Day: 125.73km
Cumulative: 323.1kmAvg Spd: 18.2
Max Spd: 32
Ride Time: 6h 54m
Highs: Si Satchanalai Historic Park, teak lined roads, mountains, finally met my first touring cyclists (a couple, Jay and Jenny), longest day of cycling in my life
Lows: Finding out there were no trains leaving Sawankhalok after a hard push in the morn, the last 10km, the uphill that started at 5h 30min and didn't end until the last 4 km, not staying to camp at Si Satchanalai, crack in rim noticeably worse
I ridethrough countless miles of rice fields
with thoughts and smiles
----
That was the beginning of the day, written within the first 50km. I was feeling really good. Wide shoulder, well paved roads, very few cars, cooler temperatures, lots of waves and hellos and smiles. I was pushing hard because it was going to be a short day to Sawankhalok to catch a train to Chiang Mai to get the rim fixed...or so I thought. I pushed hard in the morning with a 20.5 km/h or so average speed.
CYCLISTS TAKE NOTE: I arrived in Sawankhalok to find there's only one train a day and it goes to BKK. I could have waited around this town until 21:00, ridden the train one stop and
then switched to a Chiang Mai train, but Iwould have had to hang out in this little town all day. I decided to head the advice of a street vender who emphatically encouraged me to travel north to see Si Satchanalai and I headed out of town toward Uttraradit where I could catch a direct train and on a road that passed right by Si Satchanalai. With the additional distance, a slight head wind and knowing that it would be a long day, I slowed my pace and I knew I'd have just enough time to get to Uttraradit before sunset.I am so happy I listened to that vender. Si Satchanalai is one of the three major sites that are a part of Sukhothai National Historic Park. This site blew Ayyutaya and Sukhothai out of the water for various reasons, but specifically for the setting. This region is forested with large trees, totally silent, right along a
huge river with the city wall running the length of the bank of the river. It's a breathtaking setting. THEN, the structures were absolutely unbelieveable and much much larger in scale
than the other sites I had seen. There were preserved etchings on one section of wall which is now covered with a roof structure to slow the inevitable erosion that were simply exquisite. One of the chedas (round bell shaped structure) had an open entry leading into an enclosed cylinder which one could/would circumambulate. Magical! Incensce, candles, fetishes, a wide swath of gold fabric encircling the cylinder, the darkness of the back of the path...truly truly magical!
The remainder of the day was a little rough. Tired legs, slight uphill for the last 35-40km and a slight head wind that kept blowing. I made it to Uttraradit just as the sunset was finalizing and went to the train station to discover only third class overnight seats left. It was going to be a long night.
The remainder of the day was a little rough. Tired legs, slight uphill for the last 35-40km and a slight head wind that kept blowing. I made it to Uttraradit just as the sunset was finalizing and went to the train station to discover only third class overnight seats left. It was going to be a long night.
2 comments:
Jamie,
I am curious, how do you know how far and fast you rode?
I have a little cycle computer on my handlebars that gives me pretty basic information of speed, distance, times and does simple math to calculate average speeds. It's helpful when you're looking for turnoffs and such where there the signs have no Latin characters.
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