Laos Route 18 Mud Sweat and Tears

brian_bkk

brian_bkk

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Mar 30, 2010
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G'day All,

Riders:-
Jim "Fix It"
Justin "Crash and Drown"
Brian "Moto-Mania"

That time of year where we head off to Laos for holidays with mates.
Jim Fix it had never riden route 18 before. We headed here after our first planned route was blocked by the Military.
They were pretty convincing that we would not pass. Went away and came back with an AK 47...
More to come on this in the ride report.

116 km in 1.5 days.
One bike drowned twice,
One bike partially drowned and came back to life.
One broken subframe
Countless crashes
Some minor injuries.. but the show must go on.
Mud, did I mention mud... Mud mud mud and more mud
Loads of stream crossings.. loads...
Camping off the trail by the river..

A ripper ride with great mates.

If you have the bandwidth on your internet connection.. Set it to HD and full screen mode.



Took some time to upload this on a dodgy internet connection..

Cheers and beers

Brian

Note:- This will most likely not play on your phone due to the music copyright.
PC / Mac is fine.

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King of Jars

King of Jars

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Feb 27, 2008
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Thanks for sharing this with all of us. R18 remains possibly impassable during the monsoon it seems. Fantastic cutting; see you next Tuesday night :cool:
 
Moto-Rex

Moto-Rex

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Jan 5, 2008
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Brilliant video Brian.

I love the way your laughing all the way through it.

You certainly were adventurous tackling the famous Route 18 in the wet season.

Looking forward to the report.

Moto-Rex
 
F

Franz

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Jun 28, 2007
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What an epic ride guys :clap: !!! Hats off to a great video and the efforts of doing it too, seldom someone puts together something as long as this film. Also hats off to Justin :thumbup: who seems to have come back again from the misery he faced some years ago in fighting his dreadful disease, good to see you back and kicking "Big'n'Tall" !!! I wouldn't have enjoyed the music by J. Brown on that particular dirttrack where it was more sludge than anything else; "I feel good" on that part for sure is a little masochistic, isn't it :lol: 55555555, keep it comin' !!
 
brian_bkk

brian_bkk

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Mar 30, 2010
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555 Thanks guys.. It was a great trip.

After careful consideration..
Next time we will use the following more appropriate transportation for Route 18

StarWars_Imperial_Speeder_Bike.jpg


Cheers
Brian
 
DavidFL

DavidFL

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Wow. Awesome outrageous fun. You guys were really enjoying yourselves.

I usually don't watch the vdo clips very much; but this one is bloody good to sit back & relax & enjoy with a nice bevvy after a hard day at the office. How good is life you guys must have been thinking all during that trip.

Congratulations & well done. 5-star clip that one alright.
 
jsbkk

jsbkk

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Dec 13, 2010
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Davidfl;303237 wrote: Wow. Awesome outrageous fun. You guys were really enjoying yourselves.

I usually don't watch the vdo clips very much; but this one is bloody good to sit back & relax & enjoy with a nice bevvy after a hard day at the office. How good is life you guys must have been thinking all during that trip.

Congratulations & well done. 5-star clip that one alright.
Click to expand...
+1 to that.

Great stuff Brian! Really enjoyed watching the entire clip. Excellent video and great selection of tracks. Admire your passion and skills for riding... Keep it going!
 
rob7711

rob7711

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Oct 30, 2010
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Guys ... any idea what this route will be like in January? Will it still be a beast as in this vdo? I had this route in mind for this January but after this VDo RR I might have to divert to the sane Route 16 and then try the "shortcut" to Attapeu.

Another great RR Brian!
 
brian_bkk

brian_bkk

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Mar 30, 2010
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rob7711;303275 wrote: Guys ... any idea what this route will be like in January? Will it still be a beast as in this vdo? I had this route in mind for this January but after this VDo RR I might have to divert to the sane Route 16 and then try the "shortcut" to Attapeu.

Another great RR Brian!
Click to expand...
Hi Rob,

It can still be a bit muddy.. but nothing like the video.

Did this once in Jan with moto Rex.. Mostly dry.. but some big mud baths to get through.

The rivers will still be up a bit.. All but the one I waded through is passable.
Rode through this once in April and heard the exhaust go under briefly.

But if you are on a big adventure bike.. you may have a bit higher exhaust. Otherwise there is no a raft up stream a little in the village.
They will try and rip you off for 200,000 kip.. We paid 20,000 after 10 mins..

If you have short legs and a big bike.. may be a bit tricky with some of the crossings :)

Not so sure I would enjoy Route 18 on a big adventure bike.. But each to their own.
KLX / Dirt bike is a lot of fun..

Cheers
Brian
 
rob7711

rob7711

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Oct 30, 2010
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Much appreciated for your input Brian. This route looks like a lot of "work" so maybe I'll give it a miss and save it for another trip. We will be on enduros but will stick to open trails and avoiding the really gnarly stuff. Cheers!
 
brian_bkk

brian_bkk

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Mar 30, 2010
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Hi Rob,

Hope I didn't put you off route 18.
Just trying to find a balance in what to expect and the bikes used.

If you have enduro bikes.. and you like fun tracks with some water and occasional mud..

You will love this route.. Has a bit of everything.

Ridden Route 18 four times now.. a different experience each time.

Cheers
Brian
 
rob7711

rob7711

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Oct 30, 2010
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brian_bkk;303299 wrote: Hi Rob,

Hope I didn't put you off route 18.
Just trying to find a balance in what to expect and the bikes used.

If you have enduro bikes.. and you like fun tracks with some water and occasional mud..

You will love this route.. Has a bit of everything.

Ridden Route 18 four times now.. a different experience each time.

Cheers
Brian
Click to expand...
Not at all Brian. It's just that on this coming January ride, one of the rider has a bum leg and 18A may be just too much to ask of him and would be unfair. Anyway it's a vacation ride and as I have ate my fair share of dirt for now (as per pic below) we will save 18A for a return visit.

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ps
I posted an enquiry under the General Discussion section pertaining to my intended routes and would appreciate any advice or comments. Cheers & Thanks.
 
brian_bkk

brian_bkk

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Mar 30, 2010
2,136
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Just updated the video link as Youtube muted the original video due to a James Brown Song.
This has now been replaced and lets hope not muted again.

Cheers
Brian


 
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