Tonight we camped..
Pick up some eggs for breakfast..
Pulled up, rode in towards a stream and followed it.. Came to a gate with people leaving.
We asked if we can camp here.. Sure no problem.. It was a great spot.
Hammocks out, camp fire going, stream to boil water from.. We were set.. But did freeze that night.
We are getting more and more behind schedule to met the other guys for the Sangkhlaburi missing link ride..
Today we need to really get a move on…
We joined up with the track that Tony and Jake did a few weeks earlier.
Mike said to me as we joined the track.. This is the one Tony and Jake did.
My response.. I hope we are after the really steep downhill bits they said would be impossible to get up…
Trying to find if any of the guys have more pics of this…
Basically great trails, rutted to hell and slippery in parts and really steep in parts too.
Then you come around a corner and all you can see for the next 150 metres is boulders.. (Really need a pic of this)
I was first.. Looked and thought.. Don't hang around thinking about this too much.. Just go..
Up and over stuck here and there .. Perched on a couple of large boulders almost dropped it..
Look back and Rob turns up and stops at the start of the boulders.. You can see the horrified look on his face (even through the helmet) and almost drops the bike looking at what was ahead..
After the rocks… really deep ruts.. If you fell in to them, you will need help to pull the bike back out..
Then a small flat spot to pull up on the mountain. Rob then Mike not far behind and all make it with out dropping the bike.
Hat off to Rob.. First real off road trip (Except for playing at Chonburi on weekends with us) and going like a trooper.
We wait and wait and wait.. Then Mike goes back down.. We wait and wait again..
I head down.. Zach's bike has a cooked clutch.. so we push the bike up to the next spot where our bikes are.
No way we are going to get the bike up the next bit.. steep steep steep, loose rocks and stone..
So we cut down some bushes etc and hide the bike in the bush.
Tanner and Zach ride Tanner's bike out together..Mike and I go ahead following a honda wave that made it up.
He took us to a bunch of villages.. finally a headman agreed to come back with his 4wd.
Leave our bikes there and head back.. But we have to do the pushing ourselves.
We get to the steep part of the mountain.. He stops.. No way he is going down.
Vehicles go down, but none come up… too steep and loose rock and soil.
We all walk back down to the hidden bike (So steep Mike slips and falls on his back side, we are all walking down carefully) and begin to push the thing up the mountain.
All thinking we won't make it.. but we have no choice..
Then a bunch of school kids coming back from a football game come along..
They help take some of the bags and continue up. Then a few come back down and help us push the bike up the mountain.
We were very happy they turned up..
When we make it up to the top.. (Quicker pushing than riding up) Some border patrol cops were waiting to get down.
They took some photo's with us and helped tie the bike down in the pickup.
So bike in the pickup, Mike, Zach and Me in the Pickup.. Rob and Tanner ride back.
Back at the village and almost dusk again.. This has really dented our plans..
No way we are going to meet the other guys for the Missing Link ride… Broken bike, Tanners bike needs some work too.
Handle bars pointing in very strange non standard directions..
Mike doubles Zach, and we ride out to the main road and head in to Mae Sot..
Not in the original plan at all.. Riding in on that twisty road in the dark was not much fun…
We meet up at Canadian Restaurant.. Some very welcome Mexican food.. Really great.
We ordered like we had just got out of prison and we eat like it too.
Breakfast the next day
No way we can get the KLX fixed.. It is posted back to Bangkok.
Tanner gets some new handle bars at the Honda dealer for his KLX.
Rob's elbow was playing up.. even before the trip.
Rob very kindly let Zach take his KLX for the rest of the ride to Bangkok.. Game back on..
We really need to meet Jack / Justin / Robert and Harry at the clinic on the missing link trail that evening.
Afraid they will only wait one night for us and go….
More to come...