Quick picture: saturday: Cycle from Vieng Vang to truck stop 80km north. Meet & ride with other cyclists sunday; 60km and truck ride to Nam Chat - a village supposedly with a guesthouse monday: 79km to Phonsavon tuesday: day around Phonsavon, visiting plain of jars an area heavily bombed during 'Vietnam' war wednesday; going solo again, Muang Kham 52km thursday; punishing 87km to Nam Neun friday: even harder 49km to Suan Hin saturday; bus to Nong Khiaw sunday; 120km and bus to Luang Prabang. First day of Lao new year monday; Festival in Luang Prabang. This section of the route [View Full Entry]

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Once again a week has flown by, so much has happened, more than there is time for in this post, but here goes a snapshot! Quick picture: sun. Cross to Laos mon. Veintiane explore tues. 98km to Ban Na Keun (or at least i think that was the village name) wed. 110km to Vang Vieng. And Claire's birthday - hope you got my txt sis! thursay. walking/caving/tubing firday. Climbing Crossed into Laos successfully. Northern Thailand had been so relaxed, and indeed so is Laos, but this had rubbed off on me to and i wasn't really prepared for the crossing. Arriving [View Full Entry]

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It is now day 22 (and from now on i'll stop numbering the days for fear of disheartening people as the numbers grow) and i have arrived at the Thai-Laos friendship bridge at Nong Khai which I plan to cross tomorrow. Hopefully i should be able to ride rather than ferried over by tuk-tuk at grossly over-inflated prices which make the Kangaroo Island ferry seems cheap per KM. The last few days I have covered quite a few k's mostly following the rivers which form the border between Thailand and Laos. Initially a small river which then joins the Mekong. The [View Full Entry]

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Here is the kit I have with me. Probably too much but I must have some comforts (especially the camp chair - which uses my sleeping matress) BIKE Bike - Raceline Hardtail mountain bike. Tyres - Evolution Gearx touring tyres trailer - BOB front handlebar bag cycle computer (with altitude meter) pump drinks bottles (4) drink bottle cages (6) cable lock (2) and padlock mirror bar ends crud catcher rear mud guard lights space bar (higher mounting bracket for lights to 'see over' handlebar bag) compass cycling gloves neck cover helmet BIKE TOOLS bike multi-tool [View Full Entry]

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Day 10 to 16 (17th to 23rd March) So I have made it up in to the mountains (and mostly back down again) of North Eastern Thailand and apart from one unforgivable climb it has been great fun. Have been in some real backwater places and have had to plan my water and rest stops a bit better - coke selling stalls are no longer spaced within view of each other. I have also now frequented most forms of public transport (including being mounted on the back of motorbike for a hospital trip - no need to panic mum, just read [View Full Entry]

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Day 9 - Nakon Sawan I've now had 3 days in the saddle and getting used to the riding and the temperature. My body hasn't quite caught up though and it takes all of about 15 minutes for my shirt and helmet to be full of sweat. Frustrating as the Thais don't show any sign of sweat. I'm currently in the central plains of Thailand temperature about 25C at night and up to 40C during the day. Needless to say this makes the riding a damp affair and I have been staying in guest houses/hotels so far to make the most [View Full Entry]

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Day 3 - Impressions on Bangkok Bangkok is big (especially when compared to Adelaide), bustling and dirty. Well that was my impressions from the first 24 hours, but today i saw a nicer side too when postponed the bike preparations (checking over gear that emerged from plane with bike box wide open) and shopping and headed to some tourist draw cards. Arrived in Thailand at 11pm after a pleasant BA flight, made all the better for not having to pay any excess baggage despite weighing in at 47kg (with a normal limit of 20kg). Although booked with Qantas, the flight was [View Full Entry]

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Well, it has been a very busy 3 weeks since i finished work and I still haven't been able to get everything done (yet). Still got some shopping and farewells to go... One of the more useful things i have managed to do is a 'bike fitting' session. Shannon, a friend of Matt's having previously been a professional bike fitter came round to get our bikes a bit more friendly towards out bodies. General conclusion was that both bikes could have been more suited to our body shapes but we raised saddles, rotated handlebars, move cleat positions to name but [View Full Entry]

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A bit about me I’ve been living in Australia for nearly 3 years, with most of that that time spent in Adelaide and 6 months in Perth. Prior to that I had been working in London for 2 and a half years following uni. Although I’ve been working full time as an Engineer with Connell Wagner I’ve taken the opportunity to travel around a fair bit of Australia in my time here. As well as getting familiar with Adelaide’s surroundings including the Claire, Barossa, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills wine regions which are right on Adelaide’s door step, I&rsq [View Full Entry]

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An outline of the route [View Full Entry]

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