My Gtr Dinner Trip - Chiang Khong - Na Noi Return

[DavidFL]

A Ride to the last Wednesday end of the month GTR Up-country Dinner.
A bit of an epic ride this one - a return trip of 1,350 kms, but all good fun.

The way Chiang Khong - Chiang Kham - Pong - Chiang Muan - Ban Luang - Wiang Sa - Na Noi - Chiang Mai - Chiang Khong.
Routes 1021 - 1148 - 1179 - 1091 - 4002 - 3046 - 4004 - 101 - 1026

Get away time from Chiang Khong was 8.30am, with the Kiwi Cruiser in tow.
The first scheduled pit stop was the Carrot Cafe in Chiang Kham, however we arrived 20 minutes before opening time so the Amazon PTT it was in Chiang Kham.

From Chiang Kham the trick is to take R1188 & skip R1148
R1188 is a beauty of a rolling winding, undulating road.

The Kiwi Cruiser Powering on

How it looks in google Earth. Chiang Kham is at the stat on the left, Pong at the end on the right

Winding through the hills

From Pong it is R1091, & the second pit stop was a funky restaurant beside the road in Chiang Muan.

From Chiang Muan towards Nan on R1091 is one of the best biking roads in North Thailand.
There are two magnificent step ascents / descents to Ban Luang from Chiang Muan.

It's 35 ms down R1091 to R4002 & the Mlabri turn off

The Kiwi Cruiser powering on up the hill

A Google Earth view of the 35 kms from Chiang Muan to R4002 turn off.

From Chiang Muan (left) up over the mountain to Ban Luang (right)

From Ban Luang (left) up onto the ridge line & the R4002 turn off (right)

To be continued....woo-hoo

 

[DavidFL]

R4002 is the next section & what a fabulous tight twisting road that is through the mountains.
It comes off the ridgeline of R1091 & immediately descends into the valley below, then winds it way back up & down, snaking its way south.
There are two link up options from off R4002
1. R101 between Phrae & Wing Sa
2. R101 between Nan & Wing Sa.
we opted for option (2) the Nan - Wiang Sa road once it was explained to us by a local shop keeper out in the boonies.

How it looks in Google Earth.

The start at the R1091 end

A full length view

The North end from R1091

The southern end

The elevation profile to the turn off @ Papae

On the road ground riding, how it looks

The main village on R4002 is Papae / Mae Khaning 29 kms south of R4019. It is the this village where you have the road junction.
East to the Nan - Wiang Sa road on R3046, or south to the Phrae - Wiang Sa road.

R4002's main attraction is the Mlabri- Phi Tong Luang "Yellow Leaf Tribe" village written up by Jurgen here
A Mountain Loop West Of Nan (rte 4002)


To be continued..

 

[DavidFL]

A bit more..time to catch up -= falling behind.

Papae / Mae Khaning is the junction town on R4019.
Turn left - East = here and its 30 kms across to R101 between Nan & Wiang Sa.

It looks like this in Google Earth

The first half with Papae / Mae Khaning on the left. R101 is off to the right

The 2nd half finishing at R101

The elevation profile

Unfortunately no riding shots in here as the Kiwi Cruiser was in a hurry on account of the incoming black clouds. And as it was we made good time & didn't get wet. Thanks Ben for moving me along.
However I did manage one of some cultivated slopes to confirm suspicions of why there are frequent flash floods in the wet season nowadays.

 

[Ian Bungy]

Sorry I missed it! Back now so should be good to go for the next one!

 

[DavidFL]

Arrival time in Na Noi was 3PM with check in at the Huean Waddkhian Resort, as recommended by Ian Yonok & what a magic little place it is.

I was well & truly impressed with my room

Nai Noi. New Resort

Ben & I were the second arrivals with Brian already ensconced in the aircon.
Buddy, Prasit from Ride Asia came not long after.
After a power nap it was time to explore town & have a meal.

Na Noi Restaurants

The Tree Cafe was the first stop, followed by dinner at the Huen Madam Mae Champi

The food, drinks, conversation, service & company was all good, such that we eventually were asked to leave - past closing.
And so it was a night in Na Noi.
After a good day's ride it doesn't take much to make the guys happy & relaxed, shooting the breeze or chewing the fat.

 

[DavidFL]

The masterplan for Day 2 - ride the "soon to be famous R4010" out of Na Muen to Phrae.

R4010 has been a little known road south of R1216 the Khun Satan road. It links up R1026 & R1217 / 1024 (and R1024 appears to be another amazing road that everyone should ride!)

R4010 is an amazing steep, tight twisting road through the mountains, such that you wonder why build a road like that, but there must be a reason.

The elevation profile

Some Google Earth shots of it snaking through the mountains. Na Muen is off to the right & the road heads west up and over the mountain.

Leaving Na Muen it is sign posted like this

The road winds its way through the valley then starts climbing up into the mountains

The first half is generally a good wide surface

As shown in the elevation profile there are a couple of long steep hills to negotiate

But as is usually the case, it's not easy to get good photos of any of the steep stuff. Here is the main mountain crossing in google earth

This is the start of the main ascent from the Nan side

Somewhere in the middle, near the mountain crossing the road changes to narrower concrete, and I reckon this happens round the provincial border between Nan and Phrae.

The Phrae side of the mountain crossing

Once the road descends it opens out into rolling hills to link up with R1217 & R1024

A view of the long steep section in the background

40 minutes later I was in Phrae, tracking down the new location of Wee Wee Restaurant for a late brunch.
The Kiwi Cruiser & Prasit who I thought were still ahead of me, arrived in Phrae 10 minutes after me, having taken R1024 into Phrae after linking up with it of R1217. Me, I took the direct route into Phrae for food. I'd stopped for lots of photos along the way, but still arrived before Ben & Prasit. So if you're adding R1024 onto R4010 from Na Muen, I reckon to add on another 45-60 minutes travel time.

For Wee Wee fans in Phrae, they have moved a couple of hundred metres around the corner, opposite the hospital.
The new location: Google Maps

The new Wee Wee

The Burrito Brekky

The new premises are located upstairs in a row of shop houses. The entrance looks like this & is not so easy to identify

I also prefer the old premises, but it's not up to us. The food is still tops though.

3 hours later I was back in Chiang Mai & wet.
What a brilliant ride & trip.
Thanks to the guys who came.

R4010 is a must do ride if you want to claim you've ridden the North.
It has featured on GTR here before
1024 Phrae into Nan A. Muang Li

4010 - Not For The Faint Of Heart....

Ride To Angkor Wat – Khmer Temple Trail – Chiang Mai To Siem Reap Loop

But I don't think I'd like to be out there on it towards the end of the wet season, because some of that concrete is going to be covered in leaves & algae to make it quite treacherous in places.