Back to the Kingdom

Finally back home in good old CNX! Actually, I have been back for a few weeks, but you know just got busy eating and various other activities.

Earlier this year I led a 1000km bicycle ride through Cambodia, which was the most I have cycled probably since I was 10 years old. Well, for some reason it sparked a fire in me to ride again. Luckily I was able to borrow a mountain bike from a family friend, and rediscovered the freedom of two wheels. Besides riding, my last days in ND were characterized by brewing beer, going to weddings, dancing my heart out, and of course spending time with the family.

Advent Academy trail

too much ND pride?

famous

Funny story about this photo. When Dan, Andy (aka. AK-47), and I were in college we thought it would be funny to put up a photo at our local bar. As most bars, the walls were covered with tons of photos of people that no one knew. So with frame and super glue in hand we stuck this bad boy up. It fell down or was lost a few times, but it ended up securely fastened to the bathroom wall. Evidently the staff didn't realize it didn't belong and made sure that it did.

AK-47 and the big muddy

chilling with the godchildren

In transit back to Chiang Mai I ran into two very special people. P White and I work together at CMRCA, and Mae was my host mother when I arrived in Chiang Mai 3 years ago. We were all coming back from different states. It was great to see some familiar faces after a 20 hour layover in Souel. Kudos to Icheon International Airport for suppling free showers and bed style chairs! Oh, and I got my kimchi on, a few times.

found some friends in Korea

 First purchase after landing (besides phad kaprao moo sap sai kai dao) was a mountain bike. Big props to Jacky Bike off Nimman for hooking me up with a decent bike at a good price. Been raking up 100km+ per week on this bad boy. The access and amount of trails here is mind boggling, something I never realized. With resources like Chiang Mai Mountain Biking it has been a blast exploring the area. I plan on bombing Doi Suthep later this week.......hopefully I won't break anything.....

Doi Suthep

future dinner

deep ruts

Competitions ain't really my jam, but recently I have found myself in a few. Before leaving ND I randomly did the Kybiru Triathlon after overhearing some drunk guys in a bar the night before talking about it. So, when I heard that Singha was going to sponsor a trail run up in Chiang Rai I promptly enlisted a crew. Most of us did the 10 km but one member of the crew opted for the 21 km. The race itself was an amazing insight into Thai event production. The ever present giant sound system with multiple announcers speaking non-stop (how?) for hours was in top form. We all finished alive and tired, then promptly got are free beers from Singha. Cowboy style was the theme of the swaray, with the classic "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Country Roads" on the set list. Unfortunately the party didn't last very long before the skies closed and rain began to fall.

pre race

post race