Day 2 Thailand

While Nikki went off to work yesterday, I took a trip up a nearby mountain to do some mountain biking. It was one of the more intense things I've done in a while and a total blast! I jumped in the back of truck with bikes on the top and careened up to the top of the mountain on tiny roads at high speed along with a couple other tourists. A Norwegian kid named Thomas (who starts work on north sea oil rigs next year) and I headed off with a local Thai man named Jay (fresh off a downhill biking win last weekend) to tackle some of the more difficult single tracks from the top of the mountain. Of course the truck couldn't get to the very top, so Thomas, Jay and I had a bit of an uphill grind to get to the best sections. Keep in mind too that these are full suspension monster bikes (not that I'm complaining). Now, I'm a pretty competitive person, especially when it comes to endurance-related activities. While Jay cruised up the hill effortlessly, I tried to keep within striking range and Thomas took it easy. End result - I got my butt totally kicked and broke my chain just trying to maintain contact. Yup, I was that idiot that threw his chain in the middle of nowhere. No problem though, Jay was all over it and gave me an A for effort.

Ok, so we got to the top dripping sweat, dirt, and grease and totally exhausted, but were rewarded with a spectacular misty view of the rainforest and a local Hmong village from the mountaintop. That's where the real fun began. We charged off with velocity from the peak into, I'm not joking, an approximately 75 degree pitch. I think I was over the handlebars approximately 5 minutes into the ride. So, lesson learned again, I can't keep up with Jay. No problem though, we've got full armor on (shins, knees, arms, elbows, chest, etc) and the ground is soft and muddy. From then on it was steep, narrow trails with plenty of fun drops. It was everything I could do to keep balanced and I felt pretty good about only crashing 4-5 times (Thomas fared about as well, though he did fly off the trail and hit a tree after landing a nice jump). At times the trail would be washed out or have been wiped out by a tree, at which point we engaged in some creative trailblazing. Pushing a bike through the rainforest turns out to just as challenging as it sounds. In an effort to balance the environmental ledger, we did carry baby trees in out backpacks which we planted out in the middle of the jungle near a picturesque little stream. Seemed like a nice touch. Overall it was a pretty exciting way to see some beautiful countryside.

We met the truck at the bottom and headed to a nearby lake for lunch and a much needed swim. Something about floating on my back looking up at the green jungle-covered mountains that just kicked my butt really rounded out the day. Food was great and I got to learn about my fellow travelers. Feeling a little hungry after the meal, I bought a couple snacks - "crispy pear" which is sold in the markets and served with chili-sugar-salt stuff, and then something that appeared to by fried little grub/maggot things. The dutch couple with me insisted that the maggot things were delicious, so I dove right in. They were right - crispy, salty, perfect for after a day of sweating it up - I ate the whole package and was licking the bottom by the end. Point for interesting Thai cuisine.

Took a nice walk back from the bike store and met Nikki outside the consulate. Already feeling pretty comfortable in the town. Nikki went off for a run and I picked up my suits - they turned out great and I think I'm going to get a third one made! After Nikki finished her workout, we carried our banged up bodies across the street for - you guessed it - another Thai massage! Man these things are great. I must say that I was in pain for much of this one, which was a combo of deep tissue massage and stretching ("I'm not all that flexible" is probably understating things), but felt like a million bucks after. It was pouring rain when we finished, so we huddled under an umbrella and hoofed it to a cozy little Japanese restaurant in a beautiful teak house nearby. We stuffed ourselves with all kinds of random deliciousness before going home and collapsing in a heap. Not a dad second day here!