The Wobbling Sprocket

Charles has been to Spain, Croatia and Laos and now he has signed on for Cambodia.   I know that he also has an eye on Sikkim and Corsica…..and he just told me that he’d like to do them all.    Why not?  It’s pretty unlikely that one regrets taking the time to bike in some exotic destination.    I would say it is about as likely as someone wishing they had spent more time behind a desk.  Of course, I might be a little biased on that subject.

Anyway, Charles is a great addition to the group.  He gets it done…hills or not…. and he has a wry sense of humor…which will put him in competition with Frank.

Charles will be doing his training in West Virginia and riding there will make Cambodia seem like it is  flatter than a nightman’s  hat (for you Graeme).

Great to have you on board, Charles.  I am sure there are a few dusty roads in WV, you might train on those. 

Charles is in. I think West Virginia in background...but not sure.

Charles in Croatia. That is Motovun in background.

This will be Brian’s first tour with us.

Brian resides in Florida, which actually might be a good place to do some training for Cambodia.

I’m not really sure how Brian found Far and Away Cycling.  Usually, there are only two routes….either an internet search for a particular destination or a referral of some kind.  It’s our first tour in Cambodia, so no one specifically suggested “the F&A Cambodia tour”.  That indicates a level of risk taking.  We like that.  We don’t really do any advertising.

I just realized that we are going to have 2 Brian’s on this tour.  That immediately opens the door for some naming creativity…or confusion…or both.  In Lao, we might fix that by appending a “noy” on the end of a name….as in “Bob-noy”.  That would be “little Bob” or “Bob Junior”.  I don’t think we can do that in Cambodia.  We are going to have to work on this.

Here is Brian C., not to be confused with Brian T.

Today is the last day for the $100 “early bird discount” on Cambodia.

Great to have Brian on board for this, our initial adventure in Cambodia.

Frank has been to Corsica, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain and Lao.  And now, he is headed to Cambodia.

I think the knowledge that one can dine on deep fried tarantulas at Romdeng in Phnom Penh is what put Frank over the top.  Tarantula dining is optional, of course, but if you are curious how to eat them,  here is a guide:

http://www.worldhum.com/features/how-to/how-to-eat-fried-tarantulas-in-cambodia-20091201/

Anyway, Frank is a real trooper.  I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but the first thing Frank did, on his initial tour in Corsica several years back, was take a trip over his handlebars while checking out his rental bike.  I immediately concluded he was on a “learning trajectory”.

That was a memorable trip for other reasons as well.  We were visited by 70 mph winds which caused us to abandon the biking entirely one afternoon for the relative safety of the train.  Remember that, Frank?   I found several members of the group taking shelter from the wind behind boulders on the side of the mountain.

Since then, Frank has become a true biker.    I guess if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.

I’ll stop with the memories.    Frank,  I am looking forward to it.  It’s a very good sign that you have signed on for the maiden tour in Cambodia.

Frank, in Spain

Frank, in Sagone, Corsica