Just returned from a three day ride to Nan.
Route: 11, 101, 1024, 1342, ?, 4010, 1026, 1169, 1081, 1256, 1080, 1097, 1148, 1021, 120, 118.
This shows my route, but I forgot to turn the tracking on until I got to Ping Luang.
I rode the 11 to Den Chai and then took 101 towards Phrae. I wanted to visit some of the "knockdown" wood house builders between Den Chai and Phrae. 600,000 - 700,000 for a two room teak cottage delivered to Chiang Mai.
I then rode the 1024 to the 1343. The 1024 has many gravelly patches which prevented me from getting into any sort of rhythm. The views were good though.
At Huai Oi I took the incredibly steep road over the mountain. This ends up between Muang Li and Ping Luang. I believe this is the same road the Johpa wrote about here: 1024-phrae-into-nan-a-muang-li-t8840.html. On the 4010, about halfway between Ping Luang and 1026, the TL decided to die on me. After about a half hour of worried troubleshooting, I found a wire that had partially worked loose coming down the mountain. Back on the road, the blast up the 1026 to Nan suits me and the TL perfectly - great fun.
If I had it to do over, I think I would take the 1216 through Khun Satan and into Na Noi. The pavement up to Kuhn Satan is much better than on the 1024, plus you still get the best part of the 1026.
As usual, I stayed at the Dhevarat hotel. Da Darios was closed and I was too lazy to get back on the bike, so I had noodles on the street for dinner.
Day two I took the 1169 and 1081 to Bo Kluea. Still a lot of funky road work on the 1169. The 1081 seemed to have pea gravel on every other turn. Too bad, as in years past it was a great ride.
Coffee break in Bo Kluea, and then a really fantastic run up the 1256 to Pua. That road is in great shape and there was almost no traffic to contend with. It was so good I was tempted to turn around and do it again!
From Pua, I rode to Chiang Klang and took the 1097 to the 1148. The 1097 started out great, but quickly turned into the road from hell. Absolutely riddled with deep potholes. Never again. The only redeeming point was the spectacular sweeping views.
The 1148 was as good or better than I remembered. The plan was to stay at the Phu Langka Resort on the 1148. The rooms were pretty tattered and there was no food service, so I decided to make a run to Phayao. I rolled into Phayao in the late afternoon and took a room at the Northern Lake Hotel @ 400 baht. I had a nice meal at a very trendy looking place located between the Cupcake and Krua Thep. Not sure about the name, but you can't miss it.
Breakfast at the Cupcake. Run by very nice people and worthy of your support.
To top things off, a very exhilarating blast up the 120 and 118 into Chiang Mai.
Route: 11, 101, 1024, 1342, ?, 4010, 1026, 1169, 1081, 1256, 1080, 1097, 1148, 1021, 120, 118.
This shows my route, but I forgot to turn the tracking on until I got to Ping Luang.
I rode the 11 to Den Chai and then took 101 towards Phrae. I wanted to visit some of the "knockdown" wood house builders between Den Chai and Phrae. 600,000 - 700,000 for a two room teak cottage delivered to Chiang Mai.
I then rode the 1024 to the 1343. The 1024 has many gravelly patches which prevented me from getting into any sort of rhythm. The views were good though.
At Huai Oi I took the incredibly steep road over the mountain. This ends up between Muang Li and Ping Luang. I believe this is the same road the Johpa wrote about here: 1024-phrae-into-nan-a-muang-li-t8840.html. On the 4010, about halfway between Ping Luang and 1026, the TL decided to die on me. After about a half hour of worried troubleshooting, I found a wire that had partially worked loose coming down the mountain. Back on the road, the blast up the 1026 to Nan suits me and the TL perfectly - great fun.
If I had it to do over, I think I would take the 1216 through Khun Satan and into Na Noi. The pavement up to Kuhn Satan is much better than on the 1024, plus you still get the best part of the 1026.
As usual, I stayed at the Dhevarat hotel. Da Darios was closed and I was too lazy to get back on the bike, so I had noodles on the street for dinner.
Day two I took the 1169 and 1081 to Bo Kluea. Still a lot of funky road work on the 1169. The 1081 seemed to have pea gravel on every other turn. Too bad, as in years past it was a great ride.
Coffee break in Bo Kluea, and then a really fantastic run up the 1256 to Pua. That road is in great shape and there was almost no traffic to contend with. It was so good I was tempted to turn around and do it again!
From Pua, I rode to Chiang Klang and took the 1097 to the 1148. The 1097 started out great, but quickly turned into the road from hell. Absolutely riddled with deep potholes. Never again. The only redeeming point was the spectacular sweeping views.
The 1148 was as good or better than I remembered. The plan was to stay at the Phu Langka Resort on the 1148. The rooms were pretty tattered and there was no food service, so I decided to make a run to Phayao. I rolled into Phayao in the late afternoon and took a room at the Northern Lake Hotel @ 400 baht. I had a nice meal at a very trendy looking place located between the Cupcake and Krua Thep. Not sure about the name, but you can't miss it.
Breakfast at the Cupcake. Run by very nice people and worthy of your support.
To top things off, a very exhilarating blast up the 120 and 118 into Chiang Mai.
