ok back from MHS...the big master plan for 2019
2019 GTR MHS Memorial Ride # 11
Saturday 2nd November 2019
CHIANG MAI START & RENDEZVOUS
- Rendezvous at the PTT Nam Phrae
Location: Google Maps
- Time to arrive 7.30AM & short briefing
- First Departures 8.15AM
- There will be a service truck behind the group for any breakdowns.
OUTLINE
In 2019 we have changed the route & take R108 to Mae Hong Son.
Lunch is at Mae La Noi.
Arrival in MHS should be before 3PM, with ceremonies with the monks to start at 4PM.
The ceremonies should be finished by 5.00 -5.15PM, after check into your hotel & mosey on over to the Goodview (Sunflower) restaurant by the lake.
That night there will be a BBQ pig & salad set up; plus music from Johnadda & friends.
Please enjoy the night, a happy biker cameradie spirit, party & enjoy yourselves to celebrate the lives of our ex riding mates & the good life we have here riding & touring North Thailand.
THE ROUTE CHANGE
We are not using R1263 Mae Chaem to Khun Yuam this year because we consider the road to be too dangerous with 50 motorbikes.
There is a lot more
- traffic on the road
- there are 30 kms of potholes
- the road is narrow & overgrown for 40+ kilometres
The combination of these factors makes the road too dangerous, inviting accidents, & we don't want to have to put anyone in the chedi because they were killed on the Memorial Ride.
So R108 it is. That is Chiang Mai – Hot – Mae Sarieng – Mae La Noi – Khun Yuam – Mae Hong Son.
R108 is a bit longer, but it is a lot safer & possibly the same travel time.
LUNCH
The lunch spot is @ the Mae La Noi Viewpoint.
Location:
Google Maps
We estimate riders to start arriving at the lunch spot from 11.15-11.30 am.
There will be a couple of options in a cheap buffet: fried noodles (phat siew) with chicken, fried rice with veges & egg, plus some fruit. The cost is 80 baht each. Please pay direct to Mrs Prai who is running the lunch.
The viewpoint also has a coffee shop. A Ms Toey runs the shop for the Mae La Noi tessebaan. Please order your own drinks & pay direct at the coffee shop.
At the viewpoint there should be a few tables & chairs set up in the shade, by the Mae La Noi tessebaan, for you to enjoy your lunch. There won't be enough table & chairs for everyone at once, so please eat up, take a photo or two, do a Facebook check in, and then move onto Mae Hong Son as quickly as possible.
The Mae La Noi sala viewpoint is on the left hand side, on a right hand bend, immediately after you crest the hill to Mae La Noi.
It is signposted on the crest of the hill, before you can actually see the viewpoint.
There should be a Memorial Ride banner beside the road & police to direct riders into the viewpoint.
ROAD WORKS
North of Mae La Noi there are some easy road works either side of Mae La Luang.
Not difficult, it is basically some road resurfacing, with the road compact but covered in grit & small stones.
There are 3 patches with the longest section about 6 kms.
MHS RENDEZVOUS
The rendezvous point is the PTT on the left side entering town.
Location:
Google Maps
There is a 7-11 & Amazon here for cold drinks.
The Goodview (Sunflower) Restaurant in MHS will have a welcome drink for everyone at the PTT.
MHS ARRIVAL TIME
We want everyone to be at the PTT in MHS at 2.45pm
From the PTT the MHS Tourist Police will escort us up to the GTR Chedi @ 3.15PM.
The GTR Chedi is here:
Google Maps
GTR CHEDI PARKING
At the GTR chedi please pay attention to parking.
We want the bikes parked alongside each other, to form an avenue of bikes, parked either side of the walk way to the chedi. The monks will then walk through this avenue of bikes to and from the chedi.
CEREMONIES
On arrival at the GTR Chedi a brief history will be given on the chedi & its members.
The ceremonies are scheduled to start at 4PM.
We want
everyone to participate in the ceremonies. There are two ceremonies with the monks.
The main one is in the sala below & the second one is at the actual chedi.
The main ceremony
starts @ 4PM. This is a Cheub Chata ceremony & is conducted at the sala down below the chedi. This ceremony should take a total of 45 minutes, from set up to finish.
The ceremony is basically a cleansing ceremony - previous sins are forgiven, the body cleansed & bad luck removed, then good luck & harmony is put back in the body & soul, so you are fresh to go again. The group is tied together with strings and blessed as a whole.
You could compare it to a 100,000 kms bike service. engine strip down, rebuild with new oils & a top tune up.
The chedi ceremony
After the main ceremony is done, we walk back up the hill to the chedi with the monks to conduct another small ceremony at the chedi for our departed mates.
The ceremony should take about 15 minutes.
A rough ceremony outline - the ceremony is to contact the departed, check on their well being & to remind them they are not forgotten & should they need any help we are not far away.
Group photo: a group photo will be taken with the monks & everyone @ the GTR Chedi
Then for those who want them, a string (sin) will be tied on your wrist for good luck by the monks.
SATURDAY EVENING PARTY @ THE GOODVIEW (SUNFLOWER)
The location:
Google Maps
The Sunflower restaurant has changed hands & is now called the Goodview.
Whilst it is under renovation at the moment, we believe it will still be quite ok for the Memorial Ride night.
There will be a big new central bar, iced beer in bath tubs, plus a new sound system.
Food for the night will be BBQ Pig & salads – potato salad, coleslaw salad, french fries & fruit.
The quote for this from the Goodview is 300 baht a head– please pay direct to the Goodview. They are organising the food, not GTR.
Drinks please pay as you go, so there no disagreements after.
Music for the night will be from Johnadda and friends.
We have a few free giveaways on the night
- T-shirts from Big Bike Tours
Key Rings from Big Bike Tours
- T-shirts from Moto Bistro
- Dinner Vouchers from Moto Bistro
Thank you
Big Bike Tours &
Moto Bistro for your donations & supporting the event.
SUNDAY MORNING / BREAKFAST
Breakfast: from 8-10AM @ the Salween, they will provide a free fruit selection with brekky ordered off the menu. The Salween would like riders to wear a GTR shirt so they know you are not an outsider.
Salween Location:
Google Maps
Group Photo: We would like to take a group photo with the MHS tourist police outside the Goodview – the exact time to be confirmed. Please hang around for the photo, as we may use the image for next year's T-shirt.
RIDE BACK to Chiang Mai on your own route & at your own pace; most people will return to Cnx via Pai, but some will stop in Pai for the night.
Moto Bistro: we will have a GTR dinner at the Moto Bistro at a date to be confirmed, to thank them for their support.
ROUGH TIME GUIDE
Note that fast experienced riders should be quicker.
The first bikes, slower riders depart the PTT Nam Phrae at 8.15am.
PTT Nam Phrae – Hot PTT = 75 kms. About 45-60 minutes.
ETA PTT Hot 9.15 am. 10 minute drink stop.
The PTT @ Hot is on the right hand after you have made the right turn at the roundabout.
The PTT Location:
[bcolor=rgb(255, 255, 255)]https://goo.gl/maps/6yjvCNgSkSjtgqnZA[/bcolor]
Ex PTT Hot 9.30am.
PTT Hot – PTT Mae Sarieng = 103 kms. About 60-80 minutes.
ETA PTT Mae Sarieng = 10.50am. 10 minute drink stop.
PTT Mae Sarieng is on the right hand side after you have turned right & north to MHS.
The PTT Location:
[bcolor=rgb(255, 255, 255)]https://goo.gl/maps/fi3CuQkXrjGRemxKA[/bcolor]
Ex PTT Mae Sarieng 11AM
PTT Mae Sarieng – Mae La Noi viewpoint lunch = 28 kms. About 15-20 minutes.
ETA Lunch = 11.15AM. Lunch break 30-40 minutes.
The Mae La Noi Viewpoint is on the left, right after you crest the hill.
The Location:
[bcolor=rgb(255, 255, 255)]https://goo.gl/maps/oeinWShnBXvPY1RJ7[/bcolor]
Ex Mae La Noi Viewpoint 12pm
Mae La Noi – Khun Yuam PTT = 54 kms. About 45-60 minutes with road works.
ETA Khun Yuam PTT 1.20PM. Short drink stop 10 minutes
The Khun Yum PTT is on the right hand side at the south end of town.
The Location:
[bcolor=rgb(255, 255, 255)]https://goo.gl/maps/A8bkyJJ2wWHXCGuu5[/bcolor]
Ex PTT Khun Yuam 1.30PM
Khun Yuam – Mae Hong Son PTT = 66 kms. About 45-60 minutes.
ETA PTT MHS 2.30pm
The PTT MHS Location:
[bcolor=rgb(255, 255, 255)]https://goo.gl/maps/Atrdj2YRnGDA5e9L9[/bcolor]
Wait at the PTT in Mae Hong Son.
Don't go off elsewhere as some like to do, but
wait at the PTT!
Group Photo: we will take a group photo with the police at the PTT.
The police will escort the group up to the GTR chedi @ about 3.15pm, all being well.
SOME NOTES
This ride is not a race. Ride at your own pace. Slow riders set off first.
Riders are requested make their own little groups of 4-5-6 riders to ride at your own pace.
Please don't ride in a convoy.
We are riding to celebrate the lives of ex riding buddies & the good times we all had together in the North.
Just enjoy the ride at your leisure & arrive in MHS relaxed, with a smile a mile wide on your dial.
There is not a great deal of time to take photos with a MHS ETA of 2.45PM, so please don't dawdle.
The monks have a time schedule for the ceremonies to start @ 4pm & we want everyone to join in and be there as a group.
We will ask riders for a small donation to cover costs for the event - chedi upkeep, temple ceremonies & band costs. Any excess is given to the temple. Last year 2018, we gave 5,020 baht to the abbot.
Thanks everyone for coming to enjoy the MHS Loop on the GTR MHS Memorial Ride & pay tribute to departed riding buddies from the North.
Enjoy the ride, enjoy life, enjoy this special event and make good friends riding together.
