| Distance | 72.30 kms | 44.74 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 5.25 | - |
| Avg speed | 13.7 kph | - |
| Distance | 2,777.30 kms | 1,725.55 miles |
|---|---|---|
| Ride time (hours) | 146.44 | - |
Monday, January 9th, 2017
This climb is quite rude, not even a little foreplay, just straight up the mountain. A bit chilly up around 1,000 meters in my sweat-soaked clothes, with threatening skies but it fortunately never does rain.
English is quite thin at the place I'm staying. I get that they are asking me if I want an omelete to which I say yes. I wait for a bit but it doesn't show so I take full advantage of the free Thai breakfast, but then the omelette comes. I'm stuffed to the gills when all is said and done. I ride about 20k on flat highway then I turn up into the mountains. When the road starts to climb it doesn't mess around, just right up the hills with nary a thought of a switchback for example to lighten the burden. It really hurts because I haven't done any serious climbing in a long time. I fight my way up to about 1,000 meters elevation. I'm cold in my sweat-soaked clothes.
Once I'm over the first big climb the rest of the day is a roller coaster, short but steep climbs followed by short and steep descents. I'm keeping an eye on the booking sites throughout the day but everything around here is about twice as expensive as it would be elsewhere.
I rejoin a highway late in the day. The booking sites still aren't giving me anything reasonable so I start banging on doors. On the second try I get a decent room that is a little pricier than normal but still within the range of what I'm used to. A restaurant across the street provides a huge meal, unusual for Thailand, I must have had a hungry look on my face. I'm wiped out from my first solid day of climbing in ages.
1,364 meters of climbing according to Strava.
