Yesterday I went for my longest bike ride yet. Still only 1hour and 10 minutes but not bad for someone who really hasn't sat on a bike for 45years!! Its true - you don't forget how to ride a bike.

Well back to my bike ride. I was just going to do my normal circuit when I noticed it had been blocked on the other side by people building a pump house. This surprised me as it showed an awareness of health and safety that I didn't think existed in Cambodia. Usually you just carry on around them!

Anyway back to my bike ride. At the end of the first track instead of going over the bridge and just coming back along the canal I turned right. My thinking was that I would either hit Highway 4 or the unmade road that goes under the pylongs. I was hoping for the unmade road as I am not keen on riding the bike on Highway 4 - it would be a bit like going on the M4 and not being sure that all the traffic would be going in the right direction!!

However back to my bike ride - I found the unmade road under the pylongs. Now when I say unmade road I mean mud track or indeed narrow rutted path - at least in parts. It was lovely I went through several very small settlements, past the back of several large factories and had to cross several streams. One such stream only had a narrow bridge made of logs over it - I almost came off!! The real mud came near the end - The entire road - by that time it had widened - was flooded. I knew where I was, by that time I was within 100m of the road I live on. Sadly between me and that road there was what I could only call a lake. I could see around the edge was shallower so off I went, it was tough going but I got through. I was covered in mud, as was the bike but I had got through - only to see a child of about 6 disappearing behind the bushes that grow all along the lake - to appear at the other end - mud free!!!!!