Page 27 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL5

On certain Bangkok streets and parks such as Lumphini or Suan Luang Rama IX, it has become commonto see fully equipped cyclists speeding along at peak hours. Drivers may suddenly find themselves surrounded by caravans of bicycles on the road at night. Even Suvarnabhumi Airport has turned part of its land into a cycle circuit that was ranked the world’s best airport bike track by CNN.Cycling in the city has boomed over the past few years, leading to compatibility questions in view of the city’s notoriously heavy car traffic. In late January, a panel discussion, “Bangkok – City of Cycles”, considered such issues at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand. Green explorers, ecologists and bloggers shared their experiences on the problems surrounding urban cycling.Greg Jorgenson, a cycling enthusiast and 14-year resident of Bangkok, began biking eight years ago as a means of exploring the city’s back streets and communities.“There is no better way to go around and explore things behind the scenes,” Mr Jorgenson said.His early bike trips were not always successful, however, and at times he was grateful even to have survived. While it still can’t be said that cycling in the city is safe, Mr Jorgenson thinks it has improved and is not as bad as you might think. “Thai drivers already look out for tuk-tuks, motorcycles and guys walking on a side of the road with their carts, so they are very fluid in their reactions and get used to non- traditional traffic on the road.”Technology has aided the city’s new cycling chapter. Seven years ago Mr Jorgenson would get lost and confused by U-turns and unfamiliar streets. Smartphone GPS applications, however, have made bike exploration safer and more efficient. “It has become much easier to plan a route toCycling has boomed over the past few years, leading to compatibility questions in view of the city’s heavy trafficwhere you are going and record where you have been as you build on it,” he said. “You come back home and upload it to your computer. You have your own portfolio of routes, tracks and destinations where you can check where you have gone.”Individual exploration of the city is not the only new trend. Several travel agents have been providing cycling tours for tourists who prefer something more ecological and intimate than a 32-seat coach tour. Bill Tuffin is one such ecotourism operator. His company, Grasshopper Adventures, is considered one of Asia’s leading bicycle tour companies, offering routes through Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan, Uzbekistan andother countries.As the Bangkok branch manager,Mr Tuffin organizes more personal trips for exploring the city, such as “Where Bangkok Began”, an itinerary around one of the capital’s earliest communities. “It’s a six-hour ride but only about 15 kilometres so it’s not a lot of riding,” he said. “We get into a community and tourists meet people in that community, we have dinner in someone’s home. The founding community includes mostly Chinese-Portuguese, Muslim and Thai, so they can see different religions and ethnic groups.”In terms of popularity, however, the “Bangkok Night Tour” takes almost 60% of cycling customers.Elite+ 25