top of page
Writer's pictureNick Sanders

Blog 104 Houay Kong to Lane Xang Hotel km 31

8th January

Today's ride was flat and calm with little to report and it gave me an opportunity to reflect on some of the conceptual and operational planning behind the project along with the direction of travel beyond South East Asia.


The Original World Route

Here is the original route planned two years ago. It was an approximate idea and whilst Europe, the Middle East and the Asian sub-continent remains faithful to our earlier considerations, South East Asia too without going into China but I lost Indonesia and decided to ride in a straight line across Australia from Per to Sydney. There was a delay to my desired departure date in August to early September and the return date was immovable so giving me a month less to complete the ride. This was a good plan because I entered the Middle East late September, significantly cooler than I'd planned and further down the line India was cooling and drying and Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia would be pleasant. The ride across Australia was always going to be hard riding as I will in the mid summer heat. New Zealand will be warm to hot but better at altitude whilst the US could even be cool and wet unless I'm lucky on a route I plan across the southern states. Sadly, Indonesia had to be dropped.


The Jersey design is by Ashenhima from Indonesia and seemed to reflect the colourful spirit of the endeavour so I commissioned local Wales based photographer Vaughn de Grave to shoot the jersey in action. Seen here climbing the narrow mountain pass to Llanidloes behind from where I live in mid Wales.

And seen here with the boss of one of

Brian at The Jersey Company up in Scotland specialises in bicycle jersey manufacturering and printing and did a good job but for the second half of the ride we've just gone back to the drawing board, with Brian and Ashenhima producing something tangibly more recognisable for the sponsors, who after all are paying for this project to happen. The new jersey looks likely to be unveiled in Singapore and ridden for the first time across Australia.

Adding Camping Equipment to the Ride

To continue the mods for the remainder of the project I'll be adding camping bags onto the front folks. I like to even the weight forward of where I'm seated otherwise the rear wheel takes all of the weight.The Restrap bike packing luggage concept suits my minimalist packing well and the lads in Leeds have done a great job I am beginning to plan to camp across the Nullarbor. The reason for this are two fold: hotel accommodation is costly in Australia and the US but mostly the problem is the schedule.


Camping Across Australia

I'll be entering the continent of Australia about the 2nd February which is the hottest part of the Australia summer. I intend to start at 5am and ride 100 kms by 11am or until I can find a Roadhouse to where I can rest, charge one of my batteries and write my blog. Restarting around 4pm will miss the worst of the heat and I'll continue until 10pm and stop before it get's dark. It's unlikely I'll fall lucky often enough to land on a bed for the night so I can drop anchor wherever I end up, set up camp, cook, sleep and restart the same the next day.


73 views3 comments

Recent Posts

See All

3 Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
Hiosmany
Hiosmany
Jan 10
Rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Hi Nick, ah good ol Aussie coming up soon. I was in WA in 2013. Saw the annual Albany Round The Houses classic races with my Dad. It was his dream for me to visit him and see them. They're always at same time as IOM TT. Took me 35 years to get there! Then we went on a 2000km roadtrip around the Southern wheatbelt. Was like the Paul Hogan film Charlie and Boots. Stopped in Esperance and met two guys on trailies who'd just crossed the Nullabor. We didn't but swung round back through Wave Rock and back up to Midland and the Perth home. Last time i saw my old man as he passed on to the great…

Like

Rated 5 out of 5 stars.

Unfortunately you have to go around Indonesia. This and mainly Bali and Lombok with its beautiful mini Islands Gili Meno, Gili Air and Gili Trawangan were some of my personal favourites on my trip around the globe. But, you cannot manage to see everything while respecting your agenda. New Zealand is an absolut fantastic place where I rode on a push bike. Nice people in such a wonderful scenery, I think you will be in a "high life" there! Enjoy it also for me a little bit, Nick, thank you!

Like
Hiosmany
Hiosmany
Jan 10
Replying to

H Ralph, Indonesia is still on my list of places to go. I hope to combine a bike ride with my passion for MotoGP in 2025. Also combine with Japan. Lombok and Suzuka GP's 🙏

Like
bottom of page