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Published: January 5th 2011
Roomys
Claire, Lisa, Kelly and Branka all ready to go Distance travelled - 52 miles/84 km’s
What a day! First day and 84km’s down, 7 days and just 716km’s to go.
A few words to describe how we’re both feeling right now... exhausted and sore - which translates to Kelly is rooted and can’t talk - but pumped and excited about being part of such an amazing journey. And the legs are feeling marginally relieved after an hour foot massage at the night markets tonight.
We were introduced to our bikes this morning who I’m sure we’ll be building a close relationship with over the next week. At this point I must do a shout out and thanks to Jules from O2 Speakers who saved my back side by providing me with a comfy seat although still feeling the need for the butt cream!! And what about how different it is riding mountain bikes and hybrids to road bikes... we’re actually really liking it, in fact Kel is already talking about buying one! 😊
The first couple of stages today were quite friendly on the legs and we managed to stick to the middle pack with 4 of our other fellow riders. The morning took us through
The open road
Nic, Ailish and Davina cruising along small rural neighbourhoods, past salt farms, across a few dead snakes and we’ve seen more dogs than humans roaming the streets - note to self don’t say hello to the puppies because the mum’s get a little bit shitty!
As we arrived at our second water stop - and as this was the first time we hit the beach this was also the ice cream stop - we were welcomed by the children from the Petchaburi community wishing us Good Luck on our journey. At this point it was time to refill the water bottles, reapply the sunscreen and get ready for the third leg.
The third leg was the killer with over 20km’s of freeway and a hot sun belting down on us as we rode into the wind. We stuck together and pushed through with no sight of any riders in front or behind us. It was just Kel, Claire and the open road! Next stop a very yummy Thai lunch at Happy House Guest House just across the road from the beach so a very happy Kel and Claire!
Armed with bellies full of rice it was time to hit the last leg -
Middle of the pack
Kel and Branka cruising along 27km of freeway again in the afternoon sun - and ride to Hua Hin. Hua Hin is a great little seaside town and one that you would never know existed if it wasn’t for this bike ride. I had a burst of energy and hit the front pack with Greg while Kel cranked the tunes and went at her own pace for this hard leg. After a few near misses with motorcycles we made it to our final destination Imperial Hua Hin where it was straight to the pool for a cold Singha and a swim in an even colder pool. Considering this was the longest distance we’ve both ridden in one day I think we deserved it! Wait until tomorrow, we're going to deserve it all over again!
As for our group, apart from the fact that we rock, today was a great opportunity to have a chat and get to know some of them a little bit more. We’ve come to this ride from all walks of life, each with different inspirations and intentions which makes for great conversation as your powering through 27km stages. We’d like to recognise the efforts of one of our riders Craig
who broke his collarbone 3 weeks ago and was told he couldn’t ride until the second half of the ride. Craig or as we like to call him Waterboy or Borat was determined to ride for the first hour but then continued on throughout the day like a trooper. Awesome effort!
As for Kel and I, we can’t stop eating which is a good thing from a refueling perspective but not so good when our new goal is to fit in to the jeans that we bought last night at Patpong that were too small! Who knew size 28 really wasn't size 28!
With day 1 now complete there’s 7 more glorious riding days to look forward to. But for now it's time for bed as we have an early start in the morning for the 120km leg - ouch!
Catch ya!
Claire and Kel
xx
Photos to follow
You can also follow the Hands blog that Nic will be updating each day - http://www.handsacrossthewater.com.au/blog
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Chris Thomas
non-member comment
Too Much Fun
You appear to be having toooooo much fun. Get up there into the leading pack!!!!! See you soon Dad