Well someone had to be first to cane off!!!!

Hi all tania here again.

Last night we were treated to another fabulous local Khmer dinner, but got to go to and fro on tuktuks. The sensation of cycling through the traffic is one thing but these are fantastic little motor bikes with a trailer on the back. We were then wisked off to the Siem Reap night market, where you could buy anything from cushion covers to 15 minutes of having fish suckle the dead skin off your feet!!! Clinton was going to give it a try but was concerned for the welfare of the fish in the pool after his feet went in.

This morning we started off at 7.00am. This is the day we have all really been worried about really. 85km round trip. Originally we were to ride up a mountain road, however the road is now so bad they had to change the itinery, much to our delight. It was such an awesome day. We were all so proud of ourselves. We caned it. At one point some of the group decided to race each other for 3km, reaching speeds of 39km an hour. Needless to say I was not in this group but even I managed to get to 30km without too much problem. clinton wants me to let you know He led the group for a time (show off).

We started out visiting another very old temple. This one built in the 10th century. the carving work on these temples is extrodinary. The roads to start with were sealed and really lovely to ride on. Children lined the roads as we went, cheering us on. After a brief toilet and snack stop at the 20km mark we headed off again.

Cambodian Superloo!

Soon after we hit the dirt roads. What a blast. Pot holes everywhere and red dust. it was so much fun, until we came to the little river passing, otherwise known as two boards side by side. now I am not not to so things slowly, so of I went hurtling at full speed behind the rider in front. Within no time I had lodged my bike wheel in a gap between the boards, and decided to see the scene from a totally different angle, upside down and over the handle bars. By the grace of God I came off with a skinned knee and elbow. apparantly it was quite spectacular to watch and was narrowly missed being filmed by our camera man Adam. I must admit however Bob gets the award for the most falls today. He flew off his bike twice, and still carried on till the end. Bob is in his sixties I believe and is such a delight.

We had yet another wondeful lunch, sampling dragon and jack fruit for the first time and then we headed off the the land mine museum. Very sobering. There are still a millions of land mines at around Cambodia and the damage is devastating. It just reminds us again how amazing these people are. We went mad in the shop as all the proceeds go towards the victims and clearing mines.

We had several stops on the way home, some mingling with the locals in the villages. The kids are just so persistant, trying to tout their postcards, fish on string, palm sugar, tshirts, you name it, and all with the cry Only $1.00.

Several of us realised for the first time that we had been training on mountain bike tyres and this had been so advantageous as we are now on hybrid road/mountain bike tyres. we were flying compared to when we were at home.

We arrived home to cheers and hoots and were told we had done 81-86km (depending on whos speedo you were using) in 3hr50mins. Fantastic effort from everyone.

I am now handing over to the lovely Gaylene, the Cambodian Kids dream when it comes to bartering!!!!

I have finally worked out why they swarm around me like bees to a honey pot and are relentless in their pestering to buy their wares. I have been wearing my money bag outside my clothing so it is quite visible to them. From now on I'll tuck it inside my shirt. I was amazed how easy it was to cover the distance today. The weather was quite overcast this morning which was much more pleasant to cycle in. For a while after lunch the sun did its thing but on our homeward ride we must have narrowly missed a shower of rain which settled the dust, which is everywhere, and also cooled the air somewhat. The cycling is the best part of the day in a way because the fast movement creates a breeze. My right hand is quite weak tonight from the intensity of gripping the handle bars which is necessary because of the road surfaces. I really want to be looking at the scenery a lot more but it is quite imperative to keep a good eye on the road most of the time. I tend to be the last rider in the group because I prefer to have my own space not cluttered by other riders. So as not to give the impression that I'm the slow one I decided to do a sprint for the last few km today and arrive home in the first bunch.