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• #402
I'd go with you if not for the fact, that I can't really leave the family for longer than a month.
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• #403
Just do the first leg... Singapore to Bangkok! (:
just reading this
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=8513&v=JK
making me itch to get away...
one thing he keeps mentioning is the friendliness and generosity of the Malay and Thai people and that is something I really miss!
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• #404
I'm just starting to make plans fro spring 2012...
One place I'd recommend a visit to or just to talk to before you hit Thailand would be Alan Bate at 'The Hub' bike cafe:
http://sadoodta.blogspot.com/2010/09/hub-bicycle-museum-at-chiang-khong.html
He was in the process of shutting up / moving when I happened to find the place the night before I crossed into Laos, the place is on a good border crossing. He's a mine of information on the Thai / Asian scene and might well be able to fix you up with some people to ride with. Certainly his collection is worth a look at and he's a lovely chap. The student fixie scene in Chiang Mai might be able to help you track him down if he has moved already.
I hope one day to get back there with a bike myself... at least that way I'd stand a chance of being curry neutral on the trip. Kapitans in Georgetown was a taste experience I'll never forget.
EDIT - Telling that the man didn't mention that he'd done http://www.worldcyclingrecord.com/ when I chatted with him, just that he'd done most of the world....
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• #405
curry neutral... does that mean stay slim?
so much good food everywhere you go. One meal that stands out in my memory is a 20 baht plate of fried rice from some town in the middle of nowhere, was so delicately flavoured and delicious i had to order a 2nd plate... My cycling club in Penangs motto was "eat to ride, ride to eat" ha...
thanks for the advice on that I will refer back to it closer to the time.
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• #406
It's a variant on the 'Pie neutral' cycling my brother coined. If you cycle far enough then the Pie does not count! We should be finishing his LHT touring build tomorrow if the bits arrive and have already dubbed the build the 'Piecycle'.
I agree on the food, although I have to say Malaysia left the rest of Asia standing as far as I was concerned. The Thai smile might be nicer (just!) but George Town rules for food, Kapitans left any of the efforts I've tried on curry mile in Manchester looking like dog food.
Now all I need is to find a job, earn some dosh, build a bike and try to get back there. As it is my insomnia is suggesting a 5am fixie blast through town.
BTW - It's a shame the record isn't ratified due to the support issue but 113 days for 19k miles is one hell of an effort which ever way you call it. If you have a hunt you'll find he has a gmail address that should still be valid. 440Km in the first 24 hours... now if only I could ride like that!
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• #407
440Km in the first 24 hours... now if only I could ride like that!
I wouldn't want to ride like that...! I guess it depends on terrain though, flat with a tail wind could easily do well into the 200s
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• #408
I'll stop after this one as it's getting a bit OT but you should hear what Alan had to say about Asian, especially the Thai and Iranian riders. The European riders were destroyed on the tour of Thailand yet not much got written over here about it. I'd commented about the physical condition of the boxers I'd watched and also the guide I canoed with and he stated that 8-9 hours a day of training was not uncommon for a lot of Thai sports folk. The Iranian riders were to his mind the best climbers he has ever ridden with and they also have a strong track team. He was saying that politics is all that's stopping them from seriously killing it at world level.
How true this is I don't know but it certainly got me thinking. We really do only hear what is reported by a cycling press that revolves around the European scene and there is a whole world of cyclists out there.
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• #409
Malay mens world track champion...!
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• #410
Lets not get to carried away now ;)
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• #411
By the way, someone said they've got a rear rack to spare. Wicksie?
Yep, it's a Old St. during office hours. Swing by any time. Not today, I have man flu.
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• #412
btw, what's the dynamo usb business? I think I need one.
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• #413
you mean the Tout Terrain The Plug one?
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• #414
I mean anything. What are the options, cheap preferably?
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• #415
The Tout Terrain one is the only one I know of, not cheap though.
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• #416
Tout Terrain or e-Werk or Reecharge [sic]. There's another German one and an Aussie one, I think.
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• #417
Isn't solar panel option cheaper and as reliable?
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• #418
Yep, it's a Old St. during office hours. Swing by any time. Not today, I have man flu.
Bum! I'm too impatient. I've already ordered a cheap Tor Tec one.
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• #419
Just do the first leg... Singapore to Bangkok! (:
!
We shall talk about it.
Let's move the convo about touring to the touring thread (or start a new thread about the South East Asia touring within the sub-forum) and leave this one to the equipment only.
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• #420
Isn't solar panel option cheaper and as reliable?
hit or miss, it sometime take age to charge.
I used to have one on my backpack, phone only managed a 20% charge on an overcast day.
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• #421
I know a couple riding back to the UK from NZ via south east asia. was meant to take them 18months for the whole thing, its now about 2yrs and they are only just into mongolia now.
of relevence the USB charger they are using is here..
http://www.bikeabout.co.uk/resources/powergadgets/pedalpower.shtml
from the blog it seems to be working OK, I think theres been some bodging of the cable as it got damaged at one point but does the trick. wouldn't expect it to be able to charge something big like a garmin from dead to full in one day though, probably take a few to get it full then leave it on trickle whilst using it. -
• #422
phone only managed a 20% charge on an overcast day.
Sounds shit then. USB outlet would be well worth investing in it seems.
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• #423
wouldn't expect it to be able to charge something big like a garmin from dead to full in one day though
Oh, back to maps and post then.
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• #424
that's the thing, I think I would rather use maps and compass... keep it simple like I have done when toruing on the moto.
reading some blogs the only time I think i would be missing out is when looking for accomodation and facilities, then again, having to ask locals is a great way to make friends.
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• #425
It's good to have access to GPS in the urban areas.
Out in the open laminated flash cards with marked exits/junctions/towns will suffice.
I used to do it while driving across Europe years ago.
Is it not one of those dynamo that charges usb devices? I would only be riding at night as a last resort...
I'm just starting to make plans fro spring 2012... am thinking now fly to singapore, ride east coast to top of vietnam, cut accross laos and thailand then back down west coast to singapore again. Probably spend some time in penang where I grew up en route. looking at around 15000km... with money being the only restriction on how long i can take.
Getting really excited, just need to find someone to do the ride with... i have the perfect person in mind but I think they are wanting to "grow up"