The Stats

Days of cycling: 30

Total distance covered: 2269 kilometers

Average per day: 76 kilometers

Total moving time: 128 hours

Average rolling time per day: 4.5 hours

Laps of the Cowboy XC track: 25

Times up benchmark climb: 7

Mechanicals: 3

Strava KOMs: 3

Crashes: 0

Days of rain/wind/clouds: 3

Pieces of cake eaten at Sala Cafe: 13

Pizzas consumed at By Hand Pizza: 3

Siamaya Chocolate bars devoured: 14

Intro

If you follow this blog then you may know that this is not my first time mountain biking in Chiang Mai during the Swedish winter. I really like it here so I keep coming back. I was here last year as well, but before that there were breaks for Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The combination of excellent singletrack, nice XC tracks, the downhills from Doi Suthep (the big mountain), and of course the climate, food and super friendly Thai people, make this place my favorite.

This time around was my longest stay ever: 30 days. This was possible because I was able to work remotely during my stay. First time ever!

Arrival

Upon arrival at my AirBnb apartment, quite early Saturday morning on December 14th. I had chosen an apartment close to Maya Mall, on the north western part of town, as I do every year because it's closest to all the mountain, trails, tracks and places that I want to bicycle. The apartment was not ready so I decided to assemble my bicycle outside of the main entrance.

My AirBnb

After this I was ready to go for my first ride already on the first day. This is the kind of efficiency that I enjoy. The danger is riding around in Thai traffic jetlagged and confused trying to remember to ride on the "wrong" (left) side of the road. I accidently rode on the right side perhaps 4 or 5 times during that first day, but without any incidents.

I managed to get some Sala Cafe cake on that first day

Sala Cafe apple cake

The first three days were actually cloudy with some scattered rain showers. One of the nights it pretty much rained all the time. This is the first time ever that I've had this kind of weather when visiting Chiang Mai. It didn't much matter for the terrain however as it was all so dry and the trails dried up at once.

The Mountain - Doi Suthep

I went up Bench Mark Climb, as I call it, a total of 7 times. Not breaking my record but I did a decent 57m17s at an average power of 320W. The average power is right up there with my best ever.

The downhill (part 1, part 2) from the top of the mountain is technical, difficult, tricky and absolutely lovely and I set personal records going downhill. Something that I am perhaps even more proud of then going quickly uphill.

The small village at the top is cosy.

XC tracks - Cowboy and "700"

The Cowboy track, my favorite, was still there from last year. It's very tight, tricky and technical. I managed to beat my best time of last year. Also did some jumping there.

You can tell why the Strava segment is called "Cowboy Spagetti":

There was also another track called "700" that I had not done before. Very challenging and fun as well. Thanks to Tim for telling me to try that one.

Visit to Jonathan's budding chocolate business

My buddy Jonathan is trying his hand at growing cocoa beans and in the future making his own chocolate. I got to visit his place and taste the beans. For a chocolate aficionado this was a dream come true.