Great Weather In The North!

Still pumped from yesterday's exertions at the gym and anticipating  that wonderful throbbing pain that follows a good workout after a long  absence.  I found myself drawn by the clear skies and crisp morning  air, to hit the trails on the mountain bike.

  Past successes can embolden one.  Leading to the search for the  boundaries and limitations of ones abilities.  Welcoming and even  tempting ones fate.  Thus emboldened I set off with little thought or  preparation.  A vague notion that there lie between the river and the  mountains, an area of the valley yet to be explored.  No maps or Google  Earth, just a sense that it was over there, somewhere.

  Traversing our village, the rubber plantation and another village, I  soon found myself on tarmac and making good time toward my jumping off  point.  At speed the hum of fat nubby tires on asphalt or crunching  over gravel, along with the cool breeze, is almost hypnotic.  Gears  make maintaining cadence easy but the slower ascent of a gradient  breaks the trance and forward momentum slows.  I guess one has to take  the ups and downs in stride.

  Stopping briefly at the construction site of a rather large western  house that I have noticed on previous rides.  I heard my name, called  out by a worker on the rooftop.  He had been part of our team of  builders a few years back.  Enquiring about trails in the area, it  turned out that the next soi on the left, was the jumping off point  that I had hypothesized.

  I was soon making time on a hard packed, gravelly surface.  Enjoying  that familiar crunching sound.  It wasn't long before being presented  with choices of direction.  Even in a remote village, there are often  small Thai signs pointing the way.  I found one that said the Ing River  was 1.5 km down a path to the left.  That seemed a good choice, though  I knew it could lead to a dead-end on the banks of the river.

  Soon enough I found myself on the side of the river that forms sheer  clifflike drops to the muddy waters below.  That outer side of a bend  where the water undercuts and leads to calving reminiscent of  glaciers.  The narrow trail seemed precariously close to the precipice  but I continued on, being careful not to get too close or spend too  much time taking in the view.

  Leaving the river, the trail took a turn for the worse.  Deeply rutted  and overgrown, there was no visibility to speak of.  Offshoots were  many but one tries to keep to the most trodden path, hoping for a break  in the foliage or a slight crest, to get ones bearings.  All the while  questioning the chances of backtracking to whence one came and whether  this was all a big mistake.

  Before long and to great relief, things opened up to an area  crisscrossed by narrow cow trails.  Spotted in the distance, was a  little ramshackle hut.  Approaching closer I noticed people inside, who  despite being surprised, were friendly and helpful as they pointed me  in the general direction of travel.  From the dark unseen recesses of  the hut a female voice offered to show me the way if I were single.  I  assured all, that I was dutifully fearful of my wife and didn't think  she would appreciate me taking up the offer.

  Laughs were shared and the lone male understood that I was not looking  for the easiest route, considering the direction from which I had  stumbled upon them.  As usually happens, I finally came upon a familiar  place.  This time, I was on the wrong side of a company gate, that had  blocked my progress once before.  The guard let me out and seemed not  too disturbed by the crazy farang dressed in black microfiber and  spandex.  A little lighthearted conversation is usually all that is  needed to put people at ease.

  Less than three hours later I was safe at home, just in time to make my  daily Skype call to Hawaii.  Today was a reminder of how important it  is to speak Thai.  There were still moments, I have to admit, when I  questioned what I was doing out there alone.  I find, however, it is  often those questioning moments that make life interesting and add to  our pool of experience and self-knowledge.  So I guess that leaves me  still search for my limits, in my own age-appropriate manner.  I don't  much like getting older but I'm trying to make the best of it.