Day 61 – Don Tum to Hua-Hin – End of Leg 3

Sorry there wasn’t anything posted yesterday. I didn’t have internet and my parents were on a plane.

Yesterday started in a bit of a thunderstorm and it was all a bit wet. I guess it’s been a lot shorter than the other two, but it also didn’t really feel like the end of a leg. I suppose I wasn’t feeling that great, the previous evening had been a bit of a low point – although not for any real reason.

Once the rain cleared I was in a good mood and it looked as if I’d finish without any troubles… But when does that ever happen? About half an hour later, my gear cable snapped. To be honest, considering I’ve ridden 6000 miles (I reached that yesterday) I think I’ve been quite lucky when it comes to mechanical problems. Regardless, this was still a real pain in the arse and not something I was able to fix on the roadside. So I ended up riding the rest of the day (110 kilometres) in the hardest gear on my bike – which is not something I’ve ever done before and not something I’d ever recommend doing.

It was an interesting day – and with a headwind at the end and really bad foot pain from the wet – it was not an easy one. I finished though and all is now well.

Very happy to see my family again, I’m looking forward to the next few days. I’m still not sure if I’ll start riding on Friday or Saturday yet and I don’t know how many updates there will be before then. So this may be a quiet week I’m afraid.

Thanks for everything everyone… To be continued I guess

Yesterday:
Distance: 107.96 miles / 173.7km
Riding Time: 6:58:00
Av. Speed: 15.5mph / 24.9kph

6 Replies to “Day 61 – Don Tum to Hua-Hin – End of Leg 3”

  1. So your dad has managed to sort another jolly at your expense, nice, tell him I was asking kindly after him. On the mechanical front I have to admit that I have wanted to ask, but felt it was best to remain quiet on the subject rather than bring you bad luck, but as you have now brought up the subject I think you have done remarkably well, long may it continue and congratulations for your completion if this leg. Cheers Fraser

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  2. Tom, if your cable snaps again and if you have a screwdriver you can manually adjust your rear dérailleur to mid range and that’ll get you through the day. I had this happen to me and had to get through the Surrey hills in hardest gear. It wasn’t untillI got home I was given the above advice. Enjoy your rest days!

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  3. Enjoy the time with your family Tom. You’ve done so well and deserve some family hugs and laughs. Happy 18th birthday to Anna too!

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  4. Hi Tom, nice to bump in to you at the rest stop today! Your webpage is great and amazing you are able to document so much with the ground you are covering. Another thought, have you heard of Warm Showers (www.warmshowers.org)? It is a network of hosts for cyclists specifically. Few and far between in SE Asia but when you get to the US, there are plenty. We liked your FB page so we can keep tabs on your progress.

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