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Back on the Bike!

Back in the day, I used to ride my bike a lot. Like, every other weekend I'd be off on a 60, 80, or even 100km ride (my personal maximum). But after having a kid and getting busy with other projects, my bike riding took a back seat, and I only tended to get out once every six weeks or so. It's amazing how quickly your stamina drops off, because these days, I can barely manage to get up to 40k without wanting to pack it in. Granted, this is based on recent rides during the punishing summer heat, but still - my legs ain't what they used to be.

Greg2020-05-19T09:26:18+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Health, Thailand|0 Comments

A Thailand Bike Adventure: 850km from Bangkok to Lampang

Over the Songkran break this past April, two biking buddies of mine, Andrew and Bill, set out on a pretty audacious adventure – to bike from Bangkok to Lampang (near Chiang Mai) over 8 days. First of all, I’m totally jealous. That seems like an incredible ride that I would love to do – but which, at my current level of fitness, would probably kill me. Second, that’s a pretty long ride, but the part that is most impressive about it is that they did it in April – the hottest month of the year.

Greg2018-05-10T06:43:45+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Health, Thailand, Transport, Travel|0 Comments

Shaking up my Commute – Riding a Bike to Work in Bangkok

Update 2018: This whole experiment lasted about six months. It was fine while it lasted, but let’s be honest – it’s just a numbers game. As I’ve said before, riding a bike in Bangkok isn’t deadly, but it isn’t safe, and the more often you ride, the higher the chances are of something happening. With a toddler at home and a nervous wife, I decided to just submit to The Man and take the BTS to work.

If you’ve read my site before you probably know that I ride my bike a lot in and around Bangkok […]

Greg2018-06-27T05:24:49+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Health, Transport|14 Comments

Taxi + Bike Rack = Taxi-Bike Thailand. Finally.

UPDATE March 2016: Mr. Tao doesn’t seem to be answering his phone anymore. Boo.

If you’ve read G2D before, you might know that I often join a small but dedicated group of friends in exploring Bangkok and its surrounding area on bicycles. It’s a great way to see the city and get to areas that most foreigners – and a great many Thais – never get to see. The problem, of course, is that I don’t have a car, which means I not only have to ride to our destination, but also back home, which limits the distances […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:49+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Transport|0 Comments

A Bike Ride in Pictures: Samut Sakhon to Samut Songkhram

One thing I enjoy about Bangkok is getting out on my bike and exploring the hidden corners that one rarely sees. That does the trick most of the time, but sometimes I get ambitious and plan a longer overnight trip, which is what I did this past weekend. In retrospect, it was probably a bit too hot for the route we chose, but sunburned, muddy, and very, very tired, we arrived at the hotel with a sense of accomplishment and a hint of amazement that we actually made it. Some pictures below, many courtesy of Andrew. […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:51+00:00Biking, Health, Thailand, Transport|0 Comments

Bangkok’s Biggest Graffiti

Another week, another bike ride. Following on my previous post where I mapped (probably) all of the future rail routes in Bangkok, I decided to have a bit of fun and get creative with my next ride. Well…more creative than normal. Making routes around Bangkok in Google Maps is something that I really like doing – it’s a matter of using the map view to find a rough route from A to B, and then zooming in to refine the route using satellite view and street view to find short-cuts and obstacles you can’t see on […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:55+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Transport|0 Comments

Visiting a Thai Hospital for a Quick Stitch-Up

So as I often do, I headed out for a bike ride with some friends today. I was going to meet them at Wong Wian Yai BTS station and take a new route down to the Gulf of Thailand for a bit of exploring and hopefully un-rained-on riding. However, as luck would have it the trip ended up being cancelled before it even started and I ended up laying on a gurney in a hospital getting stitches in one of the most cringe-worthy places you can imagine that’s not on your torso. I’ve been in Thailand so long […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:55+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Health, Thailand|0 Comments

My PechaKucha Speech

On July 9, I was honored to be invited to speak at the all new PechaKucha Bangkok. Yeah, I know, I think it's a weird name too, but it's a pretty cool concept. Basically, it started in Japan as a forum for designers and creative people to get together and share their ideas and concepts. About 8 people get up and present something, and each of them has to get their idea across using only 20 PowerPoint slides, each one for exactly 20 seconds. It's a great format for a presentation, because every speaker has exactly the same amount of time, and it encourages presenters to be quick and punchy in their presentation style. A few weeks ago I was asked to present, so I chose my favorite hobby (besides nerding out online) - riding my bike in Bangkok.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:00+00:00Bangkok, Biking, Video|0 Comments

Vanishing Bangkok: A Visit to Baan Bu Metalwork Factory

Any city that's been hanging around for 228 years is bound to have its fair share of lost treasures and forgotten secrets. Thankfully, Bangkok isn't developing at the same speed as Beijing, where historical corners of the city are being steamrolled to prepare for condos and shopping malls, so there are still plenty of old corners and secrets to enjoy. My friend Lenka and I found one of these lost treasures one of our city bike rides, where we ride by the phrase 'ever narrower' to get lost, explore, and experience the real Bangkok. What we found was Baan Bu, a community in Bangkok Noi that produces exquisite handmade bowls the same way they've been doing for centuries.

Greg2017-10-17T09:41:05+00:00Bangkok, Biking, History|0 Comments

A Trip to Amphawa by Train, Boat and Bike

thumb The good thing about having ambitious friends is that you often get dragged along on trips you wouldn’t ordinarily take on your own. This was the case last week, when my good friend Scott arranged a bike/train/boat weekend out of the city and into Amphawa, a few hours southwest of Bangkok and a hundred years behind. While I do like staying in Bangkok for the sheer, joyous laziness of it all, it’s great to get out and remind myself that there’s more to Thailand than bad traffic, tourist traps and concrete love.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:43+00:00Biking, History, Thailand, Travel|0 Comments