The Khlong Cyclist - Recently Updated Pages

Bike Shops in Bangkok

ajduckworth — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:02:05 CST

Probike
Located on the north side of Lumpini Park- stocks Trek, Gary Fisher and other western brands

237/2 Rajdumri Rd., Lumpinee Pathumwan Bangkok Thailand 10330

02.2533384, 02.2541077

World Bike
Main Dealer for Giant
119/10-13 Moo 9 Ramintra Road, 10230 Khannayao, Bangkok p: 662 9464117f: 662 9464117

Bike Zone
Outdoor Unlimited zone on the 2nd floor of Amarin Plaza (the old Sogo next to Erawan), BTS Chidlom (150m)Contact: 02-652-1559
Website: www.bikezone.co.th

TCA Bike
The Thai Cycling Alliance is one of the leader bicycle and parts importers in Thailand. The have also have a shop at their HQ.
3656/35-36, 11th Floor Green Tower Btdg.,
Rama 4 Rd.,Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110,Thailand
Tel: 02 367-3470 (10 Lines), Fax : 02 367-3482, 02 367-3243

Nakornthai Bike
Large selection of Trek bikes- this shop is located near Big C on Ladprao Rd
101/2-101/2 Ladprao Rd, Tel 02-388-1701 02-378-1900 Fax: 02-731-2765
Website not know

Cycle Sport Co. Ltd
Official dealer for Merida - located near Chinatown. There are two shops almost opposite each other on the same street
167 Luang Rd, Vorachack, Pomprab, Bangkok 10100, Bangkok
TEL: 02-621-7223 ~5 02-222-5285 Fax: 02-621-7226

Velo Thailand cycle shop
88 Sam Sen Soi 2 , Sam Sen rd, near Khao Sarn rd. Phranakorn 10200 BKK. Thailand
Tel. 02 629 1745 , 089 201 7782 www.velothailand.com , e-mail:ae@velothailand.com

Velo Thailand is a bicycle specialist shop conveniently located in the central of Bangkok. All types of world class bicycles for sales. Which also rents and repairs bikes and runs cycling tours to many interesting places in and around Bangkok.

LPR Service
LPR can usually be found at bike hashes and adventure races/dashes. They offer cycle repairs and maintenance. They also have a set of mountain bikes for rental. (around 400 baht a day)

30/133 Moo 1, Rama1 Rd, Budhabucha Soi 3,
Jomthong, Bangmod, Bangkok 10150
Tel 02-427-1537,
Mob: 081-815-7948
Email: lpr_service@windowslive.com

For more bike shops see the Tour de Thailand Page

Pakkred Easy 52km Loop

MatthewPearson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:47:41 CDT

This is an easy-peasy 52km ride that can be done in about three hours including a break (there is also a 79km version, and a 90km road bike version, see link below). It's a mix of road riding on quiet country roads, and a small amount of dirt track through some fields (ie, mud track when it's been raining). Hence you probably will be best on a mountain bike with offroad tyres, even though it's pancake-flat here. It's worth stopping at the riverside restaurant at Wat Toey (the starting point) for lunch after the ride, the food there is excellent and reasonably priced.

Here is a Google Earth image of the route -

The Google Map for the 52km loop can be found here.

The Google map for the 79km loop is here

The Google map for the 90km loop suitable for road bikes is here

Directions to the starting point are here.

Here are a couple of pics from this ride -

Khao Yai 85km Loop (all road)

MatthewPearson — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:13:41 CDT

This is a fabulous ride through rolling hills with great scenery. I did this on a road bike at an event organised by Specialized, although there were plenty of mountain bikes too. If you're using a mountain bike, I'd suggest road tyres, the hills are enough of a challenge without the extra friction of offroad tyres. We went clockwise from the starting point and stopped at a good restaurant for lunch after about 65 km - it's marked on the map. The start/end point is a restaurant that has public showers so you can bring a towel and a change of clothes and get cleaned up before a post ride beer or two. Thanks to Specialized for organising this great day out (and allowing non-Specialized bikes to participate), and special thanks to K Thana, K Eak and K Kake for inviting me along.

Here is a Google Earth image of the route -

The Google Map can be found here.

Here are a couple of pics from this ride (not very good ones, I took them at the end of the day and the light was fading - the scenery was a lot better than this) -

The Khlong Cyclist Home

ajduckworth — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:09:57 CDT

Anyone who has visited Bangkok may shudder at the idea of riding a bicycle there, and indeed the roads do present formidable obstacles and dangers for cyclists. However, it is possible to discover another side to the city by careful use of khlong (canal) paths, quiet Sois (side roads) and routes across unbuilt areas of the city. Once you are outside the outer ring road the roads become much quieter.

Here are some links to a Google Maps site showing possible cycle routes. As I live in the east of Bangkok the routes are biased towards that part of the city. Routes are suitable for city or mountain bikes not racing bikes as wherever possible off road routes are chosen. Routes include Khlong paths. These are concrete paths that run alonside and above the canals. Usually they are only 1.5 metres wide, so concentration is required. Sometimes you may need to carry you bike over pedestrian bridges. I'm working on making all the routes circular, but for the moment the most of the maps just show linear sections, so you may need to use other roads if you want to avoid retracing your steps.

Adding to this site
This site is a wiki site, so if you want to add your own comments, cycle maps, pictures, video etc just sign up and you can add content yourself. If you want to add maps there are two at least two ways of doing this. Using Google Maps or using MapMyRide. An example of the latter a circular road route around LadPrao created by Peter Friar. The other routes below were created using Google Maps.

Links to Rides
For a full list of rides use the Navigation Box in the top left. For an overview of selected rides see below.

Overview Map
For links to Google map for each route go to the click on the route links above the descriptions below. The main route shown is the 80km/50 mile Mega Loop

Selected Routes
(Click on the Links to see the Google map for each route)

Rama 9 Circuit
The possibilities for road cyclists are limited if you are looking for quiet stretches of road near central Bangkok. If you really want to put on the pace try out the road circuit in western Bangkok. On a Sunday there are usually other road cyclists doing this route, which includes a section of uncompleted virtually deserted road with two flyovers.
The route is square shaped and follows Rom Klao Rd from Lad Krabang, right onto Soi Phattana Chonabot 3 and then back via Rama 9. See link for map. The map includes a link under the Eastern Outer ring road via khlong paths from the eastern section of route shown one "Cycle routes in the Bangkapi area". (map revised Jan 09)

Phra Padaeng
If you want to ride at a sedate pace in greenery, this is possibly your best bet. Sometimes described as The Green lung of Bangkok" this is a pennisular on the west side of the Chao Praya river that has escaped large scale development. On Google Earth it's the big green blob in a sea of grey. Attractions include a tranquil park with kayaking and a Sunday tourist market popular with many Thais.

Saen Saep Canal in Bangkapi (pictured top right)
The Bangkok Metroplitan Authority has been building paths on either side of the Saen Saep canal between Ramkhamhaeng Soi 29 and the centre of Bangkapi. At the time of writing (February 2009) it was possible to cycle between Ramkhamhaeng Soi 29 and Wat Sri Bunruang on Ramkhamhaeng Soi 107.

Cycle routes in Bangkapi area
There are two routes shown on this map with a link between them. The northern route takes in the lakes in Buengkum district and Seri Thai, The southern route stretches from the Saen Saep canal in Ramkhamhaeng, out via the large open area of southern Bangkapi to the eastern outer ring road. The best link between the two sections is Ramkhamhaeng Soi 118.

Seri Thai and Bungkum Lakes
A series of linear lakes alongside Seri Thai Road (pictured top left)

50 mile Mega Loop
This route takes in the south of Bangkapi district and stretches as far east as Nong Chok District.

City Link Rail Route
A route following the new BTS line to the airport.

Ram Indra via Bangkhen to Khlong Samwa

(Dry season only )This route links the north end of the Ram Indra cycle path to the outer ring road and beyond. I cycled this a some time ago but unfortunately construction work has resulted in the removal of a key bridge on the route . Am planning to revise this with a more northerly east west route along northern edge of Bangkhen district to Wat Praya Suren via woodland north of Safari World to Khlong Kao road in Nong Chok district.

Cycling Groups and Cycling Routes

ajduckworth — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:57:38 CDT

Jakkayarn Facebook Page
You'll need to sign up to Facebook for this site. There's an active discussion board plus lots of links and photos. As of July 2008 there were over 300 members.

Facebook Group :Road riding in Thailand
Group for roadies and triathletes in Thailand.

Facebook Group: Mahidol University Cyling Club
Monday Thursday at 4 PM rides

Putthamonthon Sai 4

Bangkok Bike Hash Meets once a month, usually on the the last weekend of the month. Follow the trail of shredded paper but beware of false trails. A good start for biking if you don't want anything too competitive. After the event beers follow. They also have a Facebook Group

Tri-Nerds- Bangkok Triathlon Club. Their Events page is kept well updated and includes Bike Hash and Adventure Races

Adventure Racing - Includes Adventure Dash (cycling and running) and the Adventure Races(cycling, running, kayaking and swimming): River Kwai Trophy (Feb/March each year), Yara Bangkok Challenge November and the Chiangmai Challenge in May

Viking Wheelers
A group of Scandinavians road riders organise rides in the Bangkachao area of Phrapadeang most weekends and also run bi-monthly trips outside Bangkok.

Thai Cycling
Updated regularly in Thai, but the English sections tend to be less so. In fact the last time I looked the English link to the English sections was no longer there. There is a Bangkok group, who organise monthly Sunday rides. More recently they have organised Critical Mass rides in Bangkok, once a month on a Friday evening. Email tcc_thaicycling@hotmail.com
Next meetings 7. 14. 21 September

Thai MTB
Although the site is in Thai, there is a discussion board in English.

Thailand Trails
This blog lists some places outside Bangkok which are fun to ride. Noteably there is the

Tam Pratoon Enduro Trail near Chonburi and Suan Wang Gaew, Klaeng, Rayong

Bangkok.com
Includes an interesting section on cycling in Bangkok traffic.

Velo Thailand
Cycling Blog by Paul Hastings- road routes around Bangkok/Nakorn Nayok , north east of Bangkok

GPS routes
Paul also has a longish list of GPS mapped road routes on Motional Based Paul

Phra Phadaeng

ajduckworth — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:35:49 CDT

Phra Pradaeng/ Bangkachao
If you want to ride at a sedate pace in greenery, this is possibly your best bet. Phra Pradaeng is the pennisula formed by the Chao Phraya south of Silom road. There are quiet roads but also a huge network of khlong paths, which wind around suburban gardens, plantations and palm trees. I found this great page illustrating the route on Ajarn Forum Bangkachao Also see the article on Travelfish .There is also a lovely quiet park called Si Nakhon Khuean Khen, where you can rent bikes and kayaks. For lunch, why not head down to the floating market at the Honey Temple - Wat Ban Nam Phueng. The Viking Wheelers organise cycling trips to Bangkachao most weekends. Follow the link to their site which has more pictures, maps and contacts. Bangkachao Bike Tours also run trips for 1000 baht which includes bike rental and a trip in a long tail boat.

Click Here for map l

Getting there -There are a few possibilities:

From Wat Khlong Toey you can get a small boat across the river to Kam Nam Khaw pier. Some of the boats are only big enough for a couple of cyclists and and their bikes. As you get off there is a place renting bicyles. There are no signs just a set of old bikes under a house. Ask at the shop and they will point you towards it. If you return via this pier don't be surprised if the ferry goes upriver for one or two stops to pick up passengers before crossing back to Wat Khlong Toey.

From Bang Na pier -There is a larger passenger ferry which crosses the river at the end of Sanpawut Road and goes to Wat Bang Nam Peung Nok in Phra Pradaeng. This ferry also takes motorbikes. It operates from 5 am till 8pm daily.

Alternatively you can drive to Bang Yo at the southern end of the peninsula via the expressway and access from there.

Bangkok (Pakkred) - Ayutthaya 72km

MatthewPearson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:22:57 CDT

This is a really great ride that can be done in about four hours. It's pretty much all sealed road. The ride leaves from Pakkred to avoid Bangkok roads. There and back in a day is doable, especially on a road bike, but we stayed a night at Tony's Place in Ayutthaya (marked on the Google Map), where they have rooms from 300 Baht and up. Thanks to Chris for the invitation, and Nichada Jacks for showing the way!

Here is a Google Earth image of the route -

The Google Map can be found here.

Here are a couple of pics from this ride -

Kanchanaburi 80km Loop

MatthewPearson — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:24:58 CDT

This is a solid ride that can be done in about five hours including breaks. It's mostly on sealed roads although there is a small amount of dirt road (the best part of the ride). Another highlight is the straight downhill where we reached 57km/h. You probably will be best on a mountain bike with either road tyres or low profile offroad tyres (no need for heavy duty offroad tyres). Thanks to Terry for taking me around this ride.

Here is a Google Earth image of the route -

The Google Map can be found here.

Here are a couple of pics from this ride -

Saen Saep Canal

ajduckworth — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:06:02 CDT

Saen Saep Canal in Bangkapi
The Bangkok Metroplitan Authority has been building paths on either side of the Saen Saep canal between Ramkhamhaeng Soi 29 and the centre of Bangkapi. At the time of writing (February 2009) it was possible to cycle between Ramkhamhaeng Soi 29 and Wat Sri Bunruang on Ramkhamhaeng Soi 107.

Here is the route as of April 2009. Mostly the path runs on both sides of the canal.The path terminates at the eastern end at the same place where the Saen Saep canal ferry boats terminate. At the western end there is a short cut between Ramkhamhaeng Sois 21 and 39. It would be nice if the route were extended but sadly it looks like the work is about to be completed.

Rama9 Road Cycling Circuit

ajduckworth — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:59:50 CDT

This section of road used by many road cyclists, includes an unused expressway section with two overpasses.

Seri Thai and Bungkum Lakes

ajduckworth — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:42:19 CDT

The western sections of the route are shown here and on Google Maps. I have since discovered a route between Seri Thai Soi 83 and 93 which follows the lakes to the north of Seri Thai road. So it is possible to ride most of the way between Bangkapi and western Minburi off road. The nicest part of the route is Bungkum Water Park, a nicely landscaped park between Seri Thai Sois 43 and 57. It features some of the best public toilets in the city!

Bungkum Lake

Seri Thai Lakes Google Map

Mega Circuit- 80 kilometer loop

ajduckworth — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:39:24 CDT

Google Map of Loop This 50 mile loop takes in parts of Nong Chok district in the East and Bangkapi in the west. There is a large proportion of the route either off road or on khlong paths. The western section makes use of the cycle path alongside the Chalong Rat expressway.A small section in Sam Wat Tawan Tok (east of Wat Praya Suren) makes use of narrow track between two paddy fields, however you could cut this section out by using a more northerly or southerly route. The busiest sections are in Tha Raeng and around Hua Mak.
Interesting places on route include Buddhist Retreat in Bang Khen, Wat Praya Suren, "the wasteland" in Bangkapi district, Huamark Sports stadium and Saen Sap Canal in Ramkhamhaeng. The restaurant at the resort in Ruean Phae resort in Nong Chok (Soi Mit Maitri 28) is used as the start of the Yara Bangkok Challenge Adventure Race.

Eastern Ring road. Believe me this is easier than crossing the road!. This footpath had recently been demolished in conjuction with road works. Hopefully it will soon be restored.	Ruan Pae Resort , Nimit Mai Soi 28- a great place for lunch. This is also the venue for the Yara Adventure Race.
Wooded area north of Safari World	Wat Phraya Suren
Across the paddy fields near Wat Phraya Suren	Ruam Phae Resort, Soi Mit Maitri 28, Nong Chok District

Nimit Mai 36 offer a quiet route East West in Khlong Samwa District

Pradit Manutham Cycleway

ajduckworth — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:19:26 CST

Page under construction - I seem to have misplaced my photos, this one is the bridge over Ladprao road. The yellow rail is for bicycles.

Link to Google Map

Bangkapi East

ajduckworth — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:02:44 CST



This is an undeveloped area in east Bangkok. Roads are in disrepair with many potholes, the area is roamed by goats and buffaloes. The open area extends over about 5km by 1 km. There are many shallow lakes which attract fishermen and picnicking families. Great fun for off roading- especially in the wet. You will likely see the local model airplane club testing out their kit here. Towards the eastern ring road is a large lake used by model power boat enthusiasts. Parts of the area strewn with litter and you will likely see some locals out burning [iles of plastic. Welcome to the third world.

Start here if coming from the centre of town. This is SriNakharin Rd just north of the junction with Krungthep Kritha road and Rankhamhaeng Soi 24. The sign reads Soi To Lim. Take this soi and follow signs to Bangkapi Youth centre passing over Hua Mak Noi Canal. From there follow track alongside the Youth centre (not the one towards the school on your right) heading east.
The Bridge over Khlong Hua Mak Noi
	Follow the track ahead for just over 1 km The road then swing round to right. Follow road bridges over a series of three canals. After another 1km look out for large school on your right, On reaching the first of two cross roads go straight ahead. At the second turn left and coninue back west for about 250 meters. The you will see the wooden bridge (view on left) Cross the bridge and immediately on your right follow the narrow khlong path for 50 meters until you see a small pedestrian gate in the wall beside a klong side shop. This gate gives access to Ramkhamhaeng Soi 118, a quiet series of roads leading north.
	Some of the bridges along the route.

Heading East to Rama9 circuit


Alternatively, you can head out to the Rama 9 circuit. Ignore the school and keep heading east over another road bridge. Your aim is to get onto the klong path at the very end, as this offers a route under the Eastern Ring road beside Wat Lat Bua. Link to Rama9 circuit

Map of the route from Google Maps (click here to go to map on Google Maps)

City Link Rail route- Khlong Tan to Lad Krabang

ajduckworth — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:09:29 CST

The construction of the BTS skytrain link to Suwanapoon airport, opened up a new possibility for cyclists. The route extends from Khlong Tan station and follows the route of the new overhead skytrain. It is a mixture of closed roads, gravel construction road and narrow trails. It runs along side the existing eastern rail line. Not the most scenic of routes, however it offers a quick way out of the city to link with khlong paths in the east. In the rainy season the paths become extremely muddy but from December to June the route is a fast off road route with only three roads to cross over the entire approximate 16 km length. East of Lad Krabang station access becomes difficult, however there are klong paths heading north and also you can go via Wat Sung Karacha to the KingKeo canal which skirts the western edge of the airport.