SAMUI RING ROAD MAP

BIKING- SAMUI RING ROAD

DATE: 24/10/10

DISTANCE: 31miles/50K

TIME: 3hours

TERRAIN: Samui Main Road

ELEVATION: min 0ft

max 308ft

ascent 607ft

decent -607ft

I met Ilse, Janik and Luca at 6 am on the main road outside Kingfisher restaurant. We headed around the island anti-clockwise. The first major hill you get to the boys shot off ahead, Ilse stopped and walked and I peddled on. About half way up it was getting hard so I went to take the cog down and my chain flicked off. I waited for Ilse and we walked to the top together where the boys were waiting for us. They fixed my "very well oiled' chain and set off again- not the grandest start. Mental note- learn how to change gears less aggressively.

It was a national holiday in Thailand (Buddha day) there were lots of floats, Buddhas and people to dodge on the roads. I started the bike ride with out breakfast , by the time we were in Nathon, 10 miles in, I was starving so I nipped into the market for a banana, apparently you can't buy a single banana so I ended up emerging with a bunch, we had 2 each then I put 2 in my bag for later.

The night before I'd put my camel back in the freezer but it never defrosted in time so I did half the ride with a frozen slab on my back and no water to drink- another mental note, don't freeze your water for a 3hour ride!

We stopped again in between Lamai and Chewang, 25miles in, for toilet break and another banana.

The whole ride was 6am till 09:10am including all the stops.

I got home and had muesli fruit and yogurt and then went to watch the F1 in the bar, came home did 30 length's, back out to the bar to watch the Celtic- Rangers Derby and pray for Stoke to beat ManU, then bed! All in all a full sports day so to counter act it today I'll be having a massage, painting my nails, exfoliating and doing Yoga.

NO PHOTOS

I can't get any photos on here at the minute because my computer is jam packed and needs backing up then emptying, which is taking me forever!

NIGHT ON KOH PANGNAN

On Friday I got my dad to run me over to Koh Pangnan on the jet ski. A guy I just did the course with was over there traveling with his mates. Ended up staying on this little beach that you can only get to by boat or a two hour trek (forgot the name). Spent the day supping shakes, smoking and swimming. At some point we headed off to a club that was a pretty drastic trek through the jungle- and I forgot my shoes- This place was mad fully of the local xpat hippies that more than likely have been stranded there since the 80's. We danced all night- the sun came up at 6ish and that's when it got a little more freaky with all the shroomed-up hippies worshiping and chanting to the sun. I hung around for a few hours then the fear that they were going to commence on some mad cult came and I trekked back to the beach, put my head on the pillow at 9am... The rest of the Dutchies came back an hour later, I woke with a start suddenly sober and very worried about where my camera was, I went for breakfast and found out it was in someones bungalow down the beach, safe and sound, pheww!

Saturday i got a long tail boat back to Samui and crashed out on the couch at about 3pm. Again I just couldn't get to sleep because the dogs kept licking my face so I gave up on the idea of trying to sleep. Ilse called and said they were meeting at six in the morning for a bike ride around the island so I missed the Bolton game, sorted out the bike and went to bed.

Back in Thailand!

So I've arrived in Thailand after 3 weeks in Warsash completing my Officer Nav and Radar course. The course and exam was pretty hard, I was so sure that it was going to be bad news, I had an agonising week there waiting for the results but clever little me, PASSES!!!

It's been 18 months since the last time I visited mum and dad in Samui and in the time that I've been away they have let my pet tortoise escape and have acquired 2, rather large, puppy German Shepards (which, luckily for me, don't seem to mind me staying here). The pair of them are the most spoiled dog's you'll ever come across, I don't remember my dad looking after me n my bro that well when we were kids- he's going soft I reckon! They live on fresh fish, prime steak n chicken breasts, they go for a swim in the sea every morning with 5 walks a day and even went for a jet ski ride yesterday while my mum sat waiting in the scalding sun, with no water, on a rock- classic Ian Greenhalgh Stylee!

Got nothing major to report apart from the gym having to be put on hold for a couple of days due to the fact that I couldn't get my trainer on over the golf ball sized lump that sprung up on my foot after a water skiing mishap...

So at the minute I 'm just prepping myself and my stuff for my bike ride, which commences on 1st December in Auckland and will continue until the money runs low. Hopefully it will see me back in Thailand by mid April but not got a set plan... I would like to cycle all the way home but will have to keep on stopping to build up the funds... not saying that's what I'm going to do though, will just have to see what life brings or what I make life bring!!!

For now I'm looking forward to a worry free holiday. I'm going to be hitting the gym and the chillies hard because they are the two things I've missed most these last 18 months.

I'll get some more pics on shortly.