Phnom Penh – April 4th, 2017
Apr 7th, 2017 by rallyadmin
It’s another day in paradise. Actually, cool with a high overcast. It’s supposed to be hot and dry. This is cool and humid. And that means rain in the afternoon.
As we get moving, late as usual, we start having the usual starter problems. That splits the group into at least 2 groups. We’re in the lead group and continue up the road.
The route today is to Phnom Penh. The distance from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh is just too long to ride in one day, especially with a couple of novice riders. Add in some bike breakdowns and stopping in Kampot is a smart move. Now all we have to do is make it to Phnom Penh.
Everything goes pretty much as expected: the lead group is moving with only minor problems. The back group is very late getting out of town. Mostly bike starter problems with one more bike having exhaust issues. A normal day in paradise.
It’s the middle of the afternoon and the sky has been getting darker and darker. It looks like we’re heading right into the heart of the rain. In a matter of minutes, the storm is upon us and we’re running back up the road trying to find some cover, eventually stopping under the shed roof of a vegetable stand. Any port in a storm.
About 15 minutes later the rain slows and we head back on our way. The sky has brightened up and the rain mostly stopped. Maybe 10 kms up the road, the rain has completely stopped and the road is drying quickly. Take off the rain gear and get moving. We’re going to almost make Phnom Penh before it gets dark if we are lucky.
We’re not lucky. We make it to a junction in the highway and make our turn when the rain starts again. This time with almost no warning. A couple of big drops, then the deluge. We find cover in a small cafe under some trees. A good place to take a break.
We get our rain gear our again, and when the rain lightens up we start moving gain. We have a long way to go and it’s just about dark when we start moving again. This going to be just lovely, thank you. Riding in that dark in the rain. What more could you ask for? And what could possibly go wrong?
Well, what could go wrong is that you could hit a patch of opil on the road and crash hard before you even realize that anything is wrong. The rain had stopped and the road had dried out. We had taken our rain gear off again and started moving quickly again. The traffic was pretty dense but not really too bad. It was just nice to have a rain-free, dry road to ride on.
I came up on a very slow, small truck and, as I passed him, I turned back in the traffic lane and the bike just suddenly came out from under me. It looks like I hit a patch of oil or diesel fuel in the middle of the lane. I ended up on the pavement sliding along on my left arm, my left shoulder and my helmet.
Luckily, Pinky was behind me and saw me go down. He immediately stopped in the middle of the traffic lane and blocked the traffic until I could get up and get my bike to the side of the road. I ended up with a serious case of road ash, a very scratched helmet visor and a very sore chest where my shoulder tried to enter my chest cavity.
The road rash was actually more like a burrn that you would get on a hardwood floor and, though a bit messy, it didn’t look like the road had gotten to my skin. The shoulder problem was a bit more serious but a quick exam didn’t show any breaks nor separations. Some road rash and a bit of soreness. Dodged a bullet here.
Back on the bike to finish the ride to the Hotel Zing, our destination for the night. The sore shoulder/chest didn’t interfere with riding so we just slowed down a bit and at about 9PM made it to the hotel. The rest of the group slowly drifting in over the next hour to the Hotel Zing or another hotel.
Looking back on the crash, it was obvious that there was something on the road. My bike has good treaded tires and when I tried to get the bike up to move it off the road, I could barely stand up. Pinky had a similar problem just trying to hold up his now stationary road-block bike. One more for the “stuff happens” list. You can’t do these trips and not have something happen. As things go, this is close to a non-event.
Some of the group meets up in another hotel that the rest of the group has found. The Hotel Zing didn’t have the rooms that Clemo had previously reserved for us. Sensitive subject, don’t ask. They all get together for a night of war stories and beer. I’ve had enough for today and pass on the offer to join them. I’m exhausted and I’m falling asleep which I’m changing channels on the telly.
Gulp a couple of Aleve and call it a day. What a day! Tomorrow and a long run to Siem Reap (maybe.) Of course, weather and breakdowns are going to have an big influence. We’ll see.
Obi-wan
One Response to “Phnom Penh – April 4th, 2017”
Oh how i got laughed at wearing leathers last year…… 😉
Was it not just sand? In Kaz we were stuck (in 09) couldn’t hardly walk in the damp sand, was like ice.