Not Phuket but Kalasin

Phew, what a scorcher! This is definately my kind of biking weather, no matter what I happen to be piloting... puttering along at 65mph on a fully dressed tourer enjoying the countryside, or blasting around on a highly tuned Jap sports bike, skinning me knees through corners and trying to make like all my Isle of Man TT heroes from yesteryear!

However if you're like me you'll need to be wearing jeans, long sleeves (more of them later!) and a full face helmet, coz I burn like buggery in this heat... I dunno, been out here for years now and still look as pale as a 2 week WESTie (Wide Eyed Sex Tourist)!

Mind you, having done all my previous motorcycling in England (with a brief sojourn to Antibes on a CX 500 in '79... now that was an experience!) it is so nice to have year round bike weather as opposed to the UK's good old 6 week summer... "right, that's it, August now so put the wheels away or I'll rain all over you"... never could visit my 'ol Ma in North Wales on the bike coz the minute you get past Shrewsbury on the A5 the bloody heavens opened!! I was always one of those die hard bikers (greaser, my girlfriend used to call me, she being a nice clean freshly shampooed Rockette!) who wore the "uniform"... black leather boots with the 'ol fishermans sock turnover, black leather jeans (or filthy "stand up on their own" Levis), black leather jacket and black Bell Star II lid!! 

Belstaffs? Nah mate, leave 'em for the commuters! You should have seen the state of me little old bod after a one hit blat from Inverness to Hythe in the rain on a GSX 1100E... shrivelled up little prune dyed blue from all that bloody black leather! And now here I am, all those years later enjoying me second childhood swanning around on a 16 year old H-D Electra Glide... I'm sure that for a while I was the only Harley rider in Thailand who always just wore shorts until I realised that all the others wore jeans not for the "cool" look but to stop burning the hell out of their legs on all that exposed and very hot chrome and steel!!

I must apologise here to readers who were waiting for my Phuket road report... I didn't make the trip! A fair number of factors ganged up on me and at the end of the day I had to put it off.  However, a few friends who did make it reported a great event with some smashing rides, parties and new friendships being made, so well worth the trip, and I'm glad to say that nothing came of the terrorist threats speculated upon in the western press.

I know of a group from Pattaya who decided to travel in the opposite direction and ended up at the Kalasin Bike Show... not a large event by any means but it's yet another bike event that can be put in the diary... hopefully one day the information for all bike shows and events in Thailand will be available in one major magazine... remember Bike, with Ogri and Malcolm slogging the length and breadth of the UK from the BMF Rally to the Kent Custom Bike Show to the Magna Carta Rally to the Manx TT? You could plan your whole summer's riding and eventing through just one publication. What, start something yourself Martin? Now there's an idea.... anyone else out there interested?

The Sri Racha based club I ride with is gaining in popularity... welcome new member Ray from the USA. We also have a number of folks interested in coming to the next meeting with a view to joining us. Membership is gained by being sponsored by an existing club member, riding a touring machine (sorry, rice burners not eligable!) of not less than 600cc, having attended 3 club meetings, riding on 3 official club runs and probably most important, being compatible with other club members.

Our next club meeting will be at the Easyriders Bar on Pattaya 2nd road (100m past Big C on the right hand side, parking up the top of the slope just past the bar) on Wednesday 5th May. Turn up about 19.30, meet the gang, have a few beers and then enjoy the house band from 21.00 onwards. Main topic on the agenda will be our proposed May weekend away to Koh Chang, hopefully taking place from May 21st - 23rd, so if you are interested come along, make yourself known and see if we are the type of bike club you are looking for. Any further club details can be had from Rod "Yogi" Skinner.

Talking of the club, our "2004 Clothing Range" is now available.... gents black t-shirt featuring a late 1980's H-D Springer Softail entwined with the Naga river serpent from our club insignia; ladies vest, halter or v-necked t-shirt with the same design encircled by a ring of roses and last but by no means least a super long sleeved riding shirt in black with red sleeves festooned with our club lofo on front, full length Naga serpent down both sleeves and map of Thailand on back picked out with various destinations our club has been to or is planning to visit. Details on availability and prices from myself, Martin Smith e-mail me here.

That's it, hope you enjoyed the read, see you around town or at our club meeting, and just in case I ever offend anyone with anything I write, the views I express are mine alone and not those of the club I ride with.

PS. Isn't it so good, at last, to see Thai motorcyclist's using daytime headlights? Let's just hope for some more road craft to evolve over the next couple of decades!!