MUPPETS DAY 3 MAE SAI- PUA

Jun 21, 2006
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The 3rd day of muppeteering began at a gentle 9.30 from mae sai, we wandered out of town missing our one turn off for the morning in true hungover fashion, this then left us with a boring slog on the main road over to chiang saen

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we stopped of for some brekkie in chiang saen and wasted another half hour so that justin could take some photos " for the folks back home in good ol' U.S of A" were his precise words i think. after chiang saen we headed over to ching khong on pretty flat roads again. however it was delightfully punctuated with views of the mekong river,
all fueled up again we set off in search of the 1155 to take us to wiang kaen, the only rest bite now from the midday heat was stopping off at some of justins ex-flames from his previous trips in these parts, whilst amusing at first in soon became annoying when every village became another half hour of flirting and playing with chain lube

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now on the 1155 and full speed ahead to pu chee fah we turned off up the hill at the village of pang hat, pu chee fah is well signposted here, the climb of the mountains began in erratic fashion

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the drive now was stunning with mountain vistas that stretched for miles and with the clean air was a awesome drive, the drive was not without incident though as following a breathtaking chase down the mountain in pursuit of the green machine i was most unfortunate to clip a patch of gravel on the exit of the corner, my bike was ok thank god and i somehow threaded my way through the kilometre markers in some houdini of an escape from serious injury, my stunning SLEDGEHAMMER jacket though took the worst of the fall...

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coming down from pu chee fah was a subdued affair for mne as i was still nursing a torn jacket and was miffed at the fact that the red honda was no match for the KLX of justin, scenery again was perfect, we descended onto route 1093, where we were in seach of the 1160 that would hook us up with 1148, after a great deal of direction asking we found our turning, it is signposted as the phu sang national park, and opens up with about 7-8kms of dirt before a section of tarmac and then dirt again up the hill...
the 1160 is another great road for dirt capable bikes...

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at this turning go right, we'd have paid good money to know that at the time!

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the rain had fallen here recently and altough we stayed dry justins front slick was beginning to become a hinderance....

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a mix-up at the team green pits in pang tham left justin really struggling for grip at turns 7 and 8, sack the strategist! what were they thinking??!!

jungle scenery and red jacket..

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the 1160 did indeed hook us up with 1148, and apart from a brief shower we took to the corners with gusto for the last leg into nan province of what had been a long day..
arriving into pua at 8.15 we were both shattered having driven the last 65 kms in the dark, those of you who know justin will know he is no eagle and so he was following the shien from my headlight and in times of oncming traffic i would flash the back brake light to give justin something to aim for.. very energy sapping for both parties involved.. and here we are at the end ...

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we have hundreds of photos from this leg, so expect some more from justin from this day of tomfoolery!..
 

DavidFL

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quote:

Originally posted by suzukiluke
here we are at the end ...

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we have hundreds of photos from this leg, so expect some more from justin from this day of tomfoolery!..








You guys have been having too much fun. Too much riding, falling off, recovering & literally hitting the road time & time again.
But it wont be all your own way soon as FL is back on his AT, although I'm curently maxed at 100kph before the wonky left arm lets go & 20 kms is the endurance distance limit, but Im coming after you guys (on the asphalt.)
Now how far behind are you with Road & Trip reports......
 
Oct 12, 2005
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David,

Nice to see you motoring around CNX on the AT!!! FL back in action in more ways than one judging by his interaction with the waitress :) .

Yep having a ball, sadly like you mentioned well behind on the road reports. Just got back from another two day off road trip through Doi Inthanon and mae Chaem. Some new routes were uncovered for you to add to the map.

Looking forward to sharing some rides soon with the dodgy armed unk.
 
Jun 21, 2006
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great to have you along as always barry!! glad to show you the gnarly trails we have around and of course the infamous belgian step, hope you and big and tall had a good afternoons nap ( although amazing how the big mans energy returns when a night out with 5 drunk hairdressers is mentioned) , just to let you know i have found a trail that connects ob khan national park to the samoeng loop, bingo bango, bidding starts at 500baht fellas.!!
 
Oct 12, 2005
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" bidding starts at 500baht fellas.!!" No fears, you'll be divulging all 2 bottles of Sam song into the night with the 5 hairdressers...now pass the Red bull.

Another fantastic ride Barry slinging his frame through the tight woods. I'll post photos later :) to repay Barry.
 
Mar 15, 2003
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BarryBBQ and Muppets,

Loved the video. As usual showed Big & Tall's great sense of humor, although he did seem to get up a bit slower than usual. How doe's a rock in the middle of Northern Thailand earn the name "Belgian Step"?[?]
 
Oct 12, 2005
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The famed wall of rock was introduced to the Muppets by the esteemed enduro race veteran, Gypsyrider who hails from the land of dark chocolate (Belgium). We (Luke, Gypsrider and myself) were out for a fun day of singletrack race simulation out the back of Gypsyriders house on the North Thailand enduro track around Hang Dong way. the race came down the trail and river. Being the experienced team we were we decided to go up the damn trail instead. The frantic pace soon resembled cold molasses as it trickled to a halt when faced with the "sheer" rock wall face.

It then earned its belgium moniker when the Belgian ace scrutinized the lay of the land on the approach and deemed it needed modifying before attempting such a daring climb. We watched intently as Gypsyrider professionally prepared the surface to be conquered by laying out rocks and pebbles for the approach in addition to tying up life threatening, throat throttling moss covered vines.
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Being the youngest rider with the slowest bike it was not difficult to choose Luke as the sacrificial lamb to protect the orange Queen should the prepared surface dare to throw the KTM on its side. He was positioned off the trail to act as a barrier to protect the expensive KTM from becoming impaled on the Pungi bammboo stakes laying in wait at the base of the climb. Once prepped, Gypsyrider breathed life into his Enduro race prepped behemoth that I myself had ridden and deemed too hairy chested for my average frame. The KTM roared into life and had the rock bit dutifully between its teeth. Gypsyrider gunned the engine and dumped the clutch on the approach to the wall of Eiger like proportions. However all was not to plan as the KTM somehow hiccuped
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on the approach to the tailor made launch ramp and threw the Belgiun rider a curve as it bucked him off the back of the saddle. Luckily Gypsyrider got the nose of the KTM over the crest and deposited against a tree. Thereby throwing a gesture of kindness towards Luke and not utilizing his chest as a protective measure against the bamboo for the beloved KTM.

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The rock stair climb is now referred to as the "Belgian Step" in tribute to our own Belgian Member (Gypsyrider) that desires trails of difficulty and feels that gearboxes harboring more than three gears are a waste of time. Here's to you Jan Marc!!!

Just to prove that youth and excuberance don't get away scot free the variation that Luke attempted to skirt the belgian Step was Hang Dongs very own Danube river to the right of the Belgian step. Unbeleivable boat muppeteering ability had Luke at the Helm of the XR wading through the bog of the Danube.

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The next installment shall include another member of our crew. As of yet unpubliushed pictures of our friendly resident giant doing his own deforestation techniques.
 

DavidFL

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Hhmm great pix boys. Again you guys are having too much fun & contributing reports to the board regularly - outstanding stuff.
Now I wonder if I should take the Africa Twin down there for a look at the Belgian Step???
Keep riding, having fun & reporting.
I'll be having a crack at getting past Doi Saket with my underpowered wonky arm today....
 
Feb 21, 2006
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David,

The Belgian Step is here: N18 43.974 E98 51.804. Approach it east to west to ascend it, west to east to descend. Please be sure to let me know when you're going so I can get pix [:)]

In case anyone is wondering, I took the safe route - through the water. I thought about trying the step but didn't want to burden my fellow riders with an emergency extraction. Luke? He flew right up the step (too fast to get video) and put the rest of us to shame.

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