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Journal

Blog and other stuff

This is our online journal with news, photos, tours and all sorts of interesting stuff... We like to post from the roads we cycle  throughout Asia to help give you a little insight into our cycling holidays so you may read words from the road in Vietnam, the mountains in China, the beaches in Thailand, a village in Laos, a bar in Taiwan, or the stunning hills of Sri Lanka.

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Sunday Inspiration - escape the winter with a sunny seaside cycling tour this February

08 January 17

Six weeks from today I and a group of PaintedRoads regulars will be setting off on PaintedRoads’ annual Winter Escape tour as we cycle beachside from Bangkok to Phuket. 

Also dubbed the PaintedRoads triathlon - Bike Beach Beer, this two-week trip is arguably the perfect antidote to the seemingly endless ravages of the northern winter.

If cycling in the sunshine next month appeals to you please get in touch, the hardest decision you will have to make on this tour is whether to have your post-ride dip in the ocean or the resort’s beachside pool.

Heading for Thung Wua Laen

Morning coffee sunrise outside the room at Hat Lam Sai

Quiet rural cycling

One of my favourite South Thailand photos taken along a long deserted beach after Ban Krut

After lunch

This beautiful temple is just before the little seaside town of Ban Krut where we overnight early on in the tour

A beautiful bicycle for a beautiful tour

The view from our private longtail boat as we head for Yao Noi Island

Despite Andy's polka dot jersey, this is a fairly flat tour

Morning sunrise outside the room on the little island of Kho Yao Noi

Beautiful temples such as this abound - at this one we take a lunch break

Visiting the Buddha caves - Day 8

Meeting the monkeys at Prachuap Khiri Khan airbase

Sunset at Nai Yang Beach on Phuket

We have plenty of beaches to rest on along the way on this tour

A little exploration of country trails early on in the tour

 

 

 

PaintedRoads 2016 - A Year In Review

31 December 16

January - Thailand

The year began, as it looks highly likely to end, in our residence of choice, the wonderful cycling playground of North Thailand.

February - Thailand North

February was a great month as we remained in Thailand, firstly taking a group of friends, both old and new, to have a look around the finest scenery that the Lao and Burma border region has to offer. What do I think of Northern Thailand? I chose to make it my home - enough said I think.

Thailand South

It was then a quick dash south to meet a new group with whom I was to spend a splendid fortnight cycling south along the lanes and byways that track the secluded beaches of Thailand”s south-east coast. We veered west as we reached Surat Thani and left the mass tourists to the delights of party island of Kho Samui and Koh Pangan, as we continued along the path less travelled, moving via bike and boat to our tour’s end on Phuket.

March - Vietnam

Echo and I celebrated my 50th birthday in the beautiful little town of Hoi An prior to running the inaugural Ho Chi Minh Trail tour through the tranquil mountains of Central Vietnam. It was a small group, all PaintedRoads regulars, and despite this tour not attracting a great deal of attention (a bewildering situation), the tour was declared “perhaps the best tour ever” by one very experienced worldly cyclist. 

Crossing the famed 17th Parallel

Echo's first ever 130-kilometre day, she followed this up with two more such days in a row

A lovely lady met along the way

April - Taiwan

In April my chum Stephan and I loaded our bikes and set out to explore Taiwan. To say that what we discovered pleased us would be a woeful understatement, for it delighted us greatly - the little visited destination of Taiwan really deserves to be a world Mecca for cyclists. It is a stunning place to ride - beautiful, friendly, orderly, and organised, and to top it all off the cycling infrastructure is absolutely splendid. I look forward to next April and our very first tour group there.

May - China Yunnan

It was back to China for May, and what is, at present, my most favourite tour. 

I cut my adventure cycling teeth in Yunnan many years since, and whether it is for this reason, or simply because of the natural beauty, the great roads, the fine company, and the fantastic food I do not know, but I simply love this tour. This is rather fortunate as it turns out to be our most popular tour, and the competition is not mild.

"Um" Cathy and Echo wonder where the group went

Hong Kong

Following the Yunnan tour Echo and I headed across the border to Hong Kong to tie the knot

June - Vietnam's Mekong Delta

This year’s Mekong Delta Tour in Vietnam’s far south was most delightful. Phong and I enjoyed the company of six PaintedRoads newcomers, along with friends from years gone by and PaintedRoads most loyal guest, Arthur.

PaintedRoads newcomers Deb & Jan, see you in Yunnan ladies

"What, on bicycles, yer must be bonkers?"

Arthur and the lottery lady

and on to - Ho Chi Minh Trail Exploration

Following the tour, Phong declared that we should look to continue the exploration of our Ho Chi Minh Trail tour. Our present route takes us half the length of the country, and the intention is to extend our path all the way from Hanoi to Saigon. I said I would be delighted to have his company for another two weeks, he said “tough luck fish face, I’m going home”*, before handing me a route scrawled on an old road map, a scribbled list of Vietnamese dishes he thought I might find ‘interesting’, and wishing me ‘heartfelt good luck and godspeed’. It was a fab couple of weeks of adventure, discovery, and happy memory making, albeit alone (*Phong can be harsh of tongue).

July & August - UK Summer Hols.

July saw Echo and I board a plane Blighty bound as we headed to my ancestral home. Whilst there the new PaintedRoads website was designed and created by the great Mike of Mikes Imagination. Not only does fellow adventure cyclist Mike create a jolly fine website, but we also created PaintedRoads as an image and an entity, all things for which I am eternally grateful - cheers Mike!

Inevitably being back in the UK with Echo meant that my dear mother could not resist celebrating her new daughter-in-law joining the family, and so it was that we enjoyed a modest celebration of our nuptials on the lawn on a fine summer afternoon. 

September - China

September saw us back in China with time to do something I have been eager to pursue for some years, a new China tour. Guangxi and Guizhou are two fascinating provinces that sport not only dazzling nature but also lovely ancient architecture, as well as fascinating tribal minority groups. And so it was that Echo and I set out with friends and partners Cathy & Lee to explore a tour that has been on my mind for an age. And the beauty of it was that whilst Lee and I cycled the route Cathy and Echo drove ahead searching out restaurants and lodging, as well as ensuring that we always arrived at day’s end with a cold beer waiting for us.

Lee rides into our rest day town

Now that's the way to research a tour. Lee and I arrived each evening to find our wives with a hotel room and cold beer waiting - thank you ladies.

October - Tri-nations: Vietnam, Thailand & Lao

Come October it was time to run a tour that has been on my mind ever since I first became a tour leader. Three southeast Asian nations, two and a half languages, one religion, and total bewilderment about political systems and their meanings; Vietnam, Lao, and Thailand are as unlikely neighbours as they are likely (if that makes sense), and so this makes for a fascinating tour. 

It was to be a convivial group of just four old friends until Roman from Germany bumped into us purely by chance as we assemble our bikes in Sapa the day before cycling commenced. He said he would care to join us, and so we had a bike send up overnight from Hanoi and our group of four became an even more convivial five, and a bally good group and a jolly fine ride it was. As a bonus perhaps, the tour group highlight of the year for me was cycling newcomer Caroline’s epic conquering of a 20% gradient climb, even stopping halfway and restarting on the climb, that sure made the tour for me.

Vietnam's Black River

November - Thailand

The Tri-nations tour ended conveniently in Chiang Rai, and Chiang Rai is where Echo and I desire to reside. And so with the tour over we retired to our humble abode to relax for a while, and of course, explore the seemingly endless trails and tracks of the region.

Relaxing...

and exploring

December - Vietnam Northeast

The Northeast Vietnam tour holds a very special place in my heart, and with an especially fine group for company, this was a fitting tour with which to finish the year. December proved to be a perfect month to run the tour with ideal cycling weather, not too hot, and never too cold. We did have a day of rain, but it rains on that day of the tour whatever time of year we run it - it is, after all, The Rain Day.

The year for us draws to an end in Thailand with both Christmas and New Year's Eve in Chiang Rai. It has been a fine year, a year of great journeys with many friends both old and new, and now we look forward very much to the year ahead, and many more to come.

Not the usual Christmas dinner

Wishing everyone a wonder and adventure filled 2017.

Very best wishes

David & Echo

The guests opinion - NE Vietnam tour 2016

28 December 16

The best way to gauge just how a PaintedRoads tour runs is to listen to those who took part, and to this end, I am eternally grateful when those who joined us on tour return home and take a little time to write with their thoughts.

For this year's Northeast Vietnam tour I am particularly grateful as everyone returning home hit the ground running, as they say, with what I recall as being a relentless run-up to the Yuletide season.

Many thanks to all who wrote, I too had a wonderful time and I look forward to seeing you all again, hopefully before too long.

Pam & Gerry Vaughan - New Zealand

Our first cycle tour with Painted Roads was an amazing experience and one we will cherish forever. The NE Vietnam trip showed us a part of the world that we never thought we would see. We were immersed in the ethnic minority groups and their culture, stunning scenery, delicious food and good accommodation throughout the trip. The organisation was outstanding, David and Phong were caring and considerate, making this trip a delight to be part of, and their ongoing banter added much laughter and fun. And the "undulating rides" something we thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks for the great experience Painted Roads.

 

Anna Rolando - Italy

Touring in North East Vietnam with Painted Roads was a unique and rewarding experience. Each day was rich and full with new discoveries: rice terraces, incredible jungled pinnacles, deep valleys, breathtaking views, painted-like mountain profiles, hill tribes people dressed in their beautiful traditional costumes attending their daily duties, rural life, busy local markets, remote villages, flocks of children and friendly smiles. After a day standing the challenge of ever ‘undulating’ terrain, the simple, fresh and lovely food cooked in a local restaurant made the perfect ambience for a convivial dinner.

Anna again

David is an experienced cyclist, a professional tour leader, a passionate traveller and a jolly travel companion. The fact that he supervises the organisation in every aspect and takes part in person in the tours he runs, makes the difference. The local crew – professional, friendly and helpful -  is the cherry on the top of the cake. No surprise that so many members of the group were returning customers, and that the new ones – like me – had come across Painted Roads by word of mouth and testimonials of friends and acquaintances from previous journeys.

I strongly recommend David and Painted Road Cycling, and I look forward to joining the next adventure with them.

David Morrison - Aukland

Having just completed the Painted Roads North-East Vietnam cycle trip in December 2016, I would like to thank David and Phong for an incredible cycling adventure. The incomparable scenery, the superb local food and the friendly people we met on the way made this a trip to remember. David ensures that everyone has a great time both on the bicycle with his well-planned route and relaxing with a beer afterwards. The food provided for all meals and the important tea breaks on the journey was excellent. David and Phong ensure that all the little details are well managed and the trip worked like clockwork. This is my second trip with Painted Roads and I will be returning for more cycling adventures with David.

Wally Dumont - Canada

I highly recommend doing the NE Vietnam tour as the scenery is probably some of the most remarkable backdrops one will ever have a chance to see when cycling. 

One needs to see it in person to appreciate all its beauty,  local culture and culinary cuisine.

What a great experience.

 

A quick Christmas spin through the hills

24 December 16

A habit I must return to is taking my camera along when I pop into the hills for a spin. And so it was with this in mind my Olympus, my Kinesis and I have to spend a lovely pre-Xmas morning exploring more of the seemingly endless labyrinth of trails in Northern Thailand.

Now to relax and rehydrate.

Merry Yuletide all!!

Ten minutes from home is a beautiful playground of dirt trails riding through rubber plantations and skirting lovely little lakes

A seemingly endless ribbon of dirt roads winds through the hills and valleys and past villages of hill tribe people

Gravel roads abound in a most agreeable hue of red

The hills can be of cheeky gradients, 25% was the max this morning, a climb that causes brought about unsightly wheezing and dribbling - note to self, try to remain more composed

Endless hills and valleys to play in

And some cultivation in the form of an aromatic tea plantation

 

Northeast Vietnam 2016 - half way through and all is splendid

12 December 16

It’s rest day here in Northeast Vietnam, so time to sit back with a coffee and post a few images from the tour so far.

As always seems to be the case we are once again blessed with a great group of people all possessing a fine sense of humour, good nature and enjoyable conversation. That they are a group of competent cyclists is the cherry on the top of the cake. Three Kiwis, an Italian, a Canadian and a Brit, along with Vietnamese Phong, and I makes for the sort of cosmopolitan group I love to share an adventure with. Rather than be categorised by our nationality I feel the world be to be a better place if we were categorised by our persona, and if this were the case we in this group would all hold the same passport. 

As for the tour, well it’s been mentioned before, and will undoubtedly be stated again, that exploring this route reignited my passion for adventure cycling a few years ago, and since then I have not looked back. The route is stunning, with otherworldly scenery, quiet roads, satisfying climbs, descents that make the climbs more than worthwhile, ever friendly welcoming locals, interesting hill tribe people, and …… Well, I could wax lyrical at length regarding all that makes this tour great, but suffice to say that it is a firm favourite of mine.

                   

We chose to run the tour during December this year in a bid to escape some of the hot days we have at other times of the year, and a tremendous success it has been. A couple of evenings it has dipped to a nippy 13º, but daytime we have pretty much perfect cycling weather with the mercury hovering around the mid to high 20s - never too hot on the climbs and never too cold on the descents, one could say ideal.

As is always the case with PaintedRoads tours (and this is one of our rather unique characteristics) the tour has evolved and improved over the years that we have been running in. Phong and I had a quick tot up over dinner last evening and concurred that this is the fifth incarnation of the tour. We have had three different start points, three route variations, two rest day venues, and of course the addition of the stunning and tantamount to secret loop ride near the small town of Tam Son.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow's ride already.

Phong makes a fuss about nothing - no change there then

Nostalgia Prompted Images From Last Year's North East Vietnam Tour.

23 November 16

It was the mid rain season 2011 that Phong and I set out on our bicycles to explore what, unbeknown to me at the time, was to become PaintedRoads’ very first tour. Before we explored the route I was glum, neigh, melancholy. Quite why I was melancholy I could not say - such is the nature of melancholy, but my passion for bicycle adventures was frayed, and I was feeling lost. But those two weeks in Northeast Vietnam changed all. I recovered, I perked up, I became non-melancholy, and I have never looked back. So beautiful did I find the region, so enamoured was I by the adventure and the sheer pleasure and privilege of exploring such a region, by bicycle, and with a close friend, that my zeal was reignited and has burned most brightly since. 

Phong and I have since run the tour countless times and never do I tire of it. We have changed it, we have improved it, we have added sections and moved the rest day, you might like to say we obsess over it. And so it is with much excitement that I fly to Hanoi early next month to ride the wonderful tour with a group of like-minded cyclists from as far afield as the Antipodes, Europe, and the seemingly more sensible section of North America. 

So with this tour on my mind, I have just been flicking through some images from last years wonderful Northeast Vietnam tour, some images I find inspirational, and hopefully, you will too. 

Cheerio for now

D

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