This weekend there were too many rides to choose from, so an overnight to the beach sounded different from the rest.  Unbeknownst to us another ride was scheduled late afternoon near the coast where we were camping. Surely the group knew, just never seems to make it thru in the translations.

Fortunately we learned this the day before the ride, and Stanna was able to hitch along with TigerSong’s support truck with her bike, where 500 of the Governors’ friends would meet us for the opening of the PakMeng Food Extravaganza.

The current Trang Province Governor is keen on cycling and with TigerSong’s help and encouragement the local District governors are following suit and arranging mass bicycle rides or parades to kickoff many local events.  No trophies or speeches this time, remarkably.  Just a commandeering of the beach-front highway for 20km while the 500 cyclists made a loop along the Andeman Seashore at PakMeng.

The camping contingent had already staked out it’s claim on the beach and park facilities on the Marine University’s 3,000 rai (6,000 acre) ocean front campus about 10 km from the tourist beaches and pier.

Here we “occupied” an apparently seldom-used ecology center off the beach where we hijacked enough power to operate the rice cooker, tea pots, toaster and Karaoke machine.  It’s not the first time this group prefers to “camp” under shelter as we’ve “camped” with our tents in temples, and office buildings.

Mr. Cho catered the two-day event with kit from his restaurant so we sup’d on lunches, dinner and a large breakfast for 20.  (Think river trip with electricity.)

You’ll notice a British couple and their daughter, who recently moved to Trang from China, joined us.  They are avid and strong cyclists who finally joined the Trang group for some of their organized rides.  We look forward to riding with them again.

We never even heard about, and consequently missed, the Sunday ride with the Province Governor and his cadre of most of those 500 riders who did a 70-km ride to Huai Yot.  TigerSong has alerted me to his March ride in advance where he’s pushing the kilo-mileage of the governor to 100 K south to the mountain waterfalls.