Cycling in Asia

Well I did not write too much about the Tour of Friendship during the race and it is not because it was not worthy of writing.  The race was one of the best cycling experiences I have enjoyed however at the end of each day I was either too tired or already sleeping to write anything.   Despite normally being an ‘early riser’, I was pretty well enjoying as much sleep as possible during this race. 

The entire experience was enjoyable. Given that many of the riders were from Singapore, it was nice to see the familiar faces and friends from back home.  There were also plenty of riders from other places such as Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand of course, Malaysia and a team all the way over from India.

The ride today was pretty straightforward with a 135km of mostly flat terrain.  We all finished up without incident except for David Pan who had a mechanical and had to solo pace himself in the last 60+km. 

After the race we took a two hour bus ride to Bangkok where we had a number of well deserved cold beers before flying home to Singapore.  Overall it was an epic experience and I definitely want to do this next year!

Today was the mountain stage at the Tour of Friendship.  155km with two big climbs followed by rolling hills to take us to the finish.  The start was very subdued as most people wanted to save energy for the climbs (survival) or to go for the King of the Mountains jersey.  Once again there were a few mysteries with the distances as we were supposed to be hitting the killer climb at KM 120.  When we arrived at KM 134 we thought maybe there really was no second climb and that we were only 20km away from the glorious feeling of crossing the finish line in a bike race.   Unfortunately it was just a distance error as we were hit with a six kilometer killer climb with long sections (600m) of 20% gradient.   Near the top of the climb we saw a sign that said 10km to go and I am not sure if I felt good or sick that we still had that much left. 

Damian (on podium above) managed 3rd in the 30’s category which is a very good result.  There are a load of great riders here and I was content with just finishing.  After the group broke up on the first climb I managed to find David Pan and we rode out the rest of the day supporting each other to get us across the line. 

Tomorrow is the final day, 120km of flat terrain…should be easy… but you never know. 

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It was a boiling hot day today for the 165km (was supposed to be 150km) stage.  The terrain was flat so there was nothing too exciting to report.  Everybody on our team finished in their respective packs.

I did manage to survive my first real bike crash today.  A rider crashed in front of me in a construction zone and unfortunately when I went to miss him I jumped up a uneven amount of pavement and landed square on my hip (must protect the bike).  I managed to get back up and despite being dizzy (from the heat and the crash) I managed to get back on my bike and start pedaling like crazy to try to catch the pack.  I was fortunate that it was not a ‘fast time’ and I was able to catch up to the group after the crash.  After expending so much energy trying to catch them, I was digging in my pocket to get a power gel only to realize that when I crashed I lost my phone/pump/all my food and gels.  So here I was sitting in the peleton happily again however with no food and 80km to go I would never survive. I started a charity drive for gels and quickly rounded up enough energy to finish the day.  I have a couple patches of road rash to remind me of this crash.

The nice people who organized the tour found my pump/phone and money and returned them to me at the end of the day.  It was a killer day.

Tomorrow is the 150km hill stage…..should be fun. Legs tired and hurting.

Well today was the big day with a 28km climb.  Damian and the other climbers were excited as this was their day to make a break for the lead with the climb separating the climbers from the rest of the pack.  We took a bus from the Nonthanburi Palace to the start area where we were slated to do a 126km ride for the day.  The first 98km was supposed to be flat and the last 28km was the climb to have a summit finish.  Well unfortunately the climb was in a national park which was off limits for this bike race on a Sunday.  The ride would now be a 108km mostly flat ride with no hills.  Some of us (not mentioning names) were quite happy with this development as it is nice to have a bit more time to get into better shape and get used to cycling with the group.  All of the riders here are good riders as mostly only die-hards were coming to this ‘war zone’. 

We all arrived safely and soundly at the Kantary Hotel somewhere in Thailand. (not really sure)…this hotel is amazing. In addition to having working showers/toilets and air conditioners, this place also has multiple power outlets, WIFI, TV, DVD and a great restaurant in the lobby with great steak!

Today the Cycleworx 30 year olds won the stage.  Nick Swallow (yellow jersey above) battled off a few other riders to take the win.  The rest of the guys finished in the lead pack so it was a great day.

The 40 year olds (including me) all finished in the front pack group too.

This is not a repeat photo:  Gav likes to sleep.  Here he is sleeping before the stage today.

The Cycleworx Team Bus

Damian and David enjoying our new hotel.  We will spend the rest of the race here which is great…this place is actually nice.

Today was the first day of racing at the 2010 Tour of Friendship.  It was only a 7km individual time trial so it was a nice gentle way of starting this five day race. There are many riders here from all over Asia and the cycling scene is very good here.

We arrived late Friday night after fighting off two hours of Bangkok style traffic to get to the Nonthanburi Palace Hotel.  The word palace may be a bit misleading however given that the shower and toilet both work I am pretty well ok with this place. The food is not that great but we just hit Tesco for some healthier and more enjoyable food for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow will be a tough stage at 126km and 28km of climbing.  The first 98km looks to be relatively flat so hopefully we will not be too tired by the time we reach the hills.

Today’s Ride

Well 7km is a lot longer than it sounds when you are doing on your own and as fast as you can. We have nine guys here on our team and there are some pretty good riders in the group.  Needless to say we managed to all do ok given the hot weather and ever-changing wind directions.  As you can see, the 7km ride took its toll on Gav who is recovering on the bus back to the hotel. 

Gareth before the race…did exceptionally well since he has not been riding and living on a diet of beer and lots of food. 

   David returning for another year at the race in Thailand had a great result today 10:21 mm:ss