| Distance | 127.70 kms | 79.54 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 5.81 | - |
| Avg speed | 21.9 kph | - |
| Distance | 2,656.70 kms | 1,650.98 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 138.57 | - |
Thursday, January 7th, 2016
An A to B kind of day, a hot highway ride with little scenery punctuated by 7-11 breaks. A day only a diehard could love.
Breakfast at the guesthouse is an impressive affair: rice soup with sausage, a big piece of sweet-and-sour chicken, toast and jam, fried eggs, biscuits, coffee and juice. It takes me what seems like forever just to get it all down. As I am packing up my bags to load up the bicycle the owners of the guesthouse, I think they are husband and wife, come over to "talk". We just kind of bow and smile and exchange various noises that neither of us understand. I do manage to convey that I rode from Bangkok to Singapore and now I'm riding from Bangkok north. They want to take pictures of me with the bike in front of their sign. I do know how to say goodbye: "sawadee klap", then I'm off riding.
I'm just grinding out some kilometers today, trying to get further north. It's pretty much a straight highway shot all day long, hot until clouds roll in from the west. It looks like it's going to rain, it smells like it's going to rain, I even feel a few drops, but it never gets going. I have headwinds for most of the day but they don't slow me down much. Good tarmac and some motivation keep the speed up.
I book into a nice hotel in a crossroads town. Amazingly cheap at about 12 dollars for the spotless room with AC. The staff gives me some grief about keeping the bicycle inside but eventually they relent and let me store it in a conference room. I have a spicy dinner at a restaurant next door before retiring for the evening.
