I’m NOT a cyclist!

Ahhh…what a lovely feeling to be sitting on the beach looking out to the Gulf of Thailand. I deserve it! Yesterday I had a GREAT ride for my last day of cycling in Cambodia. I got up early and left Kompot at 6:45am to be on the road and try to beat the heat because I knew I had a lot of distance to cover (100 km). I bought some bread from a guy on a bicycle who was doing his deliveries through the village and that was my breakfast. By 10am I had done 1/3 of the ride and I stopped for a break to have some fresh pineapple and sugar cane juice. The next stretch was meant to be 21 km of dirt road according to the Lonely Planet cycling book so I was preparing for the worst but the road turned out to be in excellent condition – 1/2 of it was already paved and 1/2 was dirt but completely smooth so I was very happy and cruised through no problem.

After awhile back on the good road (Highway 4) I decided I needed a rest so I stopped to sit on a bench in the shade in front of a few houses. Before long I was spotted by the locals who all came out to see the foreigner and say hello. One of the men knew some English and asked if he could practice with me so I spent about 1/2 hour talking with him and answering questions. He was thrilled! He invited me back to stay with him and his wife anytime – so nice!

The last 40km to Sihounakville went by pretty fast and I arrived here just before 2pm. Found a great place to stay for $3/night, then showered and rested before looking for some dinner. I went to a restaurant with a view of the sea to watch the sunset and wound up meeting an American guy, Andrew, and sat with him for dinner and beers and good conversation. He told me all about the Olympics and other things at home that I’ve missed – so great to catch up on things! Really nice guy…it was exactly what I needed to cheer me up after everything that went down with Peter. Speaking of much, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t think that I like cyclists very much…although I definitely like them more than’backpackers.’ I’m NOT a cyclist myself by the way…I consider myself to be a hiker currently travelling by bicycle.

Miles Biked: 61.69 (100 km)

Time: 5 hours 6 minutes

Now this dirt road aint so bad!

I take a picture of you…..

and you take a picture of me!

Add comment March 7th, 2002