The first leg was not encouraging. We did a few mile circuit around a lake. I was immediately tired, but Brian, a member of our group assured me that this was because my legs were still warming up. This was extremely reassuring and I felt immediately sturdier. In the meantime, Luka, the Australian member of our group, informed me that biking after trekking was a good thing because it helped eliminate lactic acid from our legs. Oh the things I was learning!
The cold front that had assaulted us at night was now working in our favor. Once we cleared the traffic and fumes of Chiang Mai, we were home free with flat terrain and reasonable temperatures. My strategy was to always stay in the front 1/3 of the group so that, should I need to slow down, I would have plenty of time to do it. This worked infallibly until I hit a hill of any kind at which point I fell to the rear. Thankfully, we had few hills. My breathing was improving ever so slowly. But I was a long way from having full lung capacity.
It did not take long for a distinct theme to emerge from our biking route: agriculture. One of our first stops was to walk through a family cooperative farm. The beds were tidy and we saw flowers, potatoes, tomatoes, chili plants, bok choy, and the biggest okra that I've ever seen. I tasted my first guava from the tree and it was incredibly delicious--similar to a pear. While there are larger commercial farms in Thailand, particularly rice paddies, there are still plenty of small farms utilizing the barter system and sharing labor "barn raising" style to accomplish the labor intensive tasks. Over the two days and 70 miles or so, we saw farms of every size and variety--some were farming fish. Irrigation was managed through a complex system of canals. Water was controlled by a dam that was created to help control flooding in an area where three rivers merged.
One distinct disadvantage of biking is that it is difficult to take pictures. Once I gained my confidence, I started the complex process of taking photos with my iPhone while staying in the front third. This required sharp eyes for rocks and potholes and a lot of luck. On day two, as we wended our way through a series of small villages amidst farmland, I found myself becoming more and more exhilarated. The biking thing was working for me. It was slow enough to provide a more intimate glimpse into the landscape, while fast enough to keep it interesting. And biking as a group is fun. There were 12 of us, and as we rolled past homes, young children would scream "hello! hello!" We were enough of a spectacle and rarity for them that we created a sense of excitement. And it was not lost on me that even the very youngest were greeting us in our native tongue.
At the tail end of the bike trip, there were a series of hills over a few kilometers that I did not tackle. By then, the heat had risen dramatically and I felt spent. I was more than satisfied with my success and happily got into the truck that had been tailing us slowly the entire time. I had earned my snickers bar. Our next stop, the Buatong Waterfall. Waterfalls are common in Thailand and despite our guide's enthusiasm for this particular waterfall, I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong.
The Buatong Waterfall is a clear stream waterfall over limestone that tumbles through three distinct levels.
Essentially, the water is a gushing geyser of calcium carbonate rich water that has created a calcium rich build-up making it "sticky" so that it is possible to climb safely (Thailand safe). If I ever had imagined a magical paradise, it would look like the Buatong falls. The striking white falls tumbled against a background of lush tropical green. While the pools of water were not large enough for a full bodied swim, we immersed ourselves as much as possible climbing with ease from one level to the next.
And then, it was time to move on again. The next adventure awaited, but not before an overnight train back to Bangkok. And one more snickers bar.
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