7/4/25
We didn’t get up early but we still woke up early. Frustrating. We had a hot drink before Jonathan ran back to the bike shop to purchase the parts. Two chains, two cassettes, bike lube and a set of brake pads. It cost $158 total. Johnny kept taking a couple of dollars off of each items list price. Not sure how that works. He was paid with two $100 bills and 32000 Riel, then he gave a $50 bill in change. Fun times.
Johnny was happy to share some thoughts about Cambodian politics when asked. He didn’t love the government and much like the UK and Thailand it wasn’t young people that favoured the monarchy. He didn’t think much of the authenticity of the voting process either. He said everything in a slightly hushed tone. Perhaps his fears are justified.
Frankie spent the time updating polarsteps. It’s surprising how long it takes to keep on top of social media. Maybe influencers are working really hard. When Jonathan got back we went to breakfast. It was included. A cup of coffee with choice of homemade cashew or coconut milk. Salad or sourdough each. Fruit salad or juice each. And a choice of main. We had the full vegan and french toast made with cashew milk. The latter included a caramelised banana and maple syrup. It was absolutely amazing to have such delicious food freshly made. We’d been relishing staying somewhere so vegan friendly for a long time.
After our extended morning rest it was time to get to work. The receptionist suggested we could use the hose pipe and take the bikes down the alley to the side of the hotel. We started by washing down the bikes. We hadn’t given the bikes an actual pampering since we’d left. Daft perhaps, but we’d always had mostly dry weather. Apart from that muddy road in Italy. We shuddered just thinking about that.
We cracked open the ‘power links’ that secured the chains and dumped them in a pile. The rear axle was undone and the cassettes removed. The green Surly has a steel anti-bite plate and so came off nice and easily. The black Surly’s required some cajoling, the chewed up alloy spindles stopping it coming free easily. The locknuts came off nicely though – over tightening them is a rookie error we’d not made twice. 40Nm is less than you think with a wrench.
The black Surly had fresh rear brake pads. Jonathan hasn’t had a rear brake since Turkey. The front brake has far greater stopping force anyhow. It was all straightforward enough but there was a lot of cleaning involved. Putting the cassettes back on required finesse. The green Surly needed to be tight against the bite plate to avoid the dreaded creaking returning. The black needed the cassette to be wiggled around to get it past the knobbly spindle.
We put the new chain on the black first. They were HG701’s. Eleven speed ‘hyperglide’ chains that were e-bike compatible and also ‘linkglide’ nine and ten speed. Really confusing terminology. Supposedly ‘linkglide’ is a new technology and is mainly applicable to the shifters, derailleur and cassette so they should work fine. The lack of standards for bike parts is infuriating capitalist crap at its worst. We had to remove two links from the chains as they started out at 116.
Just before we put the chain on the green we realised we should probably take off the jockey wheels. Hair has a habit of wrapping itself round the little blighters. Then we had to go back and do the same for the black too. Much easier without the chain already on. We were done. It only took 3 hours or so. Our plans to visit the museum were out. Probably for the best. First day should always be a proper rest day. Not that we’d managed that even. Still the bikes looked dappa again. Shiny and new.
We relished the thorough shower that followed. Little specks of grease were embedded in the soles of our feet and had to scrubbed off. Not long after we went out to get food. Street Three supposedly had a good vegan menu. We didn’t find out. It had shut. Half an hour early too. Annoying. So we went to Hey Bong instead. It was fully vegan and a little expensive but only by South East Asian standards.
We ordered an ambok burger. Ambok is a traditional food, flattened rice. We think we’ve seen it drying in villages, on sheets of plastic, on our travels. It’s a more valuable ingredient. We also had teriyaki tofu and normal brown rice. An attempt to be healthy but it was also delicious. For dessert we had an ambok ball, which contained banana, with kaffir leaf ice cream. Scrumptious. The bill was $15, credit card accepted without a fee. We’d almost ordered in because you could get a discount. It was a pleasant evening of conversation that was worth a couple of dollars and less plastic.
We strolled back at dusk. The road was heaving with annoying scooters. Cambodian roads don’t encourage intelligent driving. There’s a severe lack of road markings. It’s quite intriguing how important they are to improving driving standards. When we got back we took a dip in the pool. Mosquitos swarming around our heads. We were alone for a while, sloshing around.
Surly They Won't Make It 