About six (or was it nine?) months ago I was participating in the monthly Critical Mass bicycle rides here in Krungthep, held the final Friday night of each month. Based on their counterparts in San Francisco and dozens of other cities worldwide, CM is about creating a space where bicyclists can safely ride the roads, demonstrating the significance of our numbers to the drivers of motorized vehicles, and calling attention to the importance of including bicycles in the overall scheme of transportation.
As rainy season arrived, attendance at CM diminished, particularly after one Friday night where the two or three dozen of us ended up riding down Sathorn Road in a heavy rain. We were soaked by that point and seeking shelter was pointless, so we kept riding until we reached the river.
Perusing the Thai-language web board at Thailand Cycling Club’s website, I discovered that CM was once again happening. In addition to the Friday night downtown ride there is now a weekend daytime ride on the second Saturday of the month, held up at Railroad Park near Chatuchak Weekend Market. A Thai friend, Poom, confirmed that CM was drawing a good number of people, so Stuart and I decided to join.
After setting out from home at 5:30 and stopping by the ProBike store next to Lumpini Park to buy some new headlights (so much brighter than the old ones!), we arrived at the new Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, located right across from MBK and Siam Discovery Centre malls on what has to be one of the most valuable properties in the city.
About sixty cyclists joined and we set off in a reasonably cool and breezy evening, riding up Phahonyotin Road then turning eastbound onto Lad Prao Road. After about 15 km the group stopped at a night market to eat. By this point we were pretty far north of home so Stuart and I decided to continue without the group and return to our neighborhood before eating.
Sure enough, after a 40 km circuit which retraced a good part of the previous Sunday’s homeward-bound path, we had worked up a hearty appetite, which was satiated at Great American Rib Company on Sukhumvit 36. Nothing like some mango margaritas and pulled pork shoulder to add back on those calories that were burned off on the ride!
christao408 
great exercise.
I read your title as resume (as in CV). I couldn’t figure out what you meant until I saw the blog. I guess I have something else on my mind.
Mango margaritas? Now that sounds interesting!
Should I admit that we actually had not one, but two PITCHERS of mango margaritas? Good stuff!
@sgtowns – No, probably best not to mention that part…
@Dezinerdreams – Not only interesting, but tasty and refreshing, too.
@ElusiveWords – That would have been résumés, right? =) Out of curiosity, why do you have that on your mind?
@stevew918 – Yes, it is quite a good workout. Calories burned + calories consumed + pollution inhaled = net loss of health!
Oh – just trying to keep it updated.
mango margarita!!!pulled pork shoulders!!!no pics of food!!!:D
Bicyclists are snobs They think they own the road
Every single road here has a bike path on the right and we have a river bike path really close to our home that goes down to the beach. However, motorists are frequently quite rude to bicyclists here.
I too thought you were going to talk about CVs. I have made mango margaritas at home. My children liked it. Regardless of what you eat Chris, your exercises will give you a great heart !! More power to you.
Hrm… I think I’ve seen some sort of documentary or tv show about Critical Mass before. I want to say they showed Portland, Oregon in the show. It’s a cool idea. It seems that especially here in the US, so many cities are not biker or pedestrian friendly.
@ElusiveWords – Always a good idea. Certainly hope you have no immediate need for it, though.
@yang1815 – Yeah, the lighting at the restaurant wasn’t conducive to pictures. Sorry.
@Wangium – There are definitely some cyclists who are like that. But when compared to the much larger number of car/bus/truck drivers who act very dangerously on the road, threatening pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers, I think the much greater problems lies with their perceived “ownership” of the road.
@socaltransplant – The irony I’ve found is areas such as the suburbs that have the wider streets and plenty of room for everyone, tend to be the ones with the most agressive and dangerous drivers. I recall one Sunday morning in the suburbs of Kansas City, I was riding along a 4-lane road, way over in the bicycle land. A guy in an SUV came up and purposefully passed within about a foot of me, honking his horn. There was no other traffic anywhere near us.
@ZSA_MD – Yeah, but if I ate a little less, my heart would probably be stronger still. =)
@TheCheshireGrins – Portland has some very good bicycling facilities but also a lot of car driver – bicyclist conflict. We have to find a way to make the roads safe for everyone. Something that a lot of people don’t consider is that in this time of energy / climate awareness, bicycling and walking are very eco-friendly activities. We should encourage it, not discourage it.
@Wangium – Wait a minute! Weren’t you out cycling the other day?
@christao408 – hahahaha….
Haha~I bet there’s no way you guys could do this during the busy rush hours traffic!
Go you and working out those muscular thighs! :o) Hehe. We need a sexy leg shot here. :o) (Kidding Tawn, don’t hate me!)
When in Rome, do as Just kidding…I was probably perceived that way, but in reality, I was struggling to keep on a straight line to be able to pay attention to anything else…but I got cursed and yelled at by so many cyclist on the golden gate bridge though
@ElusiveWords – is that a funny haha laugh or a sad laugh?
@curry69curry – It was during rush hour! =)
@kenpcho – Oh, I don’t think you want that, Ken.
@Wangium – So you’re suffering from cycling inferiority complex? =)
@christao408 – Well, I know I am inferior, but I just think the cyclists are so mean
@Wangium – I was laughing at Chris’ comment and his sudden realization that you were cycling recently. I just read your other comment and realized you didn’t exactly had fun.