Thursday morning I left Chiang Mai with 16 of the Awesome Chiang Mai Raw Vegan Fruity Hippies for an 80 km bike ride to the Muang On Cave and nearby San Kamphaeng Hot Springs. Another 20 or so Hippies were going to travel to the sites by Songtao. I had rented a mountain bike on Wednesday especially for this ride which, although a lot heavier than my road bike at home, was comfortable and performed quite well. Traveling through Chiang Mai with such a large group of cyclists at rush hour was a little challenging, but once we got out of the city limits, the faster riders were able to crank up the tempo. I was traveling with a group of 5 at the head of the group, but we quickly lost the rest of the group about 15 kms into the ride. We shoulda taken that left turn in Albuquerque.

Two more from the lead group fell to the wayside a couple of kms later, so I was left to continue on with Eric from Michigan and Stefan from Germany. At about the 35 km mark, the road became increasingly undulating and I found myself sucking breath more and more often. My quads were burning as the climbs became longer and steeper until, thankfully, we arrived at the trail leading to the Muang On cave. Then, much to my dismay, I realized the trail went on for at least 500 meters at about a 30% grade. I'm a terrible hill climber, so I let my companions pedal up the hill while I wussed out and walked my bike up.

So, when I finally get to the top, catch my breath and suck back the water from a young coconut, I see the staircase leading up to the cave entrance. Yup, another 180 stairs before I enter the cave. By the way, whoda thunk a cave entrance would be at the top of a mountain?

Once inside, there's a very steep staircase going down (130 steps, but who's counting?). The ceiling of the stairwell is also very low in two spots and one has to squirrel through the opening to make it through. I only once made light contact with the ceiling, hard enough to make a bump, but no blood was drawn.

Once inside, all the effort was made worthwhile. The cave is immense with stalactites everywhere and one gigantic stalagmite in the middle. A 30 foot tall Buddha is perched on an outcropping of rock overseeing the vastness of this natural wonder. Unlike other caves I've been in, this one was almost completely dry and quite warm. I spent a good 30 minutes wandering through the cave and admiring the beauty of nature's carvings. In one area there is a huge piece of petrified wood (identified as millennium wood at the site) whose colors were beyond description.

Once I'd had my fill, I climbed back up the 130 steps, making sure to avoid striking my head again on the way out. By this time the Hippies in the Songtaos had arrived and were off exploring the cave.

My two cycling companions and I set off for the hot springs after an invigorating, but hair raising ride down the 30% grade back to the main road.

Once again, a fairly steep hill had to be conquered before arriving at the springs, but encouraged by the prospect of soaking my already aching muscles in hot, mineral laden water, I made it without too much effort.

The water from the hot springs is pressurized underground, so it comes to the surface at 105 degrees Celsius. Obviously, no one is foolish enough to try soaking in water that hot, but a swimming pool with a waterfall, fed by the hot springs, is available for visitors. Climbing into the pool was exactly what the doctor ordered as my tired muscles immediately relaxed with the heat.

After an hour or so of soaking and socializing, I wanted to visit the hot spring source, but it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. There are a couple of geysers spewing water into the air and, of course, the omnipresent smell of fire and brimstone, but overall I was a little underwhelmed.

Next to the geysers, there were a few stone containment pools, about 4 feet high and filled with water from the source. At the entrance to the park, the vendors sell baskets of eggs for 20 Baht that the locals purchase and hang in the containment pools. In only 3 minutes, their eggs are soft boiled.

After visiting the springs, Eric, Stefan and I decided to start out on the 40 km, mostly downhill ride home that we managed to complete in about 90 minutes.

As I haven't done a lot of cycling this year, I was glad to arrive back in Chang Mai and get out of the saddle.

In the end, it was a really nice day overall.