2 flats, 114 degrees, 109kms.

Riding out of Surin at 6.05am.

Firstly, don't think I gave into the Yank and agreed to leave for our ride at 6am.  It it so happened I woke early and couldn't sleep any longer.  So I was aware the chosen one was awake by all the noise he was creating and suggested to him that since I was now wide awake, why not leave early and get on the road.

Len agreed to my surprise

That's me doing some filming and telling Len how stupid his idea is of riding a bike at 6am is.

We left the hotel around 6am with our lights on just for precaution.  I was feeling fine on the bike although I had about 6 hours sleep  Len is a firm believer that 5 hours sleep is enough.  I told him that only applied to Americans, not Australians.  They need more sleep because they're smarter than the rest.

The ride today was to take us from Surin to SiSaKet in the east.  We were moving along real fine with a good tailwind.  Once again at times the wind would suddenly change and our speed would drop by 10kph.

We were really cruising along nice at around the 28kph for the first hour and a half.  Just as we were pulling into the 7/11 for our mandatory morning tea stop I noticed my front tire was flat.  I still was going to have my coffee before I fixed the tire.  The process of taking the tube out and finding the glass that was in the tire didn't take that long. The problem was pumping the tire back up again and ensuring the tire sat properly on the rim.  No matter what I did, it just wasn't working.  The tire needed to pop out all around the rim so there was no bump in the tire as I rode along.  It got to the stage where I pulled out my shampoo and rubbed it along the tire and the side wall of the rim to get the tire to pop out.  Eventually it worked.  Whilst I was sweating like a pig, my sidekick was taking photos of the homie, thinking it was the first time I'd ever sweated in my life.  Len's got absolutely no idea how hard as Aussies work.

 Flat No.1. 

Tire fixed and back on the road to that nice tailwind.  Once again the wind was pushing us along at speeds reaching 35kph.  Len was driving on the front and I was bringing up the rear like usual.  After another hour of riding we pulled over for some chicken on a stick, Len's favorite.  Once again as I was pulling into to have some chicken, I noticed my front tire flat again.  Boy was I pissed off.  Try and change a tire in over 100 degree heat and see how long your patience last.

Whilst Len was sitting down with his chicken on a stick and nice cold coke with ice, I was working on my bike.  I decided to throw the front tire away, something I should have done before I came on this holiday and put a new one on, with new tube.  Now I have 2 tubes to repair when we reach SiSaKet today.

I never did eat to my chicken on a stick because I didn't have time.  I bought some coke to put into my bottle and headed off.  We did need to get today over and done, and midday was our target.  Due to my flat tires and coffee stops and refill stops, we arrived at SiSaKet, Boonsiri Boutique Hotel around 1pm.  It's quite a nice place.  It costs around 18 dollars with cable TV, WiFi, and breakfast.  Oh, and air con. 

As soon as we got our rooms it was time for a nice cold shower and wash the cycling gear for tomorrow.  This washing my own clothes is a serious pain in the arse.  I should have brought the cook with me.

After a couple of hours chilling out we went for a walk through the town.  The only thing of interest was the intersection.  1 lady on a motorbike and heap of people in a taxi truck.  This town is only a stop off to get to the major town of Ubon Ratchathani tomorrow.

As soon as we got back from our walk in the burning sun, an enormous thunderstorm with pouring rain,hail and lightning struck the town.  We didn't see that coming 10 minutes ago.

Today we rode 109kms and the temperature peaked out at 114 degrees.  Now that's hot.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.  I paid for breakfast which starts at 6.30am.