Smaller group, longer ride. This Sunday’s riders were pared down to just six, due to several conflicts. The Trang Cycle Club acts as riding “marshals” to all the local foot-races and fun runs so many members helped with that pre-dawn start. I’m guessing that the announced biking destination to Yong Star Cape on the coast convinced several more riders that the distance and destination was too far off, perhaps. Or maybe it was the route and 95° temps scheduled for the day.  I logged 140 km door-to-door and counted only 5 food stops in the 9 hour ride. The first stop was a favorite of the Club (I’d been there twice in years past) famous for it’s noodles. What I’d never noticed was this narrow diner just off the main highway was also famous for it’s flooding. Flood level markers on the walls go all the way back to 2518 or maybe 2418 on the Buddhist calendar

(either 39 or 139 years ago). No matter how long, this place gets flushed by the rising river quite often. The noodles were delicious – A Roi – as well.
The primarily agricultural product in this region was overwhelmingly rubber “water”. Rolling hills of rubber tree plantations, each with a collection shed for transferring the liquid from pails to 5 gallon jugs to 50 gallon barrels and eventually into 500 gallon tanks in pickup beds. Not many of these highway-accessible groves processed their own rubber into mats, they take advantage of easy transport to larger co-ops I’m guessing.  As we neared the coast we crossed over several rivers which sheltered the local fishing fleets.  Once we reached the coast, even with a thick “marine layer” of haze over the water you could see tens of island karsts lurking 2, 5 and 10 km off the coast. In the past we’ve visited at least two of those islands for overnight rides with the club.

Khoa Pat (fried rice with seafood) at the shoreside restaurant took about an hour and then it was back to Trang on a circuitous route which included ice cream of course.

At 72 miles the group leader Mr. Ban wanted to show me another karst top Wat and the other riders opted out.  Fortunately this road was paved but still it was a first-gear out-of-the-saddle climb for a half-mile at least.  The views were great, as long as you weren’t trying to photograph Trang to the west and there was a very interesting religious boat float docked in a shed half way up the hill which I didn’t notice until the downhill leg. I’ll have to ask when they break out these treasures and probably place the Wat’s prize sculpture inside the square cupola. This photo of “tins” storing cookies, crackers and sugary snacks is a common site in many of the rural community family stores.  If memory serves me this is/was an archaic method of storing and transporting over oceans and in humid countries. Obviously this technique still has it’s place.

This ride went quicker than most Sundays, so I veered down the Trang
commercial strip and picked up a couple snacks for my Monday day off. We’ve tried to avoid popcorn in Durango lately, but I’m thinking I can afford the carbs here in Thailand.