Went on an epic (for me) off-road ride on the Bomba yesterday. It was in the hills behind Chiang Mai. I started the day with a donut at Dunkin Donuts and saw some lycra-clad men with bikes having a bite inside. I pulled up and they started asking about the bike. Why the double top tube? What's up with the moustache bars? Why don't you ride clipless? What's in the huge bag on the back? Isn't that position too upright? Etc. You could tell they were doubting the bike's abilities...not to mention mine when I didn't have one piece of lycra on. I told them where I was riding and they rolled their eyes at my lack of suspension and chuckled a "Good luck!" as I left the eatery.
I rode with another group of teachers and we climbed I don't know how many vertical feet of unbelievable dirt road. We wound past endless jungle where at any moment I thought Indiana Jones would appear. We hit one fork and a teacher not acquainted with Rivendell said that the choices looked to him to be between "Mordor and Isengard." It was that surreal in this area. We climbed and climbed and came to a Hmong village where we noticed lots of activity taking place. We pulled in and quickly realized what we were witnessing. It was a Japanese Cherry Blossom bloom season. About 100 people were crawling out of cars and taking photos. It was like a scene out of a Kung Fu movie. It was very satisfying having rode there. We left the village and topped out the ride a wonderful coffee house overlooking the blossom spectacle. Once again I felt a little out of place. About 20 foreigners were having coffee wearing full downhill body armor. I thought WTF and wondered where they were riding. They were going down the road we just rode up. Well, they understood the Bombadil even less than the dudes at the donut shop. Needless to say we rode the same extreme downhill ride promised to the tourists. I didn't go down once. My cantis worked just fine. My saddlebag didn't throw my balance over the roots. My 2.0 tires (narrow for these riders) were superb. Summation, I loved the ride. The Bombadil is so versatile and beautiful I am excited to ride anywhere on it. When I woke up for the ride I had to take off my basket and front rack and take off the large Sackville bag that I had on for a two day tour with the wife that took place earlier in the week. I carried most of the gear and the bike rode beautifully then, as well. This bike really undercuts expectations and I dig that. Anyone that wants to ride in Chiang Mai or stay at my house and travel from here is welcome. You won't be disappointed. Kip Otteson Chiang Mai, Thailand -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
