750

I like the sound of the Armadillo technology (another cyclist road Thailand, Vietnam and Laos with no flats for the entire ride with this technology) and I was sold by the inflation range (35-85 psi) and that it basically becomes two distinctly different tires depending on the pressure. They're pretty heavy due to the tread and I wasn't excited about using 1.95, but I think they'll work out in the end and be more trouble free than a lighter, thinner tire.

The Re-Cyclery, My Godsend

Gotta love the Re-Cyclery in San Rafael!!! I thought I was going to have to schlep all over SE Asia with my freehub making the grinding sounds its been making for the past year or so. It's been starting to wear down and, though still functioning quite well, makes an awful sound when I coast.

My bike being quite old as far as bikes go, I scoured the internet to find a replacement part. At first, I found it only at a shop in London...no way! Thanks to Sheldon Brown's website, I found another part back east. BUT, I thought I'd give the Re-Cyclery a look before I order a not quite so necessary part for a not quite so cheap price from not quite so nearby. Low and behold, the Re-Cyclery had five!!!! I got a lightly used one, installed it and now enjoy a nice silent ride! To make things better, I paid almost nothing for it (thanks fellas!).

I'm very thankful we have such a lovely and helpful resource so nearby. If you live in town or are cycling through, be sure to stop by and check them out, it's a great spot to get a used bike and funds go to several great causes:

http://www.tripsforkids.org/thrift.htm

Gearing Up

I'm in the process of gathering all my things and making last minute plans. I've still got a few weeks to go, but I'd feel more settled if I had all my affairs and all my equipment prepared ahead of time. I met with a cyclist from Berkeley who, with his wife, just traveled through Thailand, Laos and Vietnam by bike and who was tremendously helpful in helping me know a little bit more of what to expect. Hearing his travel experience and seeing some of his trip photos really fired me up for the trip and I'm thankful that he shared some of his favorite stretches of road. He, like various other cyclists I've spoken with, directed me to Laos. He said, thanks to China, there are many new paved roads and yet the Lao people are too poor to have wide spread automobile ownership so the roads are mostly empty. Beautiful scenery to boot!

Anticipation is building a bit, but I still have some time to go and many things left to do here at home, so I'm not getting too overexcited. There's still quite a bit of planning to do.