Captain_Slash
Community Manager
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2011
- Bikes
- BMW 310GS Honda Wave 125 Honda MSX 125
The Route 108
Total Distance 121 km
I ride east out of town to the Mae Ho checkpoint then take a right to explore some roads south of here, about 3 km along this concrete road and its looking decidedly hazy
But in the other direction it was a good view
I take a left off the concrete road at N18.05.210 E098.02.393 onto a dirt track and todays ride is now all on dirt until I return to the 108, apart from the odd bit of concrete here and there
Approaching Mae Chang
My spicy breakfasts at the Muslim restaurant each morning come at a price and a hong nam was urgently required
That saved my bacon, although I dont think that phrase would probably be used by the people who cooked my breakfast
I thought Mae Chang would be a one way trip but the road goes through and loops back to the track I turned off of
Back on the main track for a short time then its another left to ride to Dong Ku
Todays ride is so much more enjoyable than yesterdays was, its a mainly dirt track with much better scenery and more villages out in the arse end of nowhere that dont get to see many western visitors
I reach Dong Ku
The teacher who is from Mae Hong Son comes out and chats with me, his English is very good.
He explains that all of the villagers and his pupils love the KLX and I find it gets a lot of attention today
I ride past the village for about 1 km for a look but I was told it goes nowhere
Looking back at Dong Ku
I ride back the way I rode in and theres a newish dirt track to my left which I take and its a short cut to Dong Luang
I see a lot of this taking place in various villages today
This lady sells fuel in bottles at N18.03.508 E098.03.382
Even the youngster is helping by winding a ball for them
I ride on past the village for about 1 km then theres another small village here
There are roads going on out the other side so I follow one of them.
Its looking murky ahead and I am pondering which track to try out
This guy follows me from the village and says they are all dead ends
I heed his advice and zooming in on whats ahead I think even the GPS might struggle to get reception through that
Time to ride back to the main track
I ride through Huai Pla Kang and at the t junction take the left for Pha Daeng
Ally asked me yesterday how the tyres were wearing on the KLX, this is the front after 21,000 km, as is usual with some dual purpose tyres they wear unevenly but I reckon on easily reaching 24,00 km with it then changing the pair together, the rear was replaced at 12,000 km
This road must have been recently widened or something as its a loose tricky surface for pretty much the entire length
I didnt expect to see a waterfall along here
Plenty of burning has been and still is taking place
Just enough to get the tyres wet
Theres a turn to the left with a few houses here
I finally reach Pha Daeng which was a longer ride in both distance and time then I expected it to be
Theres probably more pigs here then anything else
Pha Daeng is a very small village indeed and I probably photographed most of its population, theres no fuel here but I am told there is some on the way back
Its a very smoky view from here
A few homes in a turning on the way back
Finally I locate fuel, bikes cannot be rode to this small village, you park them on the road and access is by a steep narrow track
I follow my guides through here
This lady sells it in bottles from her house at N18.02.261 E098.01.584
Now to walk back and find my bike
A bit further along there is a turn to my left which I ride up, it turns to a narrow single track for a very short distance then finishes here
Now its time to ride home
Before reaching the 108 I see a few people out cutting these long bamboos down.
I am back by about 3.30 so a quick visit to the Castrol Bike Point for an oil change and the bikes ready for tomorrows trip
Chicken, fries and onions at Sawaddee for 200 Baht
You can get the gdb file from my website here … http://www.captainslash.com
Total Distance 121 km
I ride east out of town to the Mae Ho checkpoint then take a right to explore some roads south of here, about 3 km along this concrete road and its looking decidedly hazy
But in the other direction it was a good view
I take a left off the concrete road at N18.05.210 E098.02.393 onto a dirt track and todays ride is now all on dirt until I return to the 108, apart from the odd bit of concrete here and there
Approaching Mae Chang
My spicy breakfasts at the Muslim restaurant each morning come at a price and a hong nam was urgently required
That saved my bacon, although I dont think that phrase would probably be used by the people who cooked my breakfast
I thought Mae Chang would be a one way trip but the road goes through and loops back to the track I turned off of
Back on the main track for a short time then its another left to ride to Dong Ku
Todays ride is so much more enjoyable than yesterdays was, its a mainly dirt track with much better scenery and more villages out in the arse end of nowhere that dont get to see many western visitors
I reach Dong Ku
The teacher who is from Mae Hong Son comes out and chats with me, his English is very good.
He explains that all of the villagers and his pupils love the KLX and I find it gets a lot of attention today
I ride past the village for about 1 km for a look but I was told it goes nowhere
Looking back at Dong Ku
I ride back the way I rode in and theres a newish dirt track to my left which I take and its a short cut to Dong Luang
I see a lot of this taking place in various villages today
This lady sells fuel in bottles at N18.03.508 E098.03.382
Even the youngster is helping by winding a ball for them
I ride on past the village for about 1 km then theres another small village here
There are roads going on out the other side so I follow one of them.
Its looking murky ahead and I am pondering which track to try out
This guy follows me from the village and says they are all dead ends
I heed his advice and zooming in on whats ahead I think even the GPS might struggle to get reception through that
Time to ride back to the main track
I ride through Huai Pla Kang and at the t junction take the left for Pha Daeng
Ally asked me yesterday how the tyres were wearing on the KLX, this is the front after 21,000 km, as is usual with some dual purpose tyres they wear unevenly but I reckon on easily reaching 24,00 km with it then changing the pair together, the rear was replaced at 12,000 km
This road must have been recently widened or something as its a loose tricky surface for pretty much the entire length
I didnt expect to see a waterfall along here
Plenty of burning has been and still is taking place
Just enough to get the tyres wet
Theres a turn to the left with a few houses here
I finally reach Pha Daeng which was a longer ride in both distance and time then I expected it to be
Theres probably more pigs here then anything else
Pha Daeng is a very small village indeed and I probably photographed most of its population, theres no fuel here but I am told there is some on the way back
Its a very smoky view from here
A few homes in a turning on the way back
Finally I locate fuel, bikes cannot be rode to this small village, you park them on the road and access is by a steep narrow track
I follow my guides through here
This lady sells it in bottles from her house at N18.02.261 E098.01.584
Now to walk back and find my bike
A bit further along there is a turn to my left which I ride up, it turns to a narrow single track for a very short distance then finishes here
Now its time to ride home
Before reaching the 108 I see a few people out cutting these long bamboos down.
I am back by about 3.30 so a quick visit to the Castrol Bike Point for an oil change and the bikes ready for tomorrows trip
Chicken, fries and onions at Sawaddee for 200 Baht
You can get the gdb file from my website here … http://www.captainslash.com
