Our 2020 self-supported bicycle tour began in Chiang Mai and ended in Bangkok. There were no organized tours, no service to transport our gear—just us and our bikes, making it up as we go along! Approximately 1,700km entirely by bicycle. The only plannedaccommodations were the first few nights in Chiang Mai in order to recover from 22 hours of travelling and 12 hour time difference from Toronto. After the first two nights we were free to explore. Six weeks of adventure and an open road ahead. Each day we would choose a route, and a hotel/homestay for the night depending on how we felt. The only real goal was to reach Bangkok in 6 weeks time.
Before leaving Toronto in February there had been news stories about a new coronavirus that could potentially develop into a pandemic. We anticipated such a possibility and hoped that it might just blow over by the time of our scheduled return. Just four days before our flight home, COVID was declared a pandemic. We arrived home to a changed world. Little did we know it would be three more years before we could tour again!
Thung Saliam to Si Samrong then to Sukhothai
Easy riding, new friends Doug and Tippy, food markets, ancient ruins and, as always, more great food! But hey, where are all the tourists? Finally some easy riding days! Just 58km yesterday and 34 today. All flat! It was a Buddhist holiday in Thailand yesterday, Magha Puja. Most establishments were closed while people partake in... Continue reading→
Sukhothai to Kamphaeng Phet
Riding on the left, surviving the relentless sun & heat, we tested fate — fate won, our Pink Room and the incredible Festival, omg! We are riding in the left hand side of the road like we’re pro’s! We ride right on into busy cities along with silly traffic and just move with the flow.... Continue reading→
Kamphaengphet
Tourists! That was us today. Meeting George. And those gosh darn dogs! We made like tourists—shopping at the market, avoiding the sun (we get enough of that!), and enjoying tales from the road with another cycle tourist we met from the Netherlands. “George” as he told us to call him, has been on the road... Continue reading→
Kamphaengphet to Who-knows-where
Big giant Buddha, 7-Elevens & Amazon Cafe’s are our friends, and being foreigners at the CK Resort. A great day! There’s a Wat in every town. Gorgeous gold, red, ornately decorated beautiful Buddhist temples and we just never seem to tire of seeing them! They just crop up roadside near any given town. We typically... Continue reading→
“Somewhere” to Uthai Thani
One fall off the bike, one snake on the road, lots of highway riding today and pizza, Thai-style We got off to a slow start. About 6k into the ride we were presented with a dirt road to tuen onto. We’re not falling for that again, we told ourselves. The bikes get filthy, we get... Continue reading→
Uthai Thani to Sing Buri
Beautiful Roads, (“beautiful” now means fewer dogs), and resort-ing it in the City of Sing Buri. The “beauty” of our days are directly proportionate to presence/absence of aggressive dogs, while either cycling or making our way on foot. They are everywhere and it’s a real deterrent to exploring as much as we’d like. We make... Continue reading→