The Auke Koopmans Memorial Ride 2021

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Six weeks to go, tomorrow. We have to leave planning for the event as flexible and open as possible, given the current Covid situation. As of today, we wouldn't be able to run it along the same lines as last year, but we are hopeful that the Covid situation and the associated regulations will have improved by June 18. We have announced the event on a few Facebook pages and will keep all channels informed as things firm up.

Our preference is to run a similar event as last year, with one possible change - making the Elephant Trail ride a bit more involving by including a wet season camping element. Hmm tiger-territory camping. Could be fun. (side issue, apparently the wild tiger population in Thailand has doubled over the last five years). We would do that in our favourite village area... where the coffee is hot and the beer is cold.

Should the virus conspire against us, a local event complying with the law will be held to commemorate our friend.
 
For what its worth Ian I'm for making this one as simple and comfortable and uncomplicated as possibe, then getting involved in a more challenging experience next year.
We don't have to bust our guts to pay our respect to our dear friend Auke.
 
Hopefully I can take part next year. I second Rons proposal about bust our guts for Auke
 
The event has been posted on three Facebook groups. RideAsia.net - Chaing Mai Motorcycle Riders and also on Ulysses Club Thailand.

It is on again. The road option to Mae Hong Son via Pai is a great ride, the off-road option to Mae Hong Son via the Elephant Trail is a challenge that you will remember for the rest of your life. We are planning a second night out in Pai on the way home... again, with the group split between on-road and off-road riders, meeting for merriment in the evening.


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Last year's Auke Koopmans Memorial Ride was a tremendous event, with 9 riders taking the Elephant Trail and 8 bikes on the Mae Hong Son Loop via Pai, meeting in Mae Hong Son in honour of the man known as the GT-Mapper who was also the former owner of Ride Asia.

June 18 is the third anniversary of the passing of this much-loved, well-respected man and we will again be riding the Elephant Trail / MHS Loop roads in memory of him and all he did for the Northern Thailand motorcycling and 4WD community. Further details of sponsorship / support elements will be added in the discussion section.

Truck(s) back-up support is being provided, and the Ulysses Club Thailand medic will be in attendance on the off-road option. Attendance is free of charge but a donation to the Ulysses Club Thailand fundraiser will see 100% of funds raised going to support refugees from the situation in Myanmar.
 
Count me in.
Unless the track is a flowing torrent!

The weather forecast seems to be for higher chance of rain in the coming week, tapering down for the week before the ride. Should be good for the road riders and despite the lack of predicted water, still fun for those on the Elephant Trail
 
Update. Deere got back last night from a recce of some sections of the ride we're doing next week.

He's done the 1095 to MHS, and then the Elephant Trail and Pai diversion section, which was a bit of a mystery as we hadn't done it for a while.

The western section of the Elephant Trail is in similar condition to last year - with some gnarly bits. Definitely suggest you only attempt with offroad capable tyres in case the clay is wet. The ruts aren't too bad. The eastern end is quite a bit better and the Pai offroad section is good.... with a couple of bits that are a bit muddy. This might change if there are any large storms, but it augers well for the ride.

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The details of ride options are -

Road via 1269, 1349, 1265, 1095 (back road to Pai, thence Mae Hong Son)... 298km - and 5 hours in the saddle.

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Deere did it on Thursday via the 107, 1095 direct route (front road to Pai, thence MHS), but leaving at 4:30pm it took just under 5 hours that way, arriving at 9:20pm - albeit with 230 of the 236km of road on the direct route being wet / with rain and him on a bike with knobbies.

The dirt option to MHS is road to Wat Chan - 1349, thence Elephant Trail to MHS. That is all paved bar the Elephant Trail, which is 87km, which is 30% concrete, 70% dirt - about half of which is in top condition, the rest a bit more interesting - but that is subject to change. Total including the Elephant Trail is 220 km and again, about 5 hours saddle time, plus any issues that may occur... hence the early start.

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Day 2 (Saturday)... the road riders do the 105km back to Pai on the 1095, unless they want to split off and complete the loop via the 108.... but they will miss the second night of revelries in Pai if they do. The dirt option is the dodgier half of the Elephant Trail then another mostly good trail to Pai that passes north of Wat Chan. That's 120km and about 4 hours of saddle time.

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Day 3, I suspect most will do the 130km straight down the 1095 / 107 on the front road to Chaing Mai... although we will have to go via Wat Chan to pick up the reserve truck. That's 199 km via 1095, 1265 and 1349 / 1269.
 
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One of the hire CRFs
 
I've started a public Smugmug page for the ride. The photos so far are the route suggestions and the recce photos from Deere's trip last Friday to check conditions. Many more to come. Memorial Ride participants are free to use the images for non-commercial purposes.

 
I was asked if I could post the link for last year's photos. Here it is


.... and here's one of the videoclips from last year. This should in no way be construed as typical of the ride :-) but it was a bit of an introduction to gnarly hills in tropical storm weather. The weather forecast looks much drier this year and the dirt road contingent are more appropriately mounted, methinks.... Several (well, three) of the riders cleared the trail without falling

 
The event has been posted on three Facebook groups. RideAsia.net - Chaing Mai Motorcycle Riders and also on Ulysses Club Thailand.

It is on again. The road option to Mae Hong Son via Pai is a great ride, the off-road option to Mae Hong Son via the Elephant Trail is a challenge that you will remember for the rest of your life. We are planning a second night out in Pai on the way home... again, with the group split between on-road and off-road riders, meeting for merriment in the evening.


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Last year's Auke Koopmans Memorial Ride was a tremendous event, with 9 riders taking the Elephant Trail and 8 bikes on the Mae Hong Son Loop via Pai, meeting in Mae Hong Son in honour of the man known as the GT-Mapper who was also the former owner of Ride Asia.

June 18 is the third anniversary of the passing of this much-loved, well-respected man and we will again be riding the Elephant Trail / MHS Loop roads in memory of him and all he did for the Northern Thailand motorcycling and 4WD community. Further details of sponsorship / support elements will be added in the discussion section.

Truck(s) back-up support is being provided, and the Ulysses Club Thailand medic will be in attendance on the off-road option. Attendance is free of charge but a donation to the Ulysses Club Thailand fundraiser will see 100% of funds raised going to support refugees from the situation in Myanmar.
Ian,

Where and when is everyone meeting upon friday for the dirt route?

Thanks Jim
 
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Six weeks to go, tomorrow. We have to leave planning for the event as flexible and open as possible, given the current Covid situation. As of today, we wouldn't be able to run it along the same lines as last year, but we are hopeful that the Covid situation and the associated regulations will have improved by June 18. We have announced the event on a few Facebook pages and will keep all channels informed as things firm up.

Our preference is to run a similar event as last year, with one possible change - making the Elephant Trail ride a bit more involving by including a wet season camping element. Hmm tiger-territory camping. Could be fun. (side issue, apparently the wild tiger population in Thailand has doubled over the last five years). We would do that in our favourite village area... where the coffee is hot and the beer is cold.

Should the virus conspire against us, a local event complying with the law will be held to commemorate our friend.
Camping element? Should i pack a tent and body bag?
 
Scratch any thoughts of camping this year given we still see some signs of skittishness about Covid in some remote areas. We will set that up ahead of time another year. Here's some summary info:

Two Meeting Points / Stands up, departure Times - Friday 18 June - all stands up at 8am regardless of meeting point

1 - Riders Corner (inside moat, Northeast Corner) - 8am - coffee / breakfast etc from 6:30 am

2 - Shell Rajaouek บริษัท ฟอร์ตี้ ไนน์ Canal Rd) - 8am


Ulysses Club members and guests are leaving from Rider's Corner. Krusty Riders are leaving from the new Shell service station at the same time as the Ulysses ride leaves Rider's Corner (8am). They will be waiting at the t-junction in Samoeng (where the 1269 meets the 1349). We will rendezvous there and aim for a 9am (or soon after) departure from Samoeng. Deere will lead the ride through the shortcut, with Lachie as sweep - details at the briefing. Please sign on with both your phone number and a contact number.

Coffee stop - 25km or so out of Samoeng is the "brownie shop" coffee stop, known to many of us. We are likely to overwhelm their kitchen, and it is important that we don't end up losing too much time early in the trip - particularly for the dirt ride contingent... so a strict 20 minutes and on the way again for the knobby mob please.

Lunch - we should all make Wat Chan by 11am or shortly after. The meeting point is the junction of the 1349 and the 5032 - ie the t-junction as you come into Wat Chan. Grab some sustenance - and the plan is to be on the road / trail from there at midday. It is only 87km from there to Mae Hong Son by the Elephant Trail and about double that by road via Pai. HOWEVER.... if we strike rain on the Elephant Trail, the going will be slow. We have a support truck, mechanical / tyre support for dirt bikes and a medic. If you are on anything other than a 21"/18" trail bike, please organise your own tyre support. An additional support truck will be stationed in Wat Chan.

On-trail sustenance. Be prepared. You need to cater for your own fluid/food intakes. We recommend that you carry sufficient water for a hot day of activity and a few snacks as appropriate. Maccas haven't got a restaurant on the trail yet.

Accommodation - please book your own. It's easy. Some people forgot to do this last year. Amazing eh? Some of us have booked already at the Piya Guesthouse on 053 611 260 and the B2 on 052 040 205 in Mae Hong Son for Friday night. There's plenty more around the lake, like Palm House, etc

Dinner - Given current alcohol restrictions, we're leaving the meal arrangements until we get there. There's always something........

The plan then is for Saturday night in Pai... where the options are more extensive. Again, please book your own accommodation.

There's some sights for the road riders to see on Saturday before heading to Pai. Sunrise at the Wat on the hill in town is always good. The longneck village on the border is currently closed. Not sure about the other one.

Su Tong Pae Bamboo Bridge to Wat Phu Sama is worth a look if you haven't seen it... and Ban Rak Thai is always pleasant. Feed the fish at Tham Pla.... and tootle over to Pai for another night of frivolity and raising a glass to our old mate, Auke Koopmans - the man who mapped northern Thailand

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Hi EndoJim.
I was hoping to have a chat with you but it seems that we didn't cross paths.
What bike were you riding?
 
Well, we met at the Samoeng junction as planned.
I was riding Southampton Tim's white CRF.

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Soon the group were all ready for our Auke Memorial Ride.

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This superb KTM 790 looked very rideable.

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We had a coffee etc stop here at the excellent Khwam Sukh Cafe.
I hadn't stopped there before but will in the future.

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Home grown avocado for sale.

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We gathered again at a part of Wat Chan to discuss contingencies.
Bitumen or wet red clay to Mae Hong Son?

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Time 11-48am.

Not having succeeded in completing the entire Elephant Trail in the rain last year I was very keen to amend the situation this time.
So I filled the tank with fuel and called in to a bike shop to have the tyres deflated to 20psi.
Or so I thought!

As Ian has said, the Trail is about 70% dirt/mud/slime/grease/ruts/rocks and 30% concrete (sometimes shattered, very gnarly concrete).

I trailed the 15 bikes who took on the Trail, with Matt following me in the ute.
Lots of fish-tailing and sliding and three close up inspections of the terrain later, Khun Deere decided to check my tyre pressures.
The young clown back at the bike shop had put 40 and 36psi into my tyres!
So they came down to 14psi which, naturally, made a huge difference.

I must say a 'thank you' to Khun Deere and Ian for their riding suggestions and especially for Matt and Ian for helping me pick up the CRF.
They can be surprisingly heavy in those conditions.
Thanks also to Matt for the cold water and fresh mango.
See, sometimes it pays to be at the back.

I was too absorbed with handling the riding conditions to stop for pics at the really challenging bits but they will be covered in the videos which will appear on the RideAsia Forum and Facebook page. I hope to add my own footage soon.

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A good view of our destination of Mae Hong Son from here.

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All 15 bikes, with riders, met up here for a refreshing drink and a chat, at the junction with 108.

Time for me 4-57 pm.
That's just on 5 hours give or take a few minutes for me and I was VERY satisfied.
Exhausted, but satisfied.
For an ageing rider I found the Trail technically and physically challenging when not dry, but great fun.

I had checked in to the Sarm Mork Guest House, situated near the lake and within walking distance to the eateries.
480 baht for adequate, quiet and friendly accommodation with secure bike parking.
I recommend their green rooms.

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My riding gear took a bit of a beating.

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We later met up for dinner etc at the Goodview.
They weren't allowed, legally, to sell beer to so many people so I remained there alone to enjoy a steamed fish,
a pleasant chat with the owner and a 'special coffee' or three.

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That night I couldn't get the images of wet, red clay out of my mind.
And every muscle in my body was aching!

Saturday I headed to Pai on 1095 and home via Mae Rim.
I noted only one Tourist Van on the road, many very fast big bikes and that the Pai Canyon complex looks like a western ghost town.

I stopped at this humble noodle shop at Pa Pai and the owner seemed very pleased to have a paying customer.
Tough times indeed.

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Their method of securing the table cover was quite clever.

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So, for me, that was Auke's Memorial Ride 2021. (hoping that there is video to add later).

Well done to Ian, Ulysses and all who organised the event.
Apparently next year we'll be sleeping amongst the tigers.
 
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Thanks Ron. With a myriad of issues on the table back in Chiang Mai, I haven't gotten to writing up my report as yet... and I'm stuck editing a far too long video of the ride. I suspect I will end up doing long and short versions of that - as we have some great footage.

Some quick photos.... several of us loaded up on ride food ahead of the 8am departure.

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Speaking of video... we ran the outside two of these three GoPros as the 7 Black shit the bed a couple of weeks ago.

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Bert and Gai had departed a day earlier... as they were somewhat speed-challenged. They're on the Rider's Corner Honda Wave that did the journey up the Elephant Trail last year... but this time it was road all the way.

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For the second year in a row, I'd parked an additional 4x4 at Wat Chan in case we needed extra recovery capacity. Not sure about that next year... I'd rather ride the whole way.

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The combined Krusty Riders / Ulysses Club and guests met up at Samoeng. A few extra bikes came in via Pai, Mae Hong Son and the various road options - and in total I believe we got to 29 people all up. Auke would have been proud, as no tee shirts were sold, no wallets were harmed and no business owners had their arms twisted. Every trip with him, be it a charity delivery of truckloads of clothing to Laos, a mapping journey or just a visit to a restaurant was always a pay-your-own, no skims trip.

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Coffee stop

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Sorry to see that the swing at our regular lookout stop is looking a bit worse for wear. Wouldn't have wanted to be on that, with about a 50' drop below it, when it broke

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I hear that peeing from the lookout is good for the soul. It's a long drop

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Quick lunch at Wat Chan

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Into the hills

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Matt & Kesorn drove sweep, with me just in front of them. I'm a bit wary of this truck... as my boot wears the tyre tread marks from last year :-) not with Matt driving... but all the same. Got some nice video of him getting up it a bit I believe.... but its hidden in 277 Gb of footage.

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We copped a bit of rain - not a lot, just enough to make things greasy. I managed to stay upright - as I've done during the last 5 or 6 trips up the Elephant Trail (I managed to drop the 950 KTM Super Enduro in a greasy patch, whilst riding two-up on my first trip some years back)

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Whilst stopped to help a certain gentleman regain an upright posture... saw this beautiful beetle. About 50mm long. Sorry blurry....

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Yeah, that was the insect I swerved to avoid, resulting in me eating wet, red clay.
 
Hmm - I wasn't going to mention any names.... however, having helped extricate your leg from under a fallen CRF, I had to ride it about 40 metres down a steep hilly section to where I'd been able to park the Rally. It was un-rideable... I was all over the place... and this was after we'd already let some air out of the rear tyre. Deere arrived back to check why we hadn't arrived in the village... and he was able to confirm ridiculously high tyre pressures and rectify same. I'd been running 16-17 psi and he brought your bike to the same level. I certainly enjoyed the cooked chicken he brought back with him... not that I ever saw where he procured that. It sure lifted my spirits though.

Despite the showers, the views along the ridgeline were stunning.

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The road conditions, even with some light showers were an order of magnitude better than last year. Here's Deere this year

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and a dodgy photo taken at the same location last year

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Back to this year... Josh

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Steve

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Toby

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We stopped for a break not far from there... pretty much the halfway point at our favourite little store - which normally sells only coffee and semi-cool Chang. No coffee today, so a Chang it was. From there, my GPS was saying 47km to go - but the second half includes the nicely sealed last 15km and is generally much quicker to do, despite a couple of gnarly bits

Not long into that 15km sealed stretch, there's a favourite lookout. One of the guys commented that this is his favourite view in all of northern Thailand

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Errin and, if I'm not mistaken, Hunter (from Pai) had met the faster riders halfway along the track and we had 16 dirt bikes and the truck at the scene of last year's first aid session for a beer. This is at the junction with the 108...

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Given the restaurants in MHS were playing uncooperative, we spread out a bit for dinner. We ate at a no-name local stall, just out of the rain... and Old Mate there was more than happy to fill the ice buckets and hand out the Changs. I joined the mostly road crew for a few out of the esky, possibly contributing to the subsequent noise complaint

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I'm not sure when Albert arrived... but he made the numbers up to 29.

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I believe one rather noisy bike was being targeted... but the rider was never located. Mustn't have been one of us... but the writing is on the wall for noisy bikes. We posed for obligatory pics with plod... but there was nothing to point to. Ow helped calm the situation and we agreed to leave town in singles, rather than as a group. Everyone smiling behind their face nappies.

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Thirteen of us headed up the hill - a couple elected to go via the helicopter pad and Scutty pointed his Wave towards Pai on the 1095 with Ron and the road riders

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Conditions were much nicer for the return leg on the Elephant Trail

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Speaking of Waves.... Old Mate here, with an almost flat tyre, was belting along with a few of the guys and had a ball checking out the bikes when we stopped for a re-group

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The shine had gone from the red clay, which was good

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I stopped to take a photo of these two lovely ladies. Toby pulled up too and said "hey, I know you"

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We had a great chat and will catch up with them when we do a planned two-dayer out that way (home stay is pre-arranged, but not with them)

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We flicked left onto the Pai road, which apart from a slippery first couple of km, was in great condition

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