I Want To Ride My Bi-cy-cle!

The Ban Krut Resort, where we're staying, offers its guests unlimited use of bicycles during their visit.

Last night while doing some research, we discovered there is an early morning fresh food market near the train station from 6:00 to 9:00 daily. Knowing how much fruit we normally buy at these markets, it would be a little strenuous to shlep it all back to our hotel on foot. No problem, we'll use the bikes!

We jumped out of bed at 6:00, threw on some clothes and went outside to mount our steeds. Ehhhh....maybe steed is being a little generous. Because the bikes are left outside and in constant exposure to salt air, they have more rusty spots than shiny ones. The tires are in good shape and the wheels are almost true, but you can forget about loosening the seat post to raise it since it's now rusted solidly to the frame. Of course, before it ended its vertical travels, the seat was set to accommodate Asian riders, not a 6'3" farang. As a result, I look and feel like I'm riding a kid's tricycle. All the bikes are single speed, so the gears work just fine. The landscape is quite flat here and we don't really need more than that. The brakes however are a different matter. No matter how hard one squeezes the brakes, they're only really effective at making noise and slowing you down. Fortunately, there's very little traffic on the roads and there shouldn't be too many emergencies arising.

Off we went to the market where we bought some lovely mangoes, pineapple and jackfruit as well as some Thai dessert treats. The 5.4 km ride there and back was without incident, once we corrected riding on the wrong side of the street, which prompted Brenda to suggest we take the bikes out again and go exploring before breakfast.

We climbed back onto our trusty, or rather our rusty steeds and headed off south along the coast. Once we were beyond the limits of the Ban Krut Resort area we were well into rural Thailand. There was cattle everywhere along the roadside and many free ranging chickens.

The most striking (fortunately not in the literal sense) feature of Ban Krut is the abundance of coconut palms teeming with fruit. They line the coast and the groves extend inland as far as the eye can see. Last night as we were walking, a small coconut fell just in front of us, striking the ground with a loud whack. I can't imagine what it would sound like when a large one hits the pavement or, God forbid, my head.

As we continued along on our ride Brenda spotted what she thought was another resort town off in the distance and suggested we should check it out. We were already about 10 kms into our ride and I estimated the town to be about another 5 kms down the road. My butt was already feeling a little uncomfortable from my less than optimal riding position, but I agreed to soldier on with the adventure.

The closer we got, the clearer it became that this was not a resort town. In fact, it was a busy looking fishing village. The piers were lined with trawlers and other fishing vessels of all shapes and sizes. There was a constant flow of traffic onto and off of the pier, which we assumed were customers picking up today's fresh catch.

But this is the real Thailand. These people clearly work very hard for little compensation. We saw many instances of families in dwellings that would immediately be condemned in Canada. And yet, they all seem happy and are always ready to offer a smile, a wave and a sawadii kaa.

When we turned to return to the hotel we could barely make out across the bay the golden Buddha on the mountain next to where we're staying. As we slowly made our way back along the 17 km trail, the Buddha loomed larger and larger.

In the end, we rode those rickety old bikes little over 40 kms today and despite the poor fit, enjoyed each end every meter.

Maybe the Thai attitude is beginning to rub off on me. It's not about what you don't have. It's about enjoying what you have, who you're with and the time you have on this earth.Read more