Arriving in Sri Sawat

After a good night sleep and our usual breakfast consisting of mango, banana and sticky rice with soy milk, we were ready to hit the road. The first 10 km was a nice, flat road, riding through shady big trees, something you wouldn't normally see down here and with the fresh morning air, it almost seemed like being back home. We had no clue what was ahead of us that day. From looking at google map, it  seemed like we had to cross a few mountain parts to get up to the dam, but after some days with mostly flat land, we were both exited to do some pushing again..And so we did! First uphill started straight after the turn of to Sri Sawat.

Great start of the day, riding on a shady road.

Seven kilometers going up, but we were both feeling good and energetic and for once, it was a doable uphill (not like those typical steep once they like to build down here) and we reached the top pretty fast. We enjoyed the downhill with a beautifully view of the valleys and mountains surrounding us and the place really gave me the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere. After some rolling kilometers we reached the first "village", if you can call the five houses with a small shop in the middle for a village, and sat down to have a small break and a refreshing drink. Bet they don't see many farang around here, especially not on bicycles, cause there was some serious starring competition going on. We finished our drink and went back on the road.

A few land slide along the deserted road.

Firs stretch of the climb was pretty easy, only 8% steepness...

...Then continuing, still 8%...

...And finally an earned 8% downhill...

...After some kilometers we realised:
the sign where either part of a very well planned engineering job...
or maybe just a bit random

We knew that we had one more uphill to do but had no clue how long or steep it would be, on the other hand, we had already encountered some pretty pretty nasty uphills in these four months, so how bad could it be?? Well i guess there can always be another "hardest one so far" as long as you are on the road and this one turned out to be that one. By far the hardest on this trip, at least for me. It was getting close to 11 when we started going up, luckily most parts of the road was shady and the beginning was quit enjoyable. The road was in a good condition and all surrounded by nature and no cars,people or houses, we felt like being all alone in the world -was a nice feeling, just us and the mountain. That feeling stayed for some kilometers, but after five or so i started to be tired and the uphill didn't seem to end anytime soon, on the other hand, it can be hard to tell when the road twists and turns around the mountain and makes you think: "around the next corner must be the top", but no, far from, it just kept on going up and up and then a bit more up..The road got more steep the further up we got and the heat had really kicked in, no need to say, i was struggling! How long could this stupid uphill continue for??

Ten kilometres up hill riding
through jungle and mountains,
great!!!

Ten kilometers to be exact, fucking hell, what an uphill! Towards the end I was so smashed, totally wrecked, every part of me was in pain and for a few steep parts Miki had to help me push the bike, felt like i had no energy left in my body. I had my first breakdown (and the only one) on this trip, in the middle of nowhere on the way up the never ending road..Finally, after hours and what felt like days, we reached the top and was granted with an amazing view of the valley and the dam and the best part: a 12 km downhill!!

On the top of the hill a small shrine... 

...Did we make it or died trying???

 Never felt that a downhill was so well-earned! Once down in the valley, we rolled along for some kilometers before we found a spot to cook our lunch, once again, way past lunch time. I started feeling pretty bad, headache and pain in my whole body, guess i was just totally smashed after a very demanding day on the bike and with another twenty kilometres to go before hitting Sri Sawat, i caught a lift with a pickup truck, while Mikele did the stretch by bike. Sri Sawat was a very weird town, just government buildings, a hospital, two restaurants and a police station, really much not alive compared to all the villages we passed earlier in the day but it had to do for the night.
By 18.45 the tent was up at the local police station and after eating, we went straight to bed, both exhausted, it was 20.30! What a day!

The last twenty kilometres to town a constant, tiring up and down.

Floating accommodation at the dam

Stine, the last person left on earth, what is she gonna eat??!!

And the sun goes finally down.