Here I sit in my miserable little office in New Zealand, drooling over the photos and trip reports being submitted by others still in the beautiful country I miss so much. We must however always be grateful for the opportunities life throws at us and seize every day as if it is our last.
Early on, John Gooding had asked me to respond at some stage regarding the advice I had received over the months preceding the trip and give some sort of reflection on how it had worked out for me.
This was a certain advsnture for me. I am not sure how many of you were aware, but the reality was that one year ago I had not ridden a motor bike since my teens and it was only last June of 2008 that the idea came about of a motor cycle adventure in Northern Thailand. I took the year to take the necessary riding tests for full licence and of course make the relevant plans for the trip. This board has been an integral part of the planning as most of you are aware.
The original plan was to ride through laos and Cambodia and that idea was squashed very quickly by those in the know. The end result was that I set up camp in a guest house in Chiang Mai and went out for single days or two or three days at a time but returned to base camp.
I probably did not do half the things i had originally planned to do, but equally, I did many other things I had never envisaged. Just letting life flow is the answer for a fruitful result.
The Bikes
I started off with a DTracker. this was a great little bike and took me to some great planned (and unplanned) places. It was just a bit tough on my butt after a while (I rode every day, sometimes for a lot of hours) It was magnificent on the rougher sections and would have been a godsend for the downhill section of the Nor Lae road. I changed after six days to the ER6N which gave a totally different ride.
In fairness, there are great sides to both and also downsides. I found the DTracker easier for carrying my luggage, handier on the tight turns and as I said, better on the more rough tracks. On the open road I had great fun on the ER6N.
The riding experience
I know I will be taken to task on this but I really did not find the Thai drivers to be at all bad. I found them mostly to be considerate and within the crazyness of their world, pretty careful. What I tried to do was think like a Thai and follow suit with them and it seemed to work. Taking a backwards step only caused hesitation and potential for problems so I joined them. Looking far enough ahead to anticipate is a must and riding to the conditions paramount. Has a few nice chats at traffic lights and took a few handy photos as I rode alongside them.
The clothing
This is always going to be a tough one. Safety over comfort on a budget. I erred towards safety and stuck with the tried and tested armour for most of the time. I discovered a few little tricks to keep cool on the move but the bottom line is that you sweat whatever happens. I certainly lost a few pounds on the trip. No gloves was a big mistake and one I regretted until I bought a light pair. Shorts under my protective pants meant that anywhere I ended up, food etc, I could just drop my tweeds and keep a sense of dignity.
The people
My intention had always been to do this alone and ride alone and enjoy the time out in the experience. My chance meeting with Liam and Brendon changed this a bit and we spent some good time together on various short rides. Realsitically, when riding you are almost always alone anyway (and my crap navigation meant that I would usually be alone anyway. My record for losing the others was at Mae Sarieng when I lost them less than 15 seconds after we moved off. I am pretty sure they all went the wrong way :wink:
Everyone who has advised me and helped me from this site has done it with a good heart and generous intention. To meet some of these good people in person was a delight and an honour. I won't go into too much detail but there is a true sense of support for fellow biker/adventurers which is comforting when coming to a place such as this for the first time. I was always made to feel welcome and at home wherever I was. I was fortunate to meet with Auke, who has been so helpful on the GPS side of things. I was invited by Dave Early to the meeting of the Toy Ride group and meet the guys who give so much of their time to help others. It was great to hear of the plans and share the meeting with them. Meeting with David and John Gooding for a little while was cool, just sharing a few experiences and friendships. I met Pikey in his shop on my last day, a shame i didn't get a chance to see more of him but the time there was truly enjoyable and next time will be a different matter. I met Ian at the X Centre after a couple of visits, good to catch up with a fellow Kiwi. Meeting Brendon and Mrs BJ at the end of the trip for breakfast rounded off the time in Chinag Mai nicely and a friendship has certainly been forged with them both. (Mrs Tonykiwi wants to visit the health Spa where Mrs BJ works so I guess I will have to lose myself a while into the hills, detox doesn't really work for me)
The guys I rode with on two or three occasions were great guys. Martin, Liam and Brendon. I guess most folks are the same but we did have a clear understanding of one another, no expectations at all and a simple agreement to meet at some stage if we got lost or separated. There was no pressure to ride fast, hard or get anywhere by any specific time. I am truly grateful for the friendship which formed and hope it can be repeated when I come back again.
Edit : One thing I wanted to refer to was arranged by Liam on our four day ride. When we arrived he had prepared four sets of trip documentation, nothing heavy but all relevant. The first page was designed for each of the riders to have details of each others mobile phone numbers, each others bike details and most importantly, each others next of kin or person to contact in the case of a major problem. Then followed a print out of the route to take along with the stopover places. Finally some good reading material and advice for those riding in groups. Thanks Liam, it was a good idea and one I would recommend others follow.
The rides
Yes, I had maps and yes I had GPS but mostly I followed my intuition and whilst it led me on a few adventurous rides, there was always something cool to see which was unexpected. Not everything worked out as planned but that doesn't matter because sometimes that is a better result than the planned one. I was a bit saddened to miss out due to weather on the best of my second trip to the Northern border but the weather was so crap I couldn't see anything so just rode back to Chiang Mai.
I guess the reality is that I am not a hardened biker. Whilst I enjoyed the bike riding, I am most certainly not an enthusiast that others may be. I have no idea what a catlyctic converter is and 'torque' is what my kids do when I am watching rugby on TV. My delight was to take in the scenery, enjoy the people and revel in the solitude that riding a bike can bring. I went places I would not have gone to by othr means of transport.
There was also the excitement factor of riding in conditions I was pretty unused to. There were certainly moments going down the Nor Lae road (did I say road?) that I may have felt a bit better on my Honda XR 250 at home but the ER6 did it ok even if it did cook the back brake fluid by the time I reached the bottom.
The ride from Mae Hong Son to Pai was an experience I will never forget, as was the first Sameong loop (all 330 kms of it, not even touching the Sameong loop, thanks Dave for pointing that out)
Riding back from Chiang Rai in the pouring rain had its own delights.
Thai people were amongst the most accomodating I have ever met.
So, in closing I guess my thoughts are mixed. To my beautiful wifes dismay I have discussed a repeat visit next year however it is likely that she will join me for a week and do some of the touring with me. I just want to share this experience. For anyone who happens to read this, who has maybe been thinking about such an experience,, don't think about it, do it and don't stick ot the main roads, get away into the villages and enjoy the people
Driving back from lake taupo in New Zealand yesterday, there was some beautiful scenery. This experience has taught me to check out where I live as well,so I'll be doing a lot more touring in this manner.
Maybe one day, some of you may visit my own country, I will be pleased to return the hospitality and friendships.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to a life changing experience.
Tony
Early on, John Gooding had asked me to respond at some stage regarding the advice I had received over the months preceding the trip and give some sort of reflection on how it had worked out for me.
This was a certain advsnture for me. I am not sure how many of you were aware, but the reality was that one year ago I had not ridden a motor bike since my teens and it was only last June of 2008 that the idea came about of a motor cycle adventure in Northern Thailand. I took the year to take the necessary riding tests for full licence and of course make the relevant plans for the trip. This board has been an integral part of the planning as most of you are aware.
The original plan was to ride through laos and Cambodia and that idea was squashed very quickly by those in the know. The end result was that I set up camp in a guest house in Chiang Mai and went out for single days or two or three days at a time but returned to base camp.
I probably did not do half the things i had originally planned to do, but equally, I did many other things I had never envisaged. Just letting life flow is the answer for a fruitful result.
The Bikes
I started off with a DTracker. this was a great little bike and took me to some great planned (and unplanned) places. It was just a bit tough on my butt after a while (I rode every day, sometimes for a lot of hours) It was magnificent on the rougher sections and would have been a godsend for the downhill section of the Nor Lae road. I changed after six days to the ER6N which gave a totally different ride.
In fairness, there are great sides to both and also downsides. I found the DTracker easier for carrying my luggage, handier on the tight turns and as I said, better on the more rough tracks. On the open road I had great fun on the ER6N.
The riding experience
I know I will be taken to task on this but I really did not find the Thai drivers to be at all bad. I found them mostly to be considerate and within the crazyness of their world, pretty careful. What I tried to do was think like a Thai and follow suit with them and it seemed to work. Taking a backwards step only caused hesitation and potential for problems so I joined them. Looking far enough ahead to anticipate is a must and riding to the conditions paramount. Has a few nice chats at traffic lights and took a few handy photos as I rode alongside them.
The clothing
This is always going to be a tough one. Safety over comfort on a budget. I erred towards safety and stuck with the tried and tested armour for most of the time. I discovered a few little tricks to keep cool on the move but the bottom line is that you sweat whatever happens. I certainly lost a few pounds on the trip. No gloves was a big mistake and one I regretted until I bought a light pair. Shorts under my protective pants meant that anywhere I ended up, food etc, I could just drop my tweeds and keep a sense of dignity.
The people
My intention had always been to do this alone and ride alone and enjoy the time out in the experience. My chance meeting with Liam and Brendon changed this a bit and we spent some good time together on various short rides. Realsitically, when riding you are almost always alone anyway (and my crap navigation meant that I would usually be alone anyway. My record for losing the others was at Mae Sarieng when I lost them less than 15 seconds after we moved off. I am pretty sure they all went the wrong way :wink:
Everyone who has advised me and helped me from this site has done it with a good heart and generous intention. To meet some of these good people in person was a delight and an honour. I won't go into too much detail but there is a true sense of support for fellow biker/adventurers which is comforting when coming to a place such as this for the first time. I was always made to feel welcome and at home wherever I was. I was fortunate to meet with Auke, who has been so helpful on the GPS side of things. I was invited by Dave Early to the meeting of the Toy Ride group and meet the guys who give so much of their time to help others. It was great to hear of the plans and share the meeting with them. Meeting with David and John Gooding for a little while was cool, just sharing a few experiences and friendships. I met Pikey in his shop on my last day, a shame i didn't get a chance to see more of him but the time there was truly enjoyable and next time will be a different matter. I met Ian at the X Centre after a couple of visits, good to catch up with a fellow Kiwi. Meeting Brendon and Mrs BJ at the end of the trip for breakfast rounded off the time in Chinag Mai nicely and a friendship has certainly been forged with them both. (Mrs Tonykiwi wants to visit the health Spa where Mrs BJ works so I guess I will have to lose myself a while into the hills, detox doesn't really work for me)
The guys I rode with on two or three occasions were great guys. Martin, Liam and Brendon. I guess most folks are the same but we did have a clear understanding of one another, no expectations at all and a simple agreement to meet at some stage if we got lost or separated. There was no pressure to ride fast, hard or get anywhere by any specific time. I am truly grateful for the friendship which formed and hope it can be repeated when I come back again.
Edit : One thing I wanted to refer to was arranged by Liam on our four day ride. When we arrived he had prepared four sets of trip documentation, nothing heavy but all relevant. The first page was designed for each of the riders to have details of each others mobile phone numbers, each others bike details and most importantly, each others next of kin or person to contact in the case of a major problem. Then followed a print out of the route to take along with the stopover places. Finally some good reading material and advice for those riding in groups. Thanks Liam, it was a good idea and one I would recommend others follow.
The rides
Yes, I had maps and yes I had GPS but mostly I followed my intuition and whilst it led me on a few adventurous rides, there was always something cool to see which was unexpected. Not everything worked out as planned but that doesn't matter because sometimes that is a better result than the planned one. I was a bit saddened to miss out due to weather on the best of my second trip to the Northern border but the weather was so crap I couldn't see anything so just rode back to Chiang Mai.
I guess the reality is that I am not a hardened biker. Whilst I enjoyed the bike riding, I am most certainly not an enthusiast that others may be. I have no idea what a catlyctic converter is and 'torque' is what my kids do when I am watching rugby on TV. My delight was to take in the scenery, enjoy the people and revel in the solitude that riding a bike can bring. I went places I would not have gone to by othr means of transport.
There was also the excitement factor of riding in conditions I was pretty unused to. There were certainly moments going down the Nor Lae road (did I say road?) that I may have felt a bit better on my Honda XR 250 at home but the ER6 did it ok even if it did cook the back brake fluid by the time I reached the bottom.
The ride from Mae Hong Son to Pai was an experience I will never forget, as was the first Sameong loop (all 330 kms of it, not even touching the Sameong loop, thanks Dave for pointing that out)
Riding back from Chiang Rai in the pouring rain had its own delights.
Thai people were amongst the most accomodating I have ever met.
So, in closing I guess my thoughts are mixed. To my beautiful wifes dismay I have discussed a repeat visit next year however it is likely that she will join me for a week and do some of the touring with me. I just want to share this experience. For anyone who happens to read this, who has maybe been thinking about such an experience,, don't think about it, do it and don't stick ot the main roads, get away into the villages and enjoy the people
Driving back from lake taupo in New Zealand yesterday, there was some beautiful scenery. This experience has taught me to check out where I live as well,so I'll be doing a lot more touring in this manner.
Maybe one day, some of you may visit my own country, I will be pleased to return the hospitality and friendships.
Thanks to everyone for contributing to a life changing experience.
Tony
