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Friday, August 2, 2013

Ride with pro cycling legend Sean Kelly!

Join Sean Kelly, the hard man of cycling, on his first trip to Thailand! Cycle 860 kms from Bangkok to Phuket alongside this Irish legend who has won nine monument classics and 193 professional races!

Hear Kelly's tales of racing against the likes of Eddie Merckx, Greg LeMond, Miguel Indurain and as a commentator for Eurosport who covered the Tour de France he's sure to have an opinion on the current pro cyclists.

This special road bike tour is designed for cyclists who want to push themselves hard each day and at the same time have an opportunity to ride with one of the greats of professional cycling. Kelly was one of the most successful road cyclists of the 1980s, and one of the finest classic riders of all time. During his career he started in the Tour de France 15 times and wore the maillot vert on four occasions, won Paris-Nice seven years in a row and the first UCI World Cup. Kelly was a complete rider who could sprint, time-trial and climb with the best and raced hard during the entire racing calendar and is rightly regarded as one of the greatest sportsmen to ever come from Ireland.

On the January 31- February 7, 2014 Bangkok to Phuket tour cyclists will ride along the east and the west coast of Thailand and overnight at resorts along the way, with afternoons free to enjoy the beach or the pool. The Ride with Sean Kelly tour will be fully supported by air conditioned vehicles, with water, sports drinks and snacks provided during the ride. Riders can bring their own bikes, or rent a Trek 2.1C.

For more information on this opportunity to ride with King Kelly in Thailand, please click here, or email info@spiceroads.com.

Jeff, Guide Aum, Bride Kwan, Groom Kim, Brett, Paul and Clint in Phuket.

Cycling to the chapel to get married! 
Kim Seldon and his girlfriend Kwan were planning a two week holiday in Thailand, but then an engagement turned it into a wedding, and somehow Kim convinced his wife-to-be that he could do his third SpiceRoads tour prior to the wedding -- with his good friends as a bucks party. Kim's four friends agreed to join him on the ride and attend the wedding, and the Bangkok to Phuket tour led directly to the beach chapel. Kwan's only request was that Kim be safe, "I knew it would be from last two trips with SpiceRoads," said Kim. "The tour guides made it safe and fun everyday." Though there was a bit of rain on the tour, Kim said, "Riding through Thailand with bikes with my friends is always amazing and enjoyable. The food and accommodation was perfect and we enjoyed Leo's every night!"

Giving new meaning to getting to the chapel on time, Kim and his mates led by Guides Aum and Woody cycled 800 km with plenty of time for the beach ceremony. "I have to thank SpiceRoads and Aum for showing me the real Thailand that you can only experience by bike," said Kim. "I can't wait for my next tour, hopefully next year or sooner!"

Congratulations to Kim and Kwan! More photos of this special Bangkok to Phuket tour and the wedding can be found here.

Burma, now even better!
Myanmar continues to be a hot destination according to Forbes magazine and a positive outcome of the many changes underfoot is that it is becoming easier for travelers. Long gone are the days of having to convert US$200 to the local currency on arrival – now ATMs are available in major cities. Getting there is also easier with new direct flights to Mandalay from Bangkok via five different airlines. These and other changes in the country have allowed us to improve two of our tours in Burma.
Our seven-day Burma Heritage tour will now start in Mandalay and after riding to and through the hundreds of temples of Bagan will end with a visit to the Shwedagon Paya in Yangon. Starting in Mandalay will save the hassle of making a connection from Yangon and give us more time to explore Mandalay.

We have also made changes to the route of our 14-day Burma Adventure tour which allow us see all the noteworthy highlights. Meeting in Yangon, we begin our tour by flying to Heho and the former hill station of Kalaw. Starting at 1320 m means we have an amazing descent down to the beautiful Inle Lake. After biking and boating we ride a back route up to Pindaya, home to a cave housing thousands of Buddha images before descending to Mandalay. Spending three nights here we have time to visit the famous teak U Bien bridge and nearby monasteries. Our cycling route next takes us up to Mt. Popa before we explore Bagan by bike. The tour ends where we started, in Yangon. There's never been a better time to come and explore fascinating Burma!

100 bikes donated from Bicycle for Kids ride!
What happens when 300 cyclists join in together to ride 50 km and raise funds so kids can have bicycles to get to school in rural Thailand? In this case more than 100 very happy children! Thanks to the initiative of Guide Krit the Bicycle for Kids Suphan Buri ride was a huge success. For the SpiceRoads staff who went on the ride the finish with cheering kids made it all worth it for them. "They waved and cheered us and we could see how happy they were to have a new bicycle to ride back home with," said Adventure Tour Operator Aom. "It was very heart-warming to see that we made a difference in their lives." A special thanks to all the SpiceRoaders who donated funds so that these kids can cycle to school! More photos from the charity ride are on our blog.

Visit SpiceRoads at UK cycle show
We're venturing out of Asia to attend the UK Cycle Show 2013 at the NEC in Birmingham at the end of September. Struan and Patricia will be there and wouldlove to see former and future riders, so please drop by our booth (H58 in the Holiday zone) to say hello and get firsthand information about our 2014 tours. The show runs from September 27-29, but if you can't make it and would like to meet SpiceRoads on another date, please email Patricia to arrange a time.

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The Expeditionist

The Expeditionist
Venturing to the world's special places