Did a lot of sleeping and eating but I interspersed that with other things. I rode up to Doi Suthep to the temple, visited some Wats that I hadn’t previously seen
Doi Suthep is a famous ride which was really enjoyable – says he who hates hills ! Most of the mountain was in cloud, but the ride wasn’t overly steep. Unrelenting yes, but at the right pace, it’s fine. I stopped for a Latte opposite the temple, then checked out the temple, but baulked at climbing the millions of steps. (I’d done enough of that already).
So, I decided to head back to Chiang Mai just as it started to rain. I still thought the road would be dry below the cloud , but it rained before I got there.
I stopped about four times as I kept catching slow drivers and wasn’t able to pass them, so I’d wait for a minute, catch them and wait again. (Descending on 50mm tyres feels much safer in the wet than the old 25mm road bike tyres I’m used to).
The next day, I went out to the university and had a coffee with Elliott Lodge who is a similar age to my two, and whose parents I know. Great to see what he’s doing, and great that he’s doing such wonderful work. And the setting for the uni is superb. We had coffee over the road from the reservoir, lots of trees and shade – very nice.
I also decided to change my bike setup while I’m here. I got a small ortlieb bag that attaches to the front roll, and got a 30 litre backpack at Decathlon. This will allow me to do more off-the-bike things like trekking in Chiang Rai and Laos or taking side trips in Vietnam.
I can now easily do some more touristy things that are fun to do.
You’d think that 30 litres of backpack would easily fit 25 litres of pannier space, but it’s a squeeze. Must be imperial litres.
Also, the top of the back rack on the bike isn’t really designed for this, but let’s try anyway. If it goes well, I’ll post the panniers home from Chiang Rai. I’m also doing this with a view to next year’s adventures.
For those, I was initially thinking just Europe, but maybe there are some other interesting routes on the way there
