Mekong Odyssey 09: DR’s bike
November 5, 2009 by Don Ross
Filed under Blogs, Don Ross, Mekong Odyssey 09
My Cannondale is a sturdy 2007, T800 touring bike that I built up from a basic frame purchased from the Cannondale shop here Thailand. I fitted it with Campagnolo’s Veloce 10s groupset, 13-29 gears and a 46-34-24 Stronglight crank on the front.
Hand-made in the US, the aluminium frame is built like a tank, but the complete bike still weighs in at 10.5 kg, or 11.5 kg with front and rear racks fitted.
TTR Weekly Managing Editor, Don Ross
Wheels built on Mavic A719 rims, 36 spokes and Campagnolo hubs, fitted with 37mm Conti touring tires.
This bike has taken me from Vientiane to Luang Prabang in Laos twice (once solo and with former Pacific Asia Travel Association vice president, Peter Semone).
The hilly route to Luang Prabang is one of the finest cycle rides in Asia. Add a couple of notches for two camping and cycling tours in New South Wales, Australia. But my dream for the last 20 years has always been to cycle the Mekong River route from the far north in Thailand to the lower northeast region of Thailand. I just never got around to doing it until now.
It was also impossible in the days of unreliable phone links, ancient telex and even fax communications, but now the internet allows us to work at home, or on the move, wherever we want to be.
A 21-day trip is doable as long as I can pull over to the grassy verge and file my reports via a mobile phone signal.
Therefore, my Sony Laptop and a USB 7mbps air-card are crucial additions to my luggage.
Let’s see if the theory works on the road. If it does this will be an amazing odyssey for a couple of old codgers. It will beat sitting on a park bench in chilly Manchester, any day.
