After arriving in Kanshanabri on friday we set about getting oriented on the bikes for the 500+ km trip. Ryan and Alisa were the most experienced riders in the group and gave a few lessons to thoes less experienced, okay to thoes who had never been on a motorbike in their lives. Now I've been on a motorcycle before but only as a passenger and driving it was a compleatly different thing. I was told the basics of the controls and what to do when so taking off initially was pretty easy, however turning around and not crashing the bike within the first five minutes wasn't. As I was attempting my first U-turn I some how reved the throttle with the brake on and then released the brake wich resulted in the bike wheeling up on it's back wheel with me standing behind it wondering what the hell to do. The bike toppled over on it's side with the throttle locked and began to spin harmlessly as I cam down hard on my left knee scraping up my shin and, for a short time, bruising my knee. As I got up I killed the engine and then restarted it to return down the street to tell everyone, who at that point was capable of riding the automatic bikes no problem, that I wasn't going to be driving. Heather then attempted driving the bike and took to it like a duck to water.
Following all the driving lessons and no more injuries we all set out for a long ride up to see what we could see on the other side of the mountain.
We passed by some wonderful sights including the river Kwai.
After we reached our first rest stop I took another lesson on driving the bike and it was much better! I had Alisa on the back giving me little hints and tips as I rounded corners and crossed traffic. Soon after lunch we were doing 80 km/h down the highway, I can't describe how good it felt to be in control of a bike, I am sure that my four year plan to get my motorcycle lincence will be shortened to as little as possible.
The remainder of the trip out was nice except just before sunset when it started to rain a little sending a slick onto the whole road that we traveled on. As we were rounding a corner Stephenie slipped on her bike and was sent sliding on her side across the road. Luckely there was no oncoming traffic and we were all going slow enough to see this happen so we all immeditaly stopped and pulled her off the road. Even luckeier still Steph sustained only minor road rash to her leg, foot and shoulder. The bike she road was still in working order and since no one else was available to drive I took it and followed along as Heather took our original bike with another passenger so that we could all get to where we were going before dark.
We finally arrived at some small town that I forget the name for and settled down for the night. Everyone was tired so it was an early night after dinner and again an early morning the next day. The trip back was much more relaxed and we arrived back in Kanshanabri about an hour or so ahead of schedual. This trip has to be not only one of the most enjoyable things I have done in Thailand but it is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever done.
Untill Next time.
Talk to you soon
Ray
1 comment:
I wish you didn't have to go. I miss you too much already.
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