Mae Sot-North Of The 1175 And The Link Up Completed

[Captain_Slash]

The route 105

Total distance 213 km

Dirt starts today at N17.03661 E098.52653

I reach a village I was at a week ago at N17.10175 E098.51608 and todays plan is to find the two missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that will link a lot of tracks up.
When I was here before I had not much showing on the GPS, today my screen has lots of waypoints to the east, north east, north and west so I will end up somewhere that I have been to before.
Its the north west direction I want to head in to hopefully link up with a track showing on Aukes map that is heading in my direction and where it finishes it says track continues.
At this point I turn off the Garmin/ESRI map as it has nothing to offer and the tracks on Aukes map I know will actually be there

I ride over the river where I stopped before and ride on and the track appears to be going in the right direction

Its a bit dusty and rutted in places but not difficult at the moment

Quite a few water crossings today but nothing troublesome

I do find a few rocky steep sections today that were hard work, the first one before linking up with the track on Aukes map

I am now out in the sun again on a smoother track and the first link has been made, now to try to find the other one

A lot of new territory for me today with fantastic scenery

I stop in Ban Mae La Khi

Riding on out of the village its two water crossings in quick succession

Ban That is the next village along that I stop at

This guy had a few trees that were being tossed down

I reach another unknown village and take a right and here was another difficult section with lots of loose debis and very rocky too.
The fan on the KLX certainly worked overtime going up here

Looking back down at the village and where I will hopefully be riding through later on this afternoon

There was no way I was going to stop on the difficult sections for a photo as traction was difficult enough anyway

Looking ahead and I can see tracks but hopefully there will be one that turns to my right as that is where the missing link is

I pass through a village at N17.21553 E098.44430

Not far through the village there is a turning to my right which I take hoping to strike lucky

After about 3 km I look at my GPS screen and see I am heading pretty much straight towards the waypoint I left three days ago, so far so good

At a fork in the road I first take the left then quickly decide its going in the wrong direction so take the right and this soon reaches a village at N17.21182 E098.48357

I ride on and theres a long steep downhill concrete road covered in loose sandy bulldust which requires both brakes on for the descent, virtually at the bottom the front brake just gives up the ghost, the lever comes back to the handlebars and thats it.
Lucky it wasnt at the top, I am hoping its only overheated and a temporary problem otherwise riding back will be a serious problem.
After a while it works again, this happened on my Bm an awful lot and a couple of times on the Phantom but today is the first time its happened on the KLX

I reach another village at N17.19793 E098.48427 and now guess that as I am virtually at my waypoint this was where those kids who walked through the river and past me three days ago had come from

Some more steep downhill but the front brake is back to normal now

Now its about four river crossings to reach my waypoint

I ride through the river to N17.19161 E098.50198 to where I left that waypoint then turn around, ride back through the river on towards home.
The jigsaw has been completed, a lot of my tracks north of the 1175 that I have recorded over the last week have now been joined up with tracks already on Aukes map and now theres a much bigger choice of exit points

Back in the last village

I get back to the large village at the bottom of the steep rocky section then take a right to ride towards the 105

More great scenery, as I left the village there was a track going to my left that possibly rejoined the one I took after about 8 km.
I say this beacose mine didnt look like trucks had used it despite there being some in the village and also it was a poor track whereas the other one looked better

I cheated and took the bridge

Looks like its bath time for the little ones

At N17.23200 E098.34002 the surface is a paved concrete road all the way back to the asphalt

At N17.20863 E098.33054 in a village I stop for peanuts and water as its been a long hot dusty day and I am thirsty, fuel is sold here from a handpump.
Well todays ride couldnt have worked out better, I am a happy contented camper tonight

Beef curry, rice and roti for 75 Baht at the Tea Shop


Get the gdb file from my website www.captainslash.com

 

[Lone Rider]

Congratulations Colin, one part of the puzzle solved - now for the other part of the puzzle which consists of linking the tracks on my map (partly from Google Earth) with Omkoi. I know it is possible as the army guys told me, when I was in Ban Mai south of Omkoi that the track linked with the 105 but up to now no-one I know of has ever done it.

 

[Lone Rider]

Have put your tracks of this trip in the map and asked to have it compiled into a Garmin map. Just got the map back and copied the part between Omkoi and the roads 105 and 1175 This area starts filling up nicely so another area which was an "unknown and un-explored area" has opened up for the riders.

 

[Captain_Slash]

Thats brilliant Auke thanks.

I was thinking a week or so ago that I would have to ride down from Ban Mai to link up the track and then when I saw them on your map I thought great someone has already done it.

Now it looks like a trip along there is required, does Ban Mai have any accommodation do you know?

 

[Lone Rider]

Hi Colin,

AS far as I know there is no accommodation in Ban Mai. Best bet is to base yourself in Tha Song Yang where there are 3 places where you can stay, BP Resort, Wasan GH and Tha Song Yang Hill GH. Tha Song Yang is about 14 km. north from the turnoff where you reached the 105 on your way back from the link-up trip to Mae Sot.

 

[Captain_Slash]

GPX track

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