The Golden Triangle Rider

[wimpy]

Well it has been almost two years since he was last here; motoddrob (my riding mate of some 25+ years) finally made it back to Chiang Mai.

Anxious to hit the roads and give the VFR a shakedown run, since it has mostly been sitting since the flogging motoddrob gave it last time... We immediately set off for the Samoeng circuit. At the sala we ran into SilverhawkUSA who was out and about GPSing. I don’t know if he approved of the racket we made coming up the hill. [}] After lunch at the X-Center, we both felt the need for more twisties so we did a u-turn and we headed back the way we came.


Taking a breather at the sala.

The next day we headed off to Nan. I won’t comment much on the roads, as Captain_Slash has covered it in depth recently. Just enjoy the pics. By the way thanks to Noom for the fine photography.

Our route was 118 to Mae Khachan. 120 to Phayao. 1021 to Dok Kham Thai. 1251 to Chiang Muan. 1091 into Nan.


Coffee break just outside Phayao.


Motoddrob and Noom somewhere on 1251 (I think).


Chief action photographer, Noom.


We checked in to the Dhevaraj Hotel, and after some searching, found the even newer location for DaDario’s.



Beware when walking or parking your bike at night in Nan.

On our second day in Nan we did one of my favorite rides. 101 to Wiang Sa. 1026 to Na Noi. 1216 to Khun Satan.





Route 1216 heading to Khun Satan


Drink stop in downtown Kuhn Satan.


Heading down the mountain (1216). Awesome road!




At the bottom of the mountain a left on 101. Right on 103, veering right towards Song.






Right on 1120 up to Chiang Muan where we stopped for lunch. North on 1091 to Pong. After some confusion we headed North on 1092 to 1148. This road was rather bumpy but the scenery made up for the discomfort. This puts you onto 1148 right where the fun begins. As usual 1148 failed to disappoint. A fantastic blast to Tha Wang Pha, and a boring run down 1080 into Nan.


Pee break on 1148.


1148

On day three Rob headed off to Nong Khai to take care of some business. I stayed in Nan one more day to ride the Phukha loop. I also rode 1148 one more time on my way back to Chiang Mai.



1148!

Several days later Rob was back in Chiang Mai and we decided to do the Mae Hong Son Loop. We went in a counter clockwise direction. I have to mention that the road to Pai seemed to be much better than I remember from several years ago.



My rearset on the TL1000 decided it had enough. With some epoxy and steel reinforcement, we were back at it an hour later.




Heading to Soppong.

We had planned to spend the first night in Mae Hong son. But do to the repairs, and a Korean girl crashing her rented scooter in front of me just outside of Soppong (I got to follow her to the hospital and help with translations), we decided to bed down in Soppong. We stayed at the Soppong River Inn, where the view and the Beer Lao were both tops.



Soppong River Inn.

The next morning we continued on to Mae Hong Son. On arrival we both felt like we hadn’t done enough kilometers, so we continued on to Khun Yuam. We stayed at the Ban Farang which was pleasant enough, but the food was a bit of a disappointment. The Japanese War Museum was a real loser. More akin to a rusty junk yard than a museum. Not to mention the double pricing policy for farang. [!]

Rather than continue to Mae Sarieng we opted to go East on 1263. We did a quick diversion to Mae U-Khor for a look at the Sunflowers. It was a spectacularly clear morning, with stunning views and the flower fields in full bloom. That was a real treat.







Continuing to Mae Chaem… Except for the odd pot hole, this was a challenging fun ride.





Rest stop on 1268.


Looking towards Doi Inthanon

Then up the backside of Doi Inthanon, avoiding the banzai pick-up trucks coming down the mountain. On to the top for lattes and cappuccinos. We had lunch at the Royal Project, and a great run down the mountain followed by a boring haul back home.

The next day motoddrob had to head back to the daily grind in Oz. I’m sure he is counting the days to his return to Northern Thailand.

[SilverhawkUSA]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">At the sala we ran into SilverhawkUSA who was out and about GPSing. I don’t know if he approved of the racket we made coming up the hill. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I certainly cannot criticize the noise. My TDM is not exactly quiet, but I have to say one could sure hear you guys coming in the distance. Especially the two stroke! Maybe keeps some of the dogs and chickens off the road. Looks like you had a really great ride. I apologize for not recognizing you at first. You need to get out with us more often. [8D]

[motoddrob]

Great report Wimpy, Like to add that after Nan, Noom and myself headed for Kampaeng Phet, Korat, Phimai, Kalisin, Nakhon Phanom,
Ban Paeng, Bueng Klong Long [home], Udon Thani, Loei, Ban Thai and back to Chiang Mai. With out my maps I can't remember the road #s but I usually look for the secondary roads or the twisty ones.
Unfortunetly my time was limited to 3 weeks this trip but still managed to cover 4200 kays. Noom is still having to deal with a sore bum from the perch on the VFR!! but enjoyed every Km. She is a good sport and does't complain when getting the pipe down hanging it out in the twisties.
Gotta thank Wimpy for the use of the VFR, and for great riding company. We use to ride together back in the days I was living in California, he on a Norton and me on my 750 Laverda. Kicked his arse in those days and 25 years later still kick his arse!!!!!!
Looking forward to returning next year for some more fanging on some of Thailand's best roads without the fear of loosing my licence.
Maybe catch up with some of you guys next time.

Regards
Rob

[Davidfl]

[wimpy]

Testing... Wonder what happened to the pics. Pics show in my other posts.
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[Davidfl]

[wimpy]