Thai/Laos Adventure Rally

[Mark Rossi]

I am looking to get some feedback on this idea/initiative I am trying to work on with FIM Asia.
The Idea is to run a 8-10 day adventure rally/tour starting in Thailand, riding into Laos and finishing in Thailand
I am hoping a Japanese company called Ortev will become involved, they are a major sponsor of many unique extreme adventure events through Asia. In the past Ortev have sponsored the Maxxis Asia Open Enduro, which attracted many international riders in 2006.
The base idea is open for discussion and feed back that's what we are looking for. I feel we could run the event finishing each days leg by the banks of a boat accessible river. This way we could reduce the support need for the drivers and riders by using boats to carry luggage and spares.
Now I have a lot of other thoughts but I would like to here your ideas first.
Things like should 4x4's also be involved?
Should it be a race or a more relaxed time trial? or should their be a class for each?
where should we start and finish?
amount of days? keep in mind international competitors
Time of year? again inter competitors need at least 2 week vacation to attend.
Should gps's be allowed?
The questions go on and on and on but I am sure you get the idea.
regards Mark

 

[MastaMax]

That would be very awesome Marc, would definitely take days off work to participate.
As a competition it would attract more people I reckon.
I have absolutely no experience neither in rallies nor riding in Laos except having watched all the big enduro rallies (romaniacs, roof of Africa...).What I noted is that they always have a GPS. If one can get a dirt bike here, why not a GPS?
Keep working on it, it would be really great!

 

[Lone Rider]

Difficult to say what would be a best/feasible option. In case you want to limit the use of support vehicles and instead use boats as much as possible, you probably would be limited to the Mekong and the Nam Ou in Laos while in Thailand the options are probably even smaller but much depends on the timing (enough water in the rivers and more or less regular boat services). With regard to timing, I guess the best time would be a month or two after the rainy season so that potential river crossings would be feasible without to many problems.

GPS Yes/No. Guess yes and in particular in Laos if you would include remote areas like the Nam Pouy Protected Area and others with very few people around to ask for directions and many small trails/tracks branching off from the main track.

Start/Finish. Probably best would be an easily accessible place preferably with an airport (Chiangmai, Chiangrai, Nan in Thailand and Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Pakxe and possibly Phonsavan in Laos). However, for the routing, etc. you would need to take into account medical facilities as well. Things probably would be easier in the start and finish would be in different places but the selection of Start/Finish in caseit would be a loop might limit the options. Another issue to consider is organization. Having start/finish close to the location of the organizing committee would make things more manageable and easier to keep tab on things.

With regard to to the other issues like race or a more relaxed time trial and/or a class for each I will leave that to the experts as I have no experience with that. Personally I would not make it a race but keep things relaxed considering that for a race you would have to involve a lot of the officialdom while for a relaxed trip things probably would be more easy to organize.

 

[Mark Rossi]

Some good thoughts. Would the Nam Tha be able to handle boats in December do you know Auke.
I now December suits Europeans, what time is best for Americans?
As I get all the info and a basic structure I can forward it to FIM and they will make a decision if it is feasible.
I think if they where to accept the proposal, by using boats or a boat in the first years of infants
it is cost effective, family and friends can join and travel, broken bikes are easily recovered and it is quiet unique and special.
Here is just a example of accessible place by boat,
On the Nam Kong you could go as far North as Xiang Kok and as south as Vientiane.
Stop overs could be Xieng Kok, Houei Xai, Pak Beng, Luang Praubang, Pak Lai.
The Nam Ou Luang Praubang to Pongsali in the north.
Stop overs, Nong Kiew, Muang Kua and Pongsali.
The Nam Tha in question from Pak Tha N/E to Luan Nam Tha
What about the Nam Khan? Maybe not a stop over could it be used for a mid day service point?

Now in noting all that, I would say the best method for logistics is to stay on the Mekong and maybe up the Nam Ou to Nong Kiew. You could run 1 or 2 day loops from the same centralised service point, then move up or down river to the next service point running a stage to the port you transferred to. This reduces effort and cost and makes travelling for friend and family easy and enjoyable it then would be every 2 or 3 days picking up moving on the boat.
You still need some rescue vehicles to follow the event but the cost is massively reduced that each competitor or team needs a service team and it is a holiday friendly for friends and family. This also makes medical care and accommodation easier. Also this creates a spectacle for promotion for Laos tourism, great photographs and makes for great promo.
Any thoughts?

 

[Lone Rider]

Would the Nam Tha be able to handle boats in December do you know Auke.

Here is just a example of accessible place by boat,
On the Nam Kong you could go as far North as Xiang Kok and as south as Vientiane.
Stop overs could be Xieng Kok, Houei Xai, Pak Beng, Luang Praubang, Pak Lai.
The Nam Ou Luang Praubang to Pongsali in the north.
Stop overs, Nong Kiew, Muang Kua and Pongsali.
The Nam Tha in question from Pak Tha N/E to Luan Nam Tha
What about the Nam Khan? Maybe not a stop over could it be used for a mid day service point?
Any thoughts?

Nam Tha should be doable but halfway between Pak Tha and Luang Nam Tha the Chinese are building a big dam at a pretty remote spot and you would have to transfer everything from one side of the dam to the other side so I am not sure if this would be feasible.

Nam Khan - there are organized boat trips from Phonsavan to Luang Prabang with people getting on the boat somewhere near Sophout (expensive ferry as you found out with Luke but they do have a small ferry available to get cars over the river). Bikes can do the trip between Luang Prabang and Phonsavan via Phonxai (doable in 1 day).

 

[KTMphil]

Just got back and had time to read this - an ingenious idea, which if promoted correctly will spark huge amounts of interest without a doubt

These are just my opinions and that only:



Things like should 4x4's also be involved?
A decision would have to be made weather its a "carry your own gear" event. Problem comes then that maybe more affluent competitors have spare bikes ready in pick-ups, then the level playing field disappears.


Should it be a race or a more relaxed time trial? or should their be a class for each?
Different classes would make sense as there would be a huge variation in skills, maybe even different courses


where should we start and finish?
Could easily be a loop in Laos


amount of days? keep in mind international competitors
5 days?


Time of year? again inter competitors need at least 2 week vacation to attend.
Start say 27th December, that way competitors would have xmas at home and then after xmas is usually an easy time to get holiday


Should gps's be allowed?
Yes - would be crazy having people lost in Laos, where none of the competitors would speak the language

 

[Belker74]

Damn Mark, you beat me here. I was thinking the same thing for years.

Oh, you know me. We met at your track half december I guess. I was there on a Mr Mechanics KXF.
You've got a great idea, these are mine:

Should 4X4 be allowed/involved?
As some form of assistance, yes, where possible, you guys know the roads better than I do. In competition, preferably not.

A race or a relaxed time trial?
I would make it a relaxed time trial, with a touch of competition, different classes, maybe optional easier (paved) connections for lesser gods. No big prices, all for fun.

Start and finish?
Hey, this is your area, but I've read some nice ideas here. Let the race follow the Nam Kong, and have friends and families cruising along. Maybe with a few hubs from where you couold make a few loops (any possibilities in Pak Beng?)

Amount of days?
Depends on where you're taking us. If it's a rally for fun I'd say 5 up to 10 days.

Time of year?
Xmas period is usually fine. Most enduro lovers will try to suit there holidays anyways. Besides, end of the year the roads are accessible for the most riders.

Should GPS's be allowed?
No, they should be obliged. Most of us don't speak Thai or Lao, so...


Other remarks,
just watch and learn from the great rallys, Paris-Dakar for one. It all depends on what your goal is, but I wouldn't make the stages too long (stages in Dakar go up to 800km a day). How do the locals, and the local authorities feel about such an activity? Can you pass safely through or by villages? I recall kids in north Africa making it a game to cross the road as close as possible before a racer.

Anyways, if you ever get this going, count me in.

 

[NomadCraig]

Some great ideas here , it certainly would attract many riders from all countries .. me included ...

Maybe for consideration is a short 10/20 km " heart starter " special stage at the start of each day , with the guys that want to have a go leaving first so individual riders can opt for a timed stage in his/her nominated class or a full day liason enjoyable ride, close for the locals to have a look and experiance fast riders in their element , also close enough for medical treatment for the riders who have unplanned adventures

A great idea Mark for the event and also about running 2 days from one location and using the rivers for location changes

 

[Harrythefinn]

A very good idea. How about a "Over 50's vetrans class" also ? A lot of us oldies will still have a go at it as long as the fun factor is not forgotten. I personally prefer the "carry all your own shit" style of off road rallies. It reduces the overall cost, reduces logistics, increases the personal preparation. Maybe the style where you get a GPS track for each day or several days at a time.(or a paper map/route/rally book). Possible for team entries, say 4 bikes where all have to finish to score.

One thing I know it will take a lot of effort to get it rolling, so everyone has to be behind it 100%.