HATW 2nd ride Last Day Khao Sok to Baan Than Namchai 55kms GPS + photos

Last day of the ride. A day full of all sorts of emotions and one that is pretty hard to describe.

For those of us (6) completing the two rides this year there was a surprise presentation of a yellow 1600km club jersey the night before. Returning riders Dan Murray and Tony Love Linay who rode 1600 kms last year were also presented with a "yella" to wear.

Day 8 of this (Southern) ride starts with excitement and some fear and trepidation as after a relatively gentle beginning "The Big Hill" looms.

 Last year I punctured half way up so I had yet to ride the hill ( 4kms up) in one go. It was harder than I expected/remembered and  I was fairly happy when the summit appeared. Kudos goes to everyone as everyone conquered it. A great bonding experience....not that the group hadn't bonded already. Michael Pattinson rode the whole hill in the hardest gear as he has done all ride for extra sponsorship...something I would not have believed if I hadn't seen it. There were other heroes as well each with their own stories of courage.

Susan Dean summiting...and celebrating.

Kwang resting at the summit with Vic Rollins (one of our great bike mechanics).

Mr Jeng Rocker never stopped taking photos... except when being photographed

Following the big hill up....comes the big down hill and the ride into Takua Pa and Baan Than Namchai. My top speed was 59kms down the hill.....I braked a lot.

Along the way......Chang is not just a beer....

Last water stop.... someone figured  there were about 80 of these over the two rides.

The road to Takua Pa. I punctured again. Just a reminder that it is not over until it is over.

We stopped to regroup at the temple in Takau Pa and were welcomed in by a delegation of children and staff from Baan Than Namchai. This is the temple where thousands of bodies were initially brought after the Boxing Day Tsunami. This time a scene of joy and happiness.

For the final few kms to the orphanage we rode with the children ( and some Thai police on fancy motorbikes).

A great emotional welcome in to the orphanage from friends and  family - Thai and farang. Thanks to the boys of Rising Foundation (pictured below) for stirring my heart even more with a welcoming haka. For me riding into Baan Than  Namchai feels like coming home. To have a haka feels like a circle completed.

I put the camera away at this point but Sue has some more photos to be posted of the celebrations.  The kids danced and performed for us, we had a feast for lunch then later that night the big all in dinner at Le Meridien with graduating students heading for tertiary education presented, and lots of singing and dancing. A celebration of life and the bonds between those who live across the water from each other.

Thankyou to all my sponsors and supporters, the family and friends that were there to meet me at the end of both rides, to the fantastic crew at Tour de Thailand, and to all my fellow riders. It was a pleasure riding with you.

HATW 2nd ride Last Day Khao Sok to Baan Than Namchai 55kms GPS photos by Paekak at Garmin Connect - Details

Hatw 2nd Ride Day 7 Surat Thani to Khao Sok National Park105kms GPS+ Photos

 Day 7 and we headed out of Surat Thani for some nice back road riding before starting to climb inland in to the beautiful Khao Sok National Park. For me the morning featured two punctures, and some resultant catch up riding. The first puncture was in the carpark of the hotel and was somewhat mysterious. All the bikes are checked each morning but within 5 turns of the pedals my rear tyre was so flat that the tyre was off the rim and the tube wrapped around the rear axle. Peter Baines had spoken in the carpark of some the reasons why we are doing the ride, and of some of the ride's history. He had related how last year we dedicated this ride to the memory of Dej, Saow and Champ's brother who passed way in September 2011. I have no proof but as I later remarked to Kwang, letting my tyre down is something Dej would got a lot of sanuk ( fun) out of.

Lunch was at the charming Reggae restaurant at the foot of Khao Sok National Park.The delicious main courses were followed by  generous helpings of fresh coconut icecream - aroi!

 The weather was hot and muggy and as we faced a post lunch climb into the limestone hills someone wished for rain.....careful what you wish for.....it bucketed down in true tropical style for most of this segment making it hard to see at times....

 Then as we approached the last water stop the sun came out in vtime for the traditional last night pool party at our breathtakingly beautiful accommodation in the Park.....forgot to take my camera.....so you will just have to imagine it....

Hatw 2nd Ride Day 7 Surat Thani to Khao Sok National Park105kms GPS Photos by Paekak at Garmin Connect - Details

HATW 2nd ride Day 6 Lang Suan to Surat Thani 124kms GPS link & photos

Before setting off on day 6 a local maa (dog) with a  limp showed rider Claire Sowden some empathy for what he took to be her injured paw.

The day started in the relative cool of the coast ......

.....before heading inland to a series of  hot dry straights. Last year on this day in the segment before lunch I  l got caught between two groups and rode a hot windy 25kms by myself... something I vowed not to do repeat.. I'm not quite sure how but I managed to do this again on the same segment but thankfully this year it was not as hot and not as windy, and the solo ride was actually a nice change from group riding. It ended badly though as when parking my bike for lunch I felt like had been stabbed in my side. It turned out that rider Micheal Pattinson had ventured into the bushes to do what men do after drinking litres of water and had literally stirred up a hornets nest. We both got stung. I still have the mark.

One stop was much anticipated. Last year rider Chris Leishman ( aka Crusty the Clown) raised some extra money with an impromptu shave of his dark locks. This year he arrived at ride 1 with a full head of flowing blonde locks...promising to raise more money again at the same stop. For good measure Trevor Osborne added a rats tail to to his coiffure as well.

The day was long and hot and ended with a ride through the streets of Surat Thani, the biggest town on the ride, to our hotel. The reward being time in the internal hotel rocky swimming pool, and for some- KFC and icecream across the road at Tescos. Those of us who ate  ahan Thai for dinner were treated to some interesting local dishes ordered by Nong Gae and Nong Kwang. The kaprow style dish was pet mak mak (very very hot)...possibly the hottest dish I have eaten in Thailand but Kwang didin't seem to notice. The pigs intestine soup was substantially better than it sounds.... aroi mak mak. A hot end to a hot day....

HATW 2nd ride Day 6 Lang Suan to Surat Thani 124kms GPS & photos by Paekak at Garmin Connect - Details

Day 5 2nd Ride Chumphon to Lang Suan 111kms GPS link and photos

Day 5 the day after the rest day began with  some nice flat coastal and rural riding.

1st water stop was in the town of Chumphon at the local bike shop.

Nong Kwang found a new friend at the bike shop.

Mark Bento aka the Terminator. Somewhat annoyingly Mark  had suffered a worse broken wrist than mine and pretty much rode the ride one handed. This meant I couldn't complain too much about my ( rapidly improving) injury.

Out of town we had more rural riding interspersed with highways culminating in an introduction to the hills which will be a feature of day 7.

At a stop to regroup past the big Gold Buddha we found a lovely bunch of coconuts.

 A feature of the day is a mid afternoon grunt up a couple of  short steep hills....to great view over the bay

Ian Collier my roomy this trip. A huge Newcastle United fan ( that's the same as Sunderland isn't it?? :-)). Finally getting over his chest infection and celebrating destroying the hills.

A pretty tiring day, but after a  very quick turnaround ( shower, wash clothes, and outa here) we headed by a variety of vehicles up to the Duang Prateep Foundation New Life in the hills of Chumphon. This is a home for boys who have had drug, alcohol, crime, gang  issues. A chance to learn new skills and remove themselves from destructive environments. Hands Across the Water supports the home and have sent taskforces there recently to renovate some of the buildings.

Tony Love Linay explaining some of the building work.

We had the biggest coconut drinks ever seen, dinner (aroi), Kru Prateep spoke to us and the boys entertained with cultural items.....including Gangnam style...which were encouraged to join in with.

Rising Foundation from NZ were there as well a return visit to Thailand following some boys from Chumphon having a week on  Rotorua  marae in October which Sue and I helped facilitate ( paid for by a NARTA sponsor - Beko). We were treated to a Thai/NZ haka followed by a great fireworks display  from Tony LL and then an hour trip back to the hotel for a debrief at the bar followed by bed...very welcome

Untitled by Paekak at Garmin Connect - Details