What a weekend! Definitely not a normal one spent by the pool, markets and restaurants oh no! Instead my weekend was spent cycling 320k to the border of Thailand (Poipet), where I had previously been before but by taxi. So a team of 10 crazy Barangs, one Abc's teacher, a man with a van, a camera man and one extra support man, all set for 3 days of cycling.

The first day began at 3 am, our meeting point being the school, and we were off by 4. Leaping onto out bikes (this was about the only time we did due to our sore bums), still half asleep but off we went. We all looked so professional.....not! It never rains here but it decided to just as we departed. (I think in total it's rained for 10mins since I arrived). So we were wet and dirty (my face was just one brown spot), but not sunburnt and hot! Tammy took the first tumble in the first few kms but hopped back on and we were away again.
Our first stop was around 20kms (we breaked every 20miles or so) I remember feeling very shocked to realise that we had already completed 20kms, the furthest I have probably ever ridden! Tom was doing a great job at making sure people were hydrated and made us all grab a re-fill then Matt suddenly realised that the precious 'Royal D' and bananas were missing-they were still at home! Nearly every break we took we had a little bite to eat, I had my first taste of a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich- i think it's safe to say I'm never going to have one again. We also took time to put our white bums on display and have a standard bush pee! Before reaching Sisophon, our stop point for the day, we approached a rather large incline...We all lost pace but we were rewarded by about 2 minutes of down hill cycling afterwards. And we had made it! The first day was complete! Dan fell over in a puddle of mud which topped the day! Then it was food, beers (only one though as it's not very professional otherwise) and lots and lots of sleep to prepare us for the next day. We had completed 107kms and I couldnt believe it!

With a 5am start the next day we woke up to the dryness of Cambodia- we had dust and wind to contend with this time. With the wind against us, crazy Khmers in the road, pigs on the back of mopeds I think it was safe to say the sights were enough to amuse us. Not to mention mobile DJ Andy with his ipod and speakers. Getting back on the bike was probably the hardest. Aching legs, sore bum and the lack of stength to actually move our feet off the ground! Oh we must have looked like such a strong team! We made it to the border at around 8am, which soon followed a very long breakfast stop and visa run which took longer than expected. We didn't head off until 12 to come back, in the heat, the sun and traffic- I definitely got some good sunglasses tan marks from that day. One man on a moto decided it would be fun to attach himself on my arm for a wee while but with support man Chris close by the novelty soon wore off and I recieved my arm back (pheewwww). We all thought that we would get a tail wind on the way home in the sun... we were so wrong, but stuck together and kept in each others draft. It was on this leg of the trip that we met a crazy Japanese man who was going to cycle the world in three years. He was 6 weeks in but loving it! Bianca and I made up words for 'The ants go marching...' up to 12, which seemed to pass the time and before we knew it we were back to Sisophon.

The last day! We were off at 3:30am, sore and aching but raring to go and we could not wait to get back! During this leg of the cycle Dan nicely collided with a railing on a bridge… which he quickly bounced off of and was soon back on track. We mainly kept in pairs the whole way and we all took turns to take the lead. It was definitely a good method! There was lots of 'debris', 'BUMPS' and 'Jombie' shout outs from the front. This was important as we rode 3 hours in the dark with only dim lights attcached to out bikes. Jombie was the word we used for locals in our path (or local vehicles). It came from the guys who taught in Korea- the kids couldnt say zombie. We created a lovely flying 'V' just as the sun was coming up and some good pics were taken. Not too sure how the traffic avoided us. A perfect picture thanks to Lorenz, the photographer. There was a stop at the last 20km and a really quick stop at 7km to go for a cheeky wee. Then I started to recognise everything and I knew we were close!....We were at the finish line. Turning the corner into school I saw all of the kids faces-holding banners and smiling and waving like mad! We all got off our bikes and were smothered by the kids, teachers and volunteers. Unexpecte tears flooded down my sweaty and dirty face as the kids gave me a banner with my name on plus a few bittle bits of food and lots and lots of hugs and kisses. One of my kids gave me a cute little wooden cat. No words will ever be able to describe this last moment....EVER! 'I know I can…' (the school song) was chanted several times by Tammy and after the tears i couldnt wipe the smile off my face. The smiles, tears, story sharing, chanting and happiness surrounded me; I was part of this team and at that point nothing else mattered but what we had achieved for the kids! We had done it! 320k! To surprise us even more Monica and the volunteers had organised drinks and food for us all on a rug. Vanessa opened the bottle of champagne which was followed by even more hugs and an emotional toast to everyone involved. Yes I may need to have plastic surgury down you know where but no pain no gain as they say and it was worth every minute. By the looks of it I may be stuck with these crazy barangs for the next cycle/ boat ride which will take place.....are they already bringing me back to Cambodia before I've even left? Just an amazing bike ride, with amazing people, so proud of everybody. x