Riders: Jeff, Ian, John, Con, Jamie, Richie, Neal, Ron, Bob, Stan, Mark, Wes
For some reason that I didn't quite get, Jeff & a few others said they wanted to ride with me out on one of my previous tracks around the Samoeng area.
Well the call went out on the GT forum inviting folks to come along & meet up at Kad Farang on the Hang Dong Road @ 09:30.
Finally after a few nacho's & buritos, along with what seemed a never ending flow of guys turning up on their bikes, we made a move @ 10:30.
Immediately there was fun & games in the car park with Jeff trying to straighten out his exhaust with a little help from Ian and then complete disaster struck when I took the lead out of Kad Farang and believed people would be watching where I was riding.
Big lesson.
So after a lot of messing about getting people back as a group but sadly missing a couple, we finally made our way up from the 108, to the Canal Rd, & through Nam Phrae to the 1269 towards Samoeng.
At Ban Klang Doi Resport we regrouped and took the left towards Huai Khwang Cave and on through until this track meets up with the 1269 again and did a left and rode onto Samoeng market.
After a short stop and then a refuel, we headed north to Ban Pok and Samoeng Nua.
Now on this stretch of red compact dirt, I think I realised why Jeff & the others wanted to ride with me. They needed a laugh. This route is great in the dry season but today Crystal Palace Ice Rink wasn't as slippy as this track.
Belting up & around the summit, I was getting to think my bike was possessed, with a mind of it's own, twitching and slipping and yet I was throttling steady and just riding as best I could with some hefty XR's behind me with riders with immense experience staring in my mirror !
And over the din of Jeff's shot exhaust I could hear laughter at each twitch and twist. I tell ya, I was screaming with laughter too as it was a fantastic experience & lesson - don't hesitate, just push on.
Back down on concrete & then tarmac in Pong Yang, we regrouped again and did a short ride along the 1096 towards Mae Rim but took the first left up the 4027.
This is a brilliant ride, despite the potholes, it's a good road to weave up to the summit lookout point. I will be coming back here as Ian pointed out a further ascending track up to an even higher lookout point.
The road construction work I saw the last time I rode here has it seems come to a halt. There is still much concreting to do but they have covered quite a lot of the bad part as you descend through Ban Pang Hai.
The roads were mainly dry except for a couple of patches where rain had recently stopped and as we approached the 1096 again, we felt a few drops of rain.
Lunch was well worth the wait at The X-Centre, tasty and reasonably priced. A fabulous ride which was made all the more enjoyable by the characters that came along too. Thanks everyone and I apologise for messing up the start but I think everyone enjoyed the route in the end.
Ally
For some reason that I didn't quite get, Jeff & a few others said they wanted to ride with me out on one of my previous tracks around the Samoeng area.
Well the call went out on the GT forum inviting folks to come along & meet up at Kad Farang on the Hang Dong Road @ 09:30.
Finally after a few nacho's & buritos, along with what seemed a never ending flow of guys turning up on their bikes, we made a move @ 10:30.
Immediately there was fun & games in the car park with Jeff trying to straighten out his exhaust with a little help from Ian and then complete disaster struck when I took the lead out of Kad Farang and believed people would be watching where I was riding.
Big lesson.
So after a lot of messing about getting people back as a group but sadly missing a couple, we finally made our way up from the 108, to the Canal Rd, & through Nam Phrae to the 1269 towards Samoeng.
At Ban Klang Doi Resport we regrouped and took the left towards Huai Khwang Cave and on through until this track meets up with the 1269 again and did a left and rode onto Samoeng market.
After a short stop and then a refuel, we headed north to Ban Pok and Samoeng Nua.
Now on this stretch of red compact dirt, I think I realised why Jeff & the others wanted to ride with me. They needed a laugh. This route is great in the dry season but today Crystal Palace Ice Rink wasn't as slippy as this track.
Belting up & around the summit, I was getting to think my bike was possessed, with a mind of it's own, twitching and slipping and yet I was throttling steady and just riding as best I could with some hefty XR's behind me with riders with immense experience staring in my mirror !
And over the din of Jeff's shot exhaust I could hear laughter at each twitch and twist. I tell ya, I was screaming with laughter too as it was a fantastic experience & lesson - don't hesitate, just push on.
Back down on concrete & then tarmac in Pong Yang, we regrouped again and did a short ride along the 1096 towards Mae Rim but took the first left up the 4027.
This is a brilliant ride, despite the potholes, it's a good road to weave up to the summit lookout point. I will be coming back here as Ian pointed out a further ascending track up to an even higher lookout point.
The road construction work I saw the last time I rode here has it seems come to a halt. There is still much concreting to do but they have covered quite a lot of the bad part as you descend through Ban Pang Hai.
The roads were mainly dry except for a couple of patches where rain had recently stopped and as we approached the 1096 again, we felt a few drops of rain.
Lunch was well worth the wait at The X-Centre, tasty and reasonably priced. A fabulous ride which was made all the more enjoyable by the characters that came along too. Thanks everyone and I apologise for messing up the start but I think everyone enjoyed the route in the end.
Ally
