Samui Solo Ride

"Quote . . . bike touring is a good way to let mind & body travel at the same pace. Traveling at 'human-speed" leads to a level of interaction, whether wz changing landscapes or wz peole met on the way, that makes the journey awesome, and not just the destination, part of adventure . . . Unquote"

(All Time in Hotel for Malaysia & for Thailand (G) -1hr)

Start/Date : 17th Dec 2008

Finish : 22nd Dec 2008
Distance : 555 km
Bike : SCOTT Scale 40
Tires : Off-road 2.1 - Air Pressure 40psi.
Note : Short Tour - Unsupported Ride !
Riding Log :
Wed 17 - 07.00 Start Ride SP > Kangar Dist. 112km. 18.15 Train : Pdg Besar >S/thani
Thu 18 - ETA Suratthani 00.45am. 08.00 Start Ride Suratthani > Donsak > Samui = Dist. 87km R & R Samui 2 days. Island Tour & Swimming.
Sat 20 - ETD Samui 09.00 ETA Don Sak Pier 10.45.
Start Ride 11.00 Don Sak > Nakhon Si Thammarat > Hua Sai = Dist. 200.4km
Mon 21 - Hua Sai > Songkhla > Hat Yai - Dist. Approx. 137 km
Tue 22 - Hat Yai > Sadao > Utan Haji, Kangar Perlis. Distance 110 km.
Sat 27 - Off-road Aman Jaya for Conditioning !
Sun 28 - Penang Fellowships Ride 2008. Dist. approx. 95 km - Conditioning !

Padang Besar . . . . dah lebih 20 thn aku tak naik keretapi he he he !
Beg ur Bike to Thailand . . . . Thanks Mr Ron !
'Man behind the scene' Mr Ron yg banyak membantu aku dlm persiapan 'solo' ride ini i.e. dr aspek keselamatan, budaya, route yg selamat/recommended. Ron sering SMS aku bertanya khabar 'where r u ? . . r u OK ? dan apabila 'solo', sms dari rakan2 Ron & Roslan Mobil jadi dos/semangat aku utk kayuh. Thanks Roslan & Ron ! Tapi Ron, semasa kayuh balik dari Don Sak melalui ke Hua Sai > Songkhla aku tak dapat 'angin arah belakang dr Gulf of Thailand' . . .'perit'nya meredah angin Teluk Thailand <> drpd 3j am jadi 5 jam lebih hu hu hu !
Turn out 2b 'hard work' => but full of satisfaction !
Thanls Mr Jonz . . . sanggup luangkan masa d Padang Besar !
Date 18 Dec : Surat Thani to Don Sak Pier approx. 87km. . . (R & R Koh Samui 3 days). Date: 20th Dec Ride from Ko Samui > Don Sak Pier > Khanom > Ban Sichon > Ban Tha Sala > Nakhon Si Thammarat > Hua Sai. Distance approx. 200.4km. I arrived Nakhon Si Thammarat 16.00 . . . still early, intend proceed to Hua Sai . . .

From Nakhon Si Thammarat to Hua Sai is about 66km. . . 'confidence' to arrive Hua Sai within 3hrs . . . so, i ride/push myself to maximum . . . but d' nature "wind conditions & hot weather" nearly kill my eagerness . . . at last . . . after 'scary 2hrs night ride' i arrived Hua Sai at 21.00pm. Approx 10hrs++ ride . . . he he he body & bike all working together . . . superb !

Thanks to Power Bar Recovery 3 . . . Ha ha ha !
Drink, drink & drink to avoid dehydration & heat exhaustion !
Eat, eat and eat for energy . . . he he he !
Solo ride highly demand ur' attitude, strength & self motivation ! I really enjoyed daily 'hard work" he he he !
(front row > Left: ramly sp)
Met Songkhla MTB Group on my way to Songkhla . . . thanks for the drink & Snacks !
Khàwp khun khrâp . . . Láew phóp kan mài !
Songkhla MTB Group
"some people just want to be nice with you . . . admiring & symphatic to you"
Khàwp khun khrâp . . . ! Khàwp khun khrâp . . . !

Fred Rambo from Canada - 71 yrs old. Riding from Bangkok to Genting ! It was great to meet & ride wz u to Sadao. Bon Vovaye !
Home Sweet Home !
Thanks my friends !
Cikgu Fikri, Ron, ChanNXT & Jonz jumpa aku kat Depan Poli . . . alahaiii terima kasih laaa maii jemput aku . . . semua dok gelak besar, fasal dok 'offer' aku naik kereta Ron "rack" kosong . . . hantu betoi hangpa nii he he he ! Kalau aku naik kereta alamat 'berebut2' laa hangpa ambil gambar publish dlm blog masing2 "ramlySP naik kereta' ha ha ha ! Thanks Bro's. Dah dekat . . . 40km kejap jer dah sampai Kangar. Apapun terima kasih pd kawan2 yg 'jemput' aku balik. No Joke, No Fun . . . Semoga Budi baik anda mendapat balasan. . . insyaAllah !

More Pictures > Click http://picasaweb.google.com/ramlysp/SamuiSoloRide#

Lessons Learned :
> I need to ride solo more often to build up strength, self confidence & motivation.
> Need more train "rain or shine" . . . !
> "Fall in Love" in long distance ride - challenging - really test ur' attitude & endurance !
> No More Solo night ride . . . !
> Drink b4 thirst to avoid dehydration & heat exhaustion.
> Next Ride > Northern Thailand i.e. Chiang Mai > Chiang Rai > . . . sejukkkkk sikit he3 !
> Last, but not least - Thanks to Mr Ron, Mr Jonz, Cikgu Fikri, Chan NXT, TRM crews zankx sohaimee LOSO, Nizam SP, Md nOh, Zailani and not forgotten my "missing touring partners" Mr Roslan & Yusof from Sg Petani . . . your support is highly appreciated ! May Allah bless for all ur' kindness !