Listed:
50km; actual: 37km
After only 4.5 hours sleep, we were up just after 5:30am for breakfast at 6am. A full breakfast with bacon, eggs, toast, fresh fruit and of course coffee, and then back up to the rooms to pack up. The Grand President has 3 towers and we were in tower 3 which is across the road and in busy traffic you just have to close your eyes and walk/run!
We met back in the lobby to check out and were met by the guide - Sunny, at 7:45am. Met up with two others in the lobby - Bill and Danilo. We were then informed that we were waiting for two more and they arrived just after 8am; Martin and Dorothy. We all jumped into the minivan for the trip out of Bangkok to start the ride.
We were supposed to bus it to Pattaya before getting on the bikes. However, due to a lack of mechanics, the guide (USB) and the only available mechanic put the bikes together about 37km out of Rayong and we met them there. We stopped for an early lunch at a roadside restaurant and were served four dishes - roast chicken, chicken with cashew nut, coconut soup chicken, and stir fried vegetables. Death by chicken! It was then back on the bus for the 20 min drive to the bikes.
We brought our own saddles/seats and pedals, as did some of the others. So, the guide and mechanic got stuck into the job of changing them over and doing a general bike fit for each person. We then had a 2 minute warm-up and a riding brief before setting off. There was a dedicated bike lane for the first 12km or so and then a nice verge. Traffic was constant but at no time did we feel unsafe. We stopped at the 17.5km mark for a refreshment - drink and eats before heading off again. 20km later we were at the Princess Resort Hotel being greeted with a very sweet and delicious welcome drink. We were given the keys to our rooms and the luggage had already been unloaded and placed outside the rooms. Wendy reckons she could get used to his type of touring where everything but the riding is done for you.
A swim in the pool to cool down was undertaken prior to meeting for pre-dinner drinks at 5:30pm. We were taken to a local restaurant about 5 minutes down the road for dinner. Again, the main theme was chicken, with one dish of prawns, one of pork and another with Veggies. All washed down with a very large beer. Dessert was papaya and watermelon.
A relatively early night for a 7am start for breakfast and an 8am departure.
No comments:
Post a Comment