Hell of a trip: dirt biking from Phnom Penh to Koh Kong
Seven days, eight bikers and some of Cambodia's roughest roads. Mark Peters rides from Phnom Penh to Koh Kong and lives to tell the tale.
Somewhere within the thick fug of red dust, the bike ahead is firing a machine-gun spray of rocks and dirt. Pebbles ricochet off of my protective chest armour with an almighty clatter. I'm moving fast and I can see barely two feet of rust-coloured trail in front of me.
A stone smacks my unprotected knuckles, sending a jolt of white pain through my hand. I kick the bike down a gear and rip open the throttle. Braaaap. The back wheel instantly begins to fishtail as the knobbly rubber carves into the loose dirt, searching for traction.
Emerging from its dust cloud, I edge past the bike in front, relishing a small victory just as my front wheel hits deep soft sand. With no time to react, the bike washes out from under me, planting me face first into the dirt with a winding thump. Spitting out a mouthful of grit I remind myself of our riding mantra, "If you're not falling off, you're not riding fast enough."
It's certainly easier to see the positive side of a crash when all you've suffered are a few minor scrapes and a mildly bruised ego.
It's been three days since our party of eight left Phnom Penh and, since escaping the congested streets of the Cambodian capital, our path has barely graced asphalt. We have travelled through undulating pastures populated with wandering cows and wallowing buffalo, navigated pathways separating barren rice paddies and passed along narrow gravel lanes mere feet from the noses of puppies basking in the sun. Led expertly by enthusiastic local tour guide Paeng, we have snaked our way through the countryside to western Pursat province, roughly following the railway line that travels to the Thai border.
Seven days of intense off-road riding will take us into the rainforest of the Cardamom mountain range as we aim for the small coastal town of Koh Kong, and further to the Chi Phat wildlife commune.