MastaMax
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2011
- Bikes
- 19 ktm 300tpi 6 days / 15 Yamaha YZ250F / 08 Husky 450SMR / 13 ER6N / 13 KTM 300XCW(sold)
2 days trip from Chiang Mai to Khun Yuam and back on a different route
Riders: Alex USA, Toni and myself
Last week I talked with Phil about going to the Mae Sariang area for 3 days, unluckily Toni couldn't make it on Friday, and our mechanic wanted to come with us and also couldn't make it Friday, so we decided to go only for a 2 days ride Saturday and Sunday.
After 10 changes of plan we agreed on San Kampheang - Lamphang route offroad, but at the last minute there was another change of plan again as our mechanic couldn't come and he was the one knowing the route + having a pickup. So on Friday evening we decided to ride trails in the area we haven't ridden before. Only problem is that we have basically done all the trails around town...
Day 1
So we decided to take the trail we did last rain season west to Wat Chan through the forest (http://rideasia.net/forum/trail-rid...-lum-nam-pai-wildlife-preserve-area-t877.html) then head south on those long dirt roads to Khun Yuam.
First stop: Samoeng. Pretty fresh in the morning riding up there as we left at 7:30.
On the great trail north of Samoeng heading west to Wat Chan Toni had a flat on his back tire. He decided to ride on it until the next small village.
Arriving at the village we asked for a mechanic, they replied there were no shops here, go to Wat Chan. But after they noticed we spoke thai they all started to come out and chat with us, probably the highlight of there weekend (week?). 2 minutes later they brought all the tools they had, pump,... and started to change the tire for us. We couldn't even come close to the bike!
Here a picture of Toni trying to help changing his own tire:
After helping us, they of course refused any money and just replied "we help each other sabai sabai".
Then off to wat chan for fuel and a long trail south to the main road. To our disappointment this trail was mainly very dusty fast truck road. We took a break when joining with the main road and Alex noticed a crack in his sub-frame. He found a welding shop on the way and in 15minutes it was all settled for just more than 100baht.
They did a proper job on the bike, and charged Alex "thai price" with a big smile
Once in Khun Yuam we decided to stay there for the night. Went to "ban farang" where the receptionist asked us 1200 baht for a airco room at first, but ended up 800, then 600 and finally 400 baht for a fan room after some talking.
Tried to find some action at night, but absolutely nothing going on, went for a beer at a hilltribe karaoke with only one (not so fit) girl and loads of old drunk hilltribe men talking a bit too much. At 8:30-9pm we were back at the hotel.
Day 2
During the night there was a lot of wind and it even rained a bit, so when we woke up at 7:30 the air was much clearer than the day before. A great day was ahead of us! After crap breakfast at ban farang we took another trail up north more or less parallel to the one from Saturday, but to our surprise this one was a blast! Double track through the woods with everything you can dream of. We got a bit carried away and my GPS showed a top speed of 109km/h on those pretty tight trails. At some point, Alex being in front and my front brake not working properly (somehow the rotor got bent a while ago and since then it sometimes locks the front wheel) I couldn't brake in time and crashed into him at a decent speed.. But no drama, nothing broken on the bike and not even a bruise.
After connecting back to the MHS-Wat Chan trail we took the small singletrack we discovered with Alex last rainy season and connected to a nice trail along the Pai river almost all the way to Pai.
Once in Pai we splitted as Alex wanted to cruise back on the road, Toni and me were not so keen riding on the road we those f bikes so took a dirt trail to Pa Pae, which happened to be the hardest trail from the trip with loads of boulders everywhere which, after 200km of dirt, starts to be tiring in the arms/legs/back. When we connected to Pa Pae we realized that Alex passed not even 5 minutes before, so this trail is almost as fast as the road.
From Pa Pae we took the last 60km back to Chiang Mai on the road, which we would have loved to avoid as our bikes are not made for long road stretches (especially Toni's motocrosser).
That was it, 520km on my odometer in 2 days.
Riders: Alex USA, Toni and myself
Last week I talked with Phil about going to the Mae Sariang area for 3 days, unluckily Toni couldn't make it on Friday, and our mechanic wanted to come with us and also couldn't make it Friday, so we decided to go only for a 2 days ride Saturday and Sunday.
After 10 changes of plan we agreed on San Kampheang - Lamphang route offroad, but at the last minute there was another change of plan again as our mechanic couldn't come and he was the one knowing the route + having a pickup. So on Friday evening we decided to ride trails in the area we haven't ridden before. Only problem is that we have basically done all the trails around town...
Day 1
So we decided to take the trail we did last rain season west to Wat Chan through the forest (http://rideasia.net/forum/trail-rid...-lum-nam-pai-wildlife-preserve-area-t877.html) then head south on those long dirt roads to Khun Yuam.
First stop: Samoeng. Pretty fresh in the morning riding up there as we left at 7:30.
On the great trail north of Samoeng heading west to Wat Chan Toni had a flat on his back tire. He decided to ride on it until the next small village.
Arriving at the village we asked for a mechanic, they replied there were no shops here, go to Wat Chan. But after they noticed we spoke thai they all started to come out and chat with us, probably the highlight of there weekend (week?). 2 minutes later they brought all the tools they had, pump,... and started to change the tire for us. We couldn't even come close to the bike!
Here a picture of Toni trying to help changing his own tire:
After helping us, they of course refused any money and just replied "we help each other sabai sabai".
Then off to wat chan for fuel and a long trail south to the main road. To our disappointment this trail was mainly very dusty fast truck road. We took a break when joining with the main road and Alex noticed a crack in his sub-frame. He found a welding shop on the way and in 15minutes it was all settled for just more than 100baht.
They did a proper job on the bike, and charged Alex "thai price" with a big smile
Once in Khun Yuam we decided to stay there for the night. Went to "ban farang" where the receptionist asked us 1200 baht for a airco room at first, but ended up 800, then 600 and finally 400 baht for a fan room after some talking.
Tried to find some action at night, but absolutely nothing going on, went for a beer at a hilltribe karaoke with only one (not so fit) girl and loads of old drunk hilltribe men talking a bit too much. At 8:30-9pm we were back at the hotel.
Day 2
During the night there was a lot of wind and it even rained a bit, so when we woke up at 7:30 the air was much clearer than the day before. A great day was ahead of us! After crap breakfast at ban farang we took another trail up north more or less parallel to the one from Saturday, but to our surprise this one was a blast! Double track through the woods with everything you can dream of. We got a bit carried away and my GPS showed a top speed of 109km/h on those pretty tight trails. At some point, Alex being in front and my front brake not working properly (somehow the rotor got bent a while ago and since then it sometimes locks the front wheel) I couldn't brake in time and crashed into him at a decent speed.. But no drama, nothing broken on the bike and not even a bruise.
After connecting back to the MHS-Wat Chan trail we took the small singletrack we discovered with Alex last rainy season and connected to a nice trail along the Pai river almost all the way to Pai.
Once in Pai we splitted as Alex wanted to cruise back on the road, Toni and me were not so keen riding on the road we those f bikes so took a dirt trail to Pa Pae, which happened to be the hardest trail from the trip with loads of boulders everywhere which, after 200km of dirt, starts to be tiring in the arms/legs/back. When we connected to Pa Pae we realized that Alex passed not even 5 minutes before, so this trail is almost as fast as the road.
From Pa Pae we took the last 60km back to Chiang Mai on the road, which we would have loved to avoid as our bikes are not made for long road stretches (especially Toni's motocrosser).
That was it, 520km on my odometer in 2 days.
