On the road with Ie

She made her name back in the 1990s playing alternative rock but today Pranee “Ie” Weranukul is the proud owner of Ivy Production, a company that produces television programmes and organises a range of several events.

She’s also become an avid cyclist and says her love affair with biking started last year after she bought her first mountain bike and then followed up with a road bike.

“Three or four years ago, I realised I needed to make time to exercise. I suffer from seasonal allergies and my joints desperately needed some type of movement, so cycling was definitely the best alternative for me,” Ie says. “And riding a bike is good for the health.”

Ie quickly found out that biking could do more than just improve her mental health: before long, she was also using the rides to meditate.

“I’ve always practised meditation. While I’m moving along, I can feel my breathing. My mind is calm and focused too,” she says.

Today, Ie is one of a group of bikers – another is actor Pollapat “Mike” Welsh – making up “Bike Finder”. The group, who has about 1,000 followers on Facebook, gets together for trips on local roads and for trips in other countries, among them Laos and Myanmar.

Ie and Mike are also the hosts of their own travel programme, “Bike Finder”, which takes viewers to explore several destinations on two wheels.

“Our aim to convey the feeling of friendship. We’ve met a lot of people on the road and had a lot of fun. “But before you set off on a trip, it’s important you know the rules for cycling in other countries and of course, you should always check the condition of our bike. Most importantly, don’t forget your helmet because accidents happen all the time. Our TV programme offers tricks to check the condition of your bike and prepare bikers for the road.”

Ie stresses the importance of choosing the right sort of bike for both rider and trip, recalling the discomfort she felt after riding someone else’s mountain bike on a hill while shooting for the show.

“My arm and back hurt for days after because of the longer frame,” she says. “That’s a symptom of muscle tension.”

Ie has a plan to ride in Beijing, in addition to Vietnam and Japan, and also in Europe.

“Foreign countries have a bicycle lane adjacent to car lanes, not on the footpath or a parking lane beside the footpath like here in Thailand. Cyclists have the same rights as other road users too. The bicycle lane in the foreign countries isn’t only used for bikes but also for skateboards or rollerbladers. Traffic lights have a signal for bicycles in addition to cars and some countries even have bicycle licences.

“I think that all road users should be equal. We all pay income tax, so we should have the same rights to ride a bicycle instead of driving a car. Sadly, that’s not the case here. Drivers give us no rights at all.”

 

         Wheels on the screen

_ Ie is a host of “Don Tri Ka Wee Silp” airing on Thai PBS every Saturday at 9pm.

_ “Bike Finder” airs on Mango TV (GMM Z Channel 104) every Saturday at 9.30am. The programme shows again on Mondays at 8.30am and also on Nation TV (GMM Z Channel 11) at 00.30am.