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