Longboarder completes 90 km ride from Chiang Mai to Sri Lanna National Park

By Citylife | Tue 19 May 2026

We recently received the following message from Matt Cordey, a longboarder who completed a long-distance endurance ride from Chiang Mai city to the entrance of Sri Lanna We recently received the following message from Matt Cordey, a longboarder who completed a long-distance endurance ride from Chiang Mai city to the entrance of Sri Lanna National Park. We thought it worth sharing as he wrote it.

A few days ago, I completed my long-distance longboard ride from Chiang Mai to the entrance of Sri Lanna National Park, covering approximately 90 km in 6 hours entirely by longboard.

I started at 5am with a headlamp to take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures. The conditions were very “Thai tropical”: warm air, humidity, a bit of rain along the way, and strong sun toward the end. By the time I arrived, I was completely soaked — so being able to take a shower in the national park parking lot honestly felt like a luxury spa experience.

For this challenge, I used a specialised long-distance longboard setup designed specifically for endurance riding: a very low deck to reduce fatigue while pushing, large wheels for speed and comfort over long distances, and narrow trucks to improve efficiency and stability. It may still look like a skateboard to most people, but the setup is really built more like an ultra-distance human-powered vehicle.

See his VDO at

https://youtube.com/shorts/KZKJ-xG0byU?si=U6wi_csJ3H_J3PRd

The route followed roads heading north from Chiang Mai toward the Mae Ngad / Sri Lanna area, with beautiful scenery and surprisingly excellent riding conditions. Thailand honestly has some of the best asphalt I’ve experienced for long-distance longboarding. The roads are generally wide enough, the pavement quality is fantastic, and drivers were respectful throughout the journey.

One of the nicest parts of the ride was the human side. I met many people along the road — adults, children, cyclists — all smiling, waving, shouting “hello!”, or simply looking amused at the idea of someone crossing the countryside on a skateboard. Thailand truly feels like a country of outdoor people and athletes.

I also crossed paths with an impressive amount of wildlife: countless insects on the road, worms, centipedes, frogs, beautiful birds, buffalo, and of course many enthusiastic local dogs who generously barked encouragement for almost the entire ride.

Beyond the sporting challenge, the goal of the project is to promote simple, human-powered mobility and show that alternative ways of travelling are possible. Longboarding may look unusual, but at its core it is simply another way of moving through landscapes slowly, actively, and sustainably.

I also believe Thailand has huge potential to further develop outdoor and sustainable tourism connected to cycling, skating, running, and other healthy forms of mobility. The infrastructure and climate already offer incredible possibilities.

For fun, here are a few numbers from the challenge:

90 km completed in 6 hours = average speed of 15 km/h.

Which means theoretically:

∙ Crossing Thailand from North to South (approximately 1,650 km from Mae Sai to the Malaysian border) would take around 18 days of riding.

∙ Travelling from Switzerland to Thailand entirely overland by longboard (roughly 13,000 km via Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India and Southeast Asia) would take approximately 145 days — about 4.5 months.

When you break it down like that… it suddenly feels strangely possible.

Matt Cordey can be followed on Instagram at @matthieucordey.