After 8 months of no-excuse laziness, I got out my 21-speed mountain bike for some early morning exercise with a ride around a small lake near the house – Bueng Nong Khot.

I headed out the door at 0555 after pumping some air into my tires and dusting off my seat ready for a spin around Bueng Nong Khot.  Need to get out the water hose and give my bike a cleaning later.

21-Speed Mountain Bike

The weather was absolutely beautiful with no wind, and fairly cool.  The sun was just about to rise and I wanted to get some shots of sunrise over Bueng Nong Khot.

It was nice to see that the dirt road that goes part way around Bueng Nong Khot was packed hard and there were no indications of the heavy rains we had for about 3 months.  The Bueng was flat and there were only a couple people out jogging or riding their bicycle.

There were some new things to see are Bueng Nong Khot – after all – I hadn’t been out this way for about 8 months.  New sidewalk and a new 24-hour fitness center at about the 1/2 point in my bike ride.

You can see behind the fitness equipment there are a bunch of construction vehicles.  I have no idea what they are building but am guessing that the sidewalk will continue around the back side of the lake.

I didn’t see any of the “regulars” that I used to encounter before my extreme bout of laziness took over, but I did see some familiar activities – recycling and fishing.

I always see plenty of billboards advertising stores, concerts, houses, whatever.  In many cases, it is how I find out what is going on in Khon Kaen.  If I can’t read the Thai language, I just take a picture and ask my wife when I get home.

The area where the blank billboard is located is normally full of advertisements but I guess that the new sidewalk and fitness area construction has put a halt to it.  And, the house prices here in Khon Kaen continue to rise.  That is the starting price in one community – 6.57 million baht.

Also, good to see are the morning vendors near our house.  The amount of vendors is about 50% that of 8 months ago with some shophouses being built.

Once I get back to where the vendors are, I am just about home.  I pass the last of the shophouses on the left and make a right turn on the dirt soi to the house.  Thanks to the local Tesabaan we have a bit more dirt and mostly smoothed out.  I guess the city got some flood money and have a few extra baht for dirt.

All in all, a very pleasant 35-minute ride around Bueng Nong Khot.

Bike Ride Around Bueng Nong Khot 22 November 2011 is a post from: Khon Kaen

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If I was still working (and fortunately I am not – I am retired in Khon Kaen Thailand), I would have called in sick today.

I don’t know what hit me, but it started last night at home in Khon Kaen.

I normally hit the sack at our house in Khon Kaen at about 2200 and I am up and at ‘em at around 0500.  A check of email, and then out the door at 0600 for my morning bicycle ride.  But last night was different.

At around 2000, I started feeling sleepy and 1/2 hour later I was in the shower for my pre-sleep wash-up.

Nothing really unusual just off to bed about an hour early.

But, the following morning I didn’t wake up until 0630, way past normal.  I just wrote it off to I am getting old and getting tired. Must be all the hard word of being retired in Khon Kaen.

I fed the dogs at 0700, had some cornflakes with banana topping, and at 0900 I was ready to hit the rack again.

I felt nauseous, slight fever, with back pain, and an upset stomach.  Not sure if I had some bad pork for dinner or if I was coming down with a cold.

Homer Sleeping In Khon Kaen

I slept another 3 1/2 hours getting up at 1230 and upsetting my wife that I didn’t want to eat lunch.  I just felt “bleah”.

Then, it hit me again.  at 1500, I was back in the bed for another 2 hours while my wife went to the dentist to get her braces removed (Yay).

I am feeling better, the semi-fever is going away and the body aches are minimal.  I sure hope that this is a 24=hour thing and it ends soon.  I hate being sick – especially when retired in Khon Kaen.

I started gettting sleeping

Khon Kaen Sleepy Day is a post from: Khon Kaen

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I was going to post this yesterday but got involved giving a buddy’s website a makeover.  Isaan-Live is once again live with a fresh new look. A couple of days ago I posted about all the trash in the water at Beung Nong Khot and in the park after the Loy Krathong festivities.  Well, the following day, the park and the water were looking very much cleaner.

Beung Nong Khot Sunrise

Most of the trash in the park had been policed up – thank goodness. No more a sea of plastic bags.

Beung Nong Khot Park

Kudos to whomever cleaned the place up.

Loy Kratong – After the Aftermath is a post from: Khon Kaen

I got a new toy in the mail today that a buddy of mine picked up for me off of eBay. It is an AT19 camera that is tiny and waterproof.

Waterproof Sports Cam

I wanted something that I could slap on my bicycle helmet and shoot video hands free.  This will do the job as it came with all kinds of straps and velcro to stick it to anything.

Helmet Cam

It also comes with an attachment that fits on the handlebars of my bike and I will test that out tomorrow and see how it works.

Handlebar Attachment for Cam

What I like about the camera is that I can charge it with the charger straight to the wall socket or via a USB connection.  And it came with a 2 Gb memory card with an adapter for my card reader – or – I can just use the USB cable to download videos.

It comes  with DIN cables to connect straight to the TV and also some silicon grease to help keep it water tight.  Software drivers were included but I didn’t need them.

Helmet Cam Accessories

The only thing that I don’t like is that it is so teeny-tiny that it is difficult to operate with big hands.  It may be that it was the first time I tested it out that I had a bit of difficulty.  We shall see tomorrow.

Helmet Cam Dimensions

Photos stolen from the eBay listing – Not a bad deal for $55 with free shipping and the 2Gb card.  I just had to pay some additional shipping to Thailand – originally sent to my buddy for free in Hawaii and then he re-shipped it to me for $11.80.

I love having new toys to play with.

Waterproof Action Camera is a post from: Khon Kaen

Had an enjoyable bicycle ride this morning.  Out the door at 0600 and headed for Khon Kaen University. Right inside the gate on Mailiwan road is a good size pond.  I decided to ride the dirt trail and see how far I could go.  The dirt didn’t last long before it turned into an asphalt road but it was so nice and peaceful I just had to stop and shoot a few pictures.  I will have to venture further down the asphalt to see what I can see.

Khon Kaen University Pond Pier

Khon Kaen University Pond

Khon Kaen University Pond 10-11-2010 is a post from: Khon Kaen