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The Thammasat University libraries offer many books on cycling, to commemorate this year’s International Bangkok Bike Fest.

From April 30 to May 3, the Festival will celebrate cycling in the Kingdom. Such titles as The Complete Book of Bicycling; Cycle Racing: Riding to Win; Cycling Japan: a Personal Guide to Exploring Japan by Bicycle; and Cycling For Women: Savvy Advice From the Sport’s Leading Women Writers contain useful tips for the amateur cyclist on recreational biking or racing.  The TU Libraries also own some serious academic studies, such as the European Commission’s Cycling: the Way Ahead for Towns and Cities; Thai Rider Behavior Toward Increasing of Cycling Society in the Bangkok Area; and Use of Media for Public Relations of an Annual International Cycling Race, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup, Tour of Thailand 2010 of the Thai Cycling Association.

Varied enjoyments.

Just as it is possible to go biking as a form of relaxation or try a more challenging approach with racing, so it is possible to read about cycling for fun or to provoke new ideas. The International Bangkok Bike Fest at Impact Muang Thong Thani, Nonthaburi, is an occasion for intense shopping, but also for thinking about the present and future of biking in the Kingdom as an alterative to costly, polluting cars and motorcycles. According to Bike Fest statistics, the Thai bicycle industry has a growth rate of 10 percent. In the past five years, bicycle imports increased by between 20 and 30 percent. Favored consumer items are the more expensive mountain bikes, road bikes, and collector items. City bikes and road bikes have become fashionable, and more distributors are answering consumer demand. The point of such commercial fairs is to encourage Thailand to become a hub in the ASEAN market for bicycles.

Competing with China.

Naturally, China remains the longtime leader in Asia, manufacturing around 66 millions bicycles per year. In 2012, Taiwan exported 4.33 million bicycles worth USD 1.8 billion. Even so, the Kingdom has an advantage that bicycle exports in Asia are higher than in Europe or the USA. In the Kingdom, cyclists generate approximately 900 million baht annually in travel revenue. An estimated 20 percent of Thai people use bicycles as a transportation alternative, to exercise or save money on gas. About 1.3 million bicycles were sold last year in Thailand. The total market value is approximately five billion baht, of which four billion is for standard bicycles, and just under one billion baht are spent on luxury items.

Group efforts.

The Thai Cycling Association and the Thailand Cycling Club promote the sport. In a country where youngsters are increasingly sedentary, playing computer games and chatting online with friends instead of enjoying physical activity, this is a good thing. In 2013, the Public Health Ministry of Thailand approved the National Health Assembly’s resolution on Systems and Structure for Promotion of Walking and Cycling in Daily Life. Tourism by bicycle is another aspect to be further investigated. As of now, many small companies promote cycling tours. These are particularly popular with young farang  with lots of energy but small budgets seeking relatively inexpensive ways of appreciating the Kingdom. Last October, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Cycling Association discussed ways to promote bicycle tourism. The goal is to encourage eco- and community-based tourism. Instead of giant tour buses belching out polluted air and causing traffic jams, tourists on bikes might be less smelly and offensive to local residents.

Cyclists beware.

One ongoing concern about marathon cycling tours is the unresolved danger of traffic accidents. In February, media headlines around the world reported that Mr. Juan Francisco Guillermo, a Chilean athlete who planned to cycle around the world, covering 250,000km in five years, was killed by a pickup truck on a highway in Nakhon Ratchasima province. This tragedy in the Isan region was as bad publicity for Thai tourism as when murders or other crimes occur on Thai beaches. The Chilean cyclist had been all over the world since 2010 and would have completed his world event this November. According to a police source:

It was an accident caused by the driver’s recklessness. The road was straight and the cyclist was in his own lane.

The Thai government must make extra efforts to convince the world that road safety issues do not prevent the Kingdom from being a center for cycling sports and tourism. This is especially true since in 2013, Mr. Peter Root and Ms. Mary Thompson, a British married couple of cyclists pursuing a comparable round-the-world tour, were likewise killed in Chachoengsao Province. Experienced cyclists and popular bloggers, Mr. Root and Ms. Thompson had been on the road accomplishing their project since 2011, but their experience was no match for 25-year-old Worapong Sangkhawat, a truck driver who killed them in an accident. Hundreds of Thai cyclists expressed their grief at the loss of their fellow athletes, and The Nation published an editorial:

It is tragic indeed that a planned round-the-world cycling odyssey by a British couple ended in their deaths because of the carelessness of an irresponsible driver in Thailand…This is heartbreaking because the tragedy could have been avoided if only Worapong had not been so careless. Worapong was quoted by the police as saying he crashed into the cyclists as he was reaching down to pick up a phone. His reason shows gross irresponsibility and makes no sense – he should have stopped the truck first before trying to retrieve the phone. His reasoning cannot justify the accident. The tragedy has brought the issue of road safety and accidents in Thailand to international attention…The incident has made national headlines not only because the victims were foreigners, but also because it shows how Thai commuters are at high risk on the nation’s roads. The death toll on the roads here over long weekends and during holiday periods is telling – and just as tragic. Several hundred people are killed or injured during Songkran and other holidays every year in spite of the annual campaigns for safety. Some motorists are simply not qualified to drive. Some are under the influence of alcohol. Truck drivers regularly go without adequate sleep because they must complete numerous round trips per day, so they resort to stimulants to stay awake, further hampering their driving skills. The penalties for drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs must be increased and enforced without hesitation. The issuance of driving licences should be stricter to ensure the recipients are qualified to get behind the wheel. Truck and bus drivers should undergo more stringent practical tests, as well as an additional one to ensure they are mature enough to be responsible for the lives of passengers. Most importantly, motorists need to be made aware of the consequences of careless behaviour on the lives of others. Road accidents have become one of the top three public-health problems in Thailand. Several thousand people die and many more are injured on our roads every year. Many of these accidents could have been avoided if drivers were more sensible.

Clearly the current state of driver’s education and licensing in the Kingdom needs to be re-examined to prevent such tragedies. For now, it remains deadly dangerous for farang to plan any marathon bike rides in Thailand. Shorter, more limited and supervised rides can be safe, as well as highly organized races. Among these, the most prestigious is certainly Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhon’s Cup Tour of Thailand, popularly known as the the Tour of Thailand. An annual professional road bicycle racing stage race, part of the UCI Asia Tour, it has crowned winners from China, Iran, the UK, the United States, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan in recent years.

(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)