That Thon National Park, Chaiyaphum.
December 19-20, 2015
I am not sure why, but it seems that I use the word 'beautiful' to describe both the sunrise and sunset here allllmost every single day. Beautiful must mean 'above average,' better than 'normal,' or we wouldn't use the word like this... but how can the same thing be more beautiful than average more than 50% of the time? Like I said, I don't get it...
Just the same, leaving for Chaiyaphum this morning brought yet again, a superbly cool sunrise. I left quite early this morning, I was going to have to ride 165km in the time it took my friends to ride just 75km. I had 2 big advantages on my side though, plus the fact that being late is not really a 'problem' in Thailand anyways... so this was actually a reasonable goal! I made sure to leave an hour before my friends
said they were leaving (I left at 4:45AM), and my first advantage was that all my friends are Thai :) Only a small chance that they would leave in either a timely or orderly fashion. The second advantage was that I would be traveling with the wind for about 100 full kilometers.
I was excited to leave, but remembered the advice I have been getting lately from some veteran long-distance riders - it was definitely chilly, and I took my time warming up. Whether it was just good luck, or maybe I actually did things properly, I felt great, super great, I was riding as strong as ever and I was ready for the race. It was also quite interesting to imagine that I was racing my friends, even though I would not see them for about 5 hours, it was just cool to imagine them along the way :) I had made sure to rest almost 3 full days before this trip, usually I only rest 1 day, or just an afternoon (what can I say, I might be too addicted to just being on the bike these days, might need to be more sensible with taking care of my joints). Anyways, with the wind at one's back it is easy to feel like superman, but that increase in confidence also goes a
long way in making a good effort! I was flying, and didn't even stop until I reached the intersection with Baan Phai (90km from my house). I stopped for a snack, had a great chat with some ladies selling Kaow Mun Gai (Singapore Fatty Rice with Steamed Chicken), as they laughed watching me eat 1 entire fan of bananas and a Clif bar. I am getting better at chatting in the Esaan dialect, it has never been a problem speaking Thai while others respond in Esaan, everyone around my area speaks both, but its great to feel ever more at home here, able to understand the local dialect.
Back on the road, a new road for me, this section from Chonnabot to Wiang Yai, and I was actually excited to visit the previous school and village of a good friend. I rarely travel to
entirely new places, I always try to have at least some advice, or some local friend, some knowledge of where I am going and what to expect. Looking at it from the other way, I am always excitedly waiting for new friends from new areas of the country, because then I can start scheduling trips down fresh roads to visit them! I rarely stay at hotels, prefer to hang out with locals anywhere (in any country, not just Thailand), but the spontaneous new friendships and hostings are always the best! Like a gift, never knowing where it will come from. So anyways, this town of Wiang Yai was the old teaching location of one of my best friends in Thailand. He now lives in Amnaj Jaroen, I have visited him several times (but not yet by bicycle!), but I have not yet had the chance to visit his previous town. (So here is a picture for you Ali!)
A very important thing in cycling, in any endurance training - personal mindset and attitude makes a gigantic difference! Enjoy what you're doing, actively think about the positive sides, about enjoying the outdoors, hot or cold, windy or calm, the scenery, the lives of others passing by around you, its a total sensory experience that you/we are lucky to have to both the health and the chance to enjoy!
I think I did this section in under 3 hours, meaning an average speed of over 30kph (quite fast while on a long trip and carrying gear). The same section however, a few months ago on a day when I was not that pumped to be in the sun and wind, I think I averaged only 23-24 kph. Huge difference. Almost entirely up to attitude. I like what the fruit addicted famous vegan athlete Durianrider says; "Riding into a headwind is nothing but a mind game. All mental, keep your head up, shoulders loose, and just get it done mate."
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My good friend and bike team captain, the other guy responsible for getting me addicted
to cycling (the first being myself :) ) |
In case you are curious about what the park has to offer, and the general shape of the plateau. I need to go back and visit, entering through the Northern pass there, it looks great! And of course, to climb through to Maw Hin Kaow. The other famous place up top is known as the "Thai Stonehenge." There was a bike race taking place the same day of our trip, and the 900-meter tall climb section was cordoned off. It was however, not inconvenient for me at all to have an excuse not to climb a mountain after riding 210km already today haha... So I will gladly visit again!
This guy has to win the Heart Award for this trip. He is the lightest of the crew, does not practice as much as the rest of us, and I would say he was near the point of bonking for several hours. I rode further than they did the first day, but on the return trip of 130km it was into the wind the entire way, and hot! Super hot! He even left lunch early so as to "not make us have to wait on him." We still had a full 70km to go, headwind only getting stronger in the mid-afternoon, and he slogged it out! Crushed it in fact, finishing unbelievably strong! I literally could not believe it, waiting every 10km for him to catch up, waiting to see him call it a day and hitch-hike. This guy has the heart of a champion, and his pedals never stopped as he refused the water we had ready for him - slow and steady he made it all the way back to Chumpuang. AND then offered me a ride with him back up to Khon Kaen!!
We stayed in the National Park area in a great house, big enough to hold 5 people comfortably, rented for the rate of 1,200B per night. We were nervous about leaving our bikes out, so it was actually a tight squeeze after bringing 5 bikes and 5 bags in with us as well, but it was great to not have to pay the entrance fee. Show proof of your room rental at the gate and entrance is free...
Swimming in the area above the waterfall is awesome, the rocks are all smooth and the water was a great way to relax the muscles. I lost my glasses for the second time in Thailand, the first was in a waterfall as well (Kanjanaburi)! Luckily, both times I was extremely lucky to have had a friend with good eyes :) P'Sieng spotting my glasses reminded me of the first time actually, this time it was cool that he was able to find them but the first was actually remarkable - impossible odds. Odds that somehow did not stick with me, because there is no way that I deserved to be granted this fortune a second time!! Anyways, I grateful to not have to ride back squinting for 130km...
We were one of just three groups to stay in what might have been 20 different housing units, and this was one of the most relaxing things I have ever done in Thailand. Usually there seems to be one guy insisting on blasting music, even in the deepest of forest, and it is actually difficult to find quiet in this country. Full of nature, beautiful and wild, but still - rarely a moment of peace and quiet to be found anywhere...
We had a great meal of Som Tam, A Grilled Fish, a spicy bowl of sour Tom Yam, and the Esaan dish of Laab, at least 2 plates of rice per person, and then some cold bottles of Leo to celebrate the trip.
In the morning we went back to the waterfall for some photos, sat for much longer than we should have if we wanted to enjoy the cool morning weather - but this scenery was just too great to run from. We chose to instead sit down for another full Esaan meal next to the falls, totally alone this time, and just chat for about 2 hours while the water sound continued to work its magic on the setting.
The ride back to Chumpuang was uneventful, the road was directly East, directly into the wind for the entire ride, which sometimes makes for a more silent camaraderie. We stopped for some coffee, chinese steamed buns, and noodles in Bua Yai, and then full-speed-ahead-ed it to Chumpuang.
Here you can see my friend passing the Northern gate to Chumpuang. These large Khmer-style entrances have been constructed now on the main roads to and from almost every district I have visited in the area near the Thai-Cambodia border provinces (Surin, Buriram, Nakon Ratchasima). They are elegant but sometimes humorously and hugely out of place - I don't want to know the budget allocated for this one, or any of them really, but I do know that the village directly next to this gate does not have paved roads...
One final story from the road in Thailand - Watch out for farmers using the Bike-Motorcycle lane for their own transportation. Not that I am mad, and if I was a farmer I would love the nice smooth road built by the government, a shortcut for me around that flooded-out section between Tui's fields, but... ah. Sometimes they just cause so much danger on the roads. I couldn't help but laugh though as I passed this guy, as I overheard him comment after a near-crash. A pair of oncoming pickup trucks did not slow in the least, causing this farmer some nervousness I am sure, and his swerving caused me even more. Just as any cyclist will understand, somehow the odds seem ridiculous but true - in a completely open area of road, somehow the only vehicle behind and the only vehicle ahead pass each other exactly with you in the middle! I know that statistics would show that we just don't think about the ones that don't involve us, and actually there is nothing special about such a near miss compared to all the safe passings mathematically-speaking... but it matters hugely when you're almost smashed!
As I passed, the farmer was just laughing and pointing, talking to the fried next to him, "Hey look at that foreigner! Where does he think he is going? And look at all the stuff he has on his bicycle! Haha, shoes, some clothes, all that stuff to go where?" The situation was just too much, I was bursting out laughing. He wasn't phased in the slightest by almost being smashed between 2 trucks, was not apologetic for causing a near-crash, and was laughing at me and pointing while he himself was driving a completely un-road worthy vehicle far over-loaded, creaking at dangerously slow speeds down the shoulder of the highway. Ah great times great times :)
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Back to my apartment near the University. With this amount of stuff I have done over a dozen trips,
the longest of which was 10 days. I have gotten pretty quick now in rounding up the necessary
ingredients for a 3-4 day trip, one corner of my room is just full of ready-to-go randonneur supplies.
I can usually be out on the road riding within 45 minutes of my last Friday class :) (and as I
write this I am currently at T-Minus 1 hour 10 minutes until it is that very time :) ) |
Download Strava and follow me! Joel Wayne Bruner
and stay tuned for more trips and ride details...
More importantly than getting on Strava though, is to get on your
bicycle (or GET a Bike), and make some of your own stories by exploring
all the things you won't believe are right there waiting for you in
the areas around your town, your state, your province, your own home!
Rapha Festive 500 Challenge 2015!
