It was on a rainy day in June 2016 that I decided to sign up for Tour of Friendship, known as ToF-R1 that was scheduled to start on 28 March, 2017. I even booked my flights 9 months in advance. Also, about 10 of my teammates had already signed up and booked their tickets as well. ToF-R1 is a 5 day, 500+ KM stage race in Thailand, during what can be described as the hottest period of the year. This was little too intimidating for me.