It's a long way to the top (if you want to roll down some rocks)

Just after I uploaded yesterday's post we found out one of the guys in the group (Tony from Abacus) had a little bingle with some locals as he was riding home last night. He landed pretty hard on his elbow and had to miss today's ride. I thought he was surprised, but apparently the look on the other person's face was priceless - Tony's around 6'7" and is more than a little over the average height in Cambodia.

Today we really took things up a notch in terms of the riding, hitting around 75km in some not-so-great conditions. We woke up to some fierce rain, which was coming at us from all angles but this didn't dampen our enthusiasm (cliche #1). The first 20km or so was on flat bitumen and was relatively easy-going; because we left at 7am, we managed to escape most of the heat early on, though the rain flooded a couple of the streets near our hotel so we were quickly knee-deep in water as we rode through.

The next stretch was around 17km along some dirt roads that were very slippy and slidy thanks to the mud, and involved six (yes, six) flat tyres. Obviously, this was pretty annoying as it took around five or ten minutes to patch them up each time, and we were starting to get pressed for time.

Something we were all looking forward to was a "creek crossing" that was a little deeper than we planned the night before - the overnight rains had made the water waist-deep so we had to jump off the bikes and carry them across.

Anyway, the highlight of the day was to be a ride to the top of a waterfall. That's the top. The very top. 475m kind of top. On dirt tracks. With bikes.

We all decided to help each other as much as we could up the hills, but everyone has different ways of tackling these things. Fran blitzed the field and powered up the hill in record time. Mark wasn't too far behind.

I, on the other hand, took a little longer to make my way up, as I had to push my bike up some of (well, most of) the steeper sections. Some of the guys we were riding with had to pull out because of injury, dehydration or exhaustion, while some of them (Christian especially) really powered through some obstacles to make it to the end.

After taking a little rest at the top and having some lunch (at 2.30) it was time for the descent. This was something I had been waiting for, mainly because I knew how hard things had been going up, so going down would obviously be a dream. Maybe I was a little over-enthusiastic.

I was quite close to the bottom of the hills and thought that I was pretty fantastic at mountain biking by this stage. I didn't need to slow down as I went down the slopes, in fact, I had to speed up.

Until... (pause for effect)

I flipped. Quite well, as it were. I must have had my front wheel stuck in some sort of rut, because I flipped over the handlebars and landed flat on my side with the bike next to me. Apparently a hearty "whoops-a-daisies" could be heard throughout the land.

Mum, if you're reading this, then I'm OK. I managed to escape with a couple of scrapes and a dented helmet. Oh, and a broken seat that the Intrepid guys had patched up for me in no time at all.

So that's it for the riding. Hot, wet, gruelling and spectacular.

As I was riding through town last night I was having a look at all of the street signs, many for political parties (have a search for some more info if you're curious). One sign I noticed was for a group called the Human Rights Party, which hit home pretty hard. Back in Australia, we have people supporting the Animal Rights Party. Here, a lot of people are fighting for human rights.

So tomorrow we head down to Sisophon, which should be around 85km or so, but most of it flat and sealed. The ride will also take us to see the first schools where we can see the CUFA work. I can't wait.

Pat

Comments

[Sarah]

Can't wait to see the pics, Pat, it sounds amazing. I have bought a new bike in sympathy :P

[Alex]

Pat, try to stay out of hospital!

Keep the posts coming, we are all following your travels.

[The Brent]

Patrick, your daily musings bring tears to my eyes. Tears of laughter and tears of longing and sadness at your absence (Sheri told me to say that). Seriously though awesome stuff - very descriptive and insightful - it's great to learn about these guys via your experiences. "whoops-a-daisies"? Are you Hugh Grant? Bring back the dented helmet as a souvenir of your toughness Cadel Evans style. You go Patty!

[Bridie]

Good to hear there was no major damage Pat!

It sounds like you're all having an amazing (if tiring) time.

[Robyn]

I can't believe you were looking forward to a creek crossing, do you know there are living creatures in there? And head first over the handle bars, now that's a drastic way of getting attention & you still have to keep riding!
Glad you haven't injured yourself too badly & hope you continue to enjoy the experience.

[Shannon]

That's GOLD Pat!! Great description of the whole ordeal, I could picture the whole thing. Of course I only laughed after I knew that you were ok :)