Xmas riders....

[Steve Canyon]

Well for me it's getting real close my ticket is booked and I'm ready...

From what I can gather there should be a few of us Ra's members out there, be great to meet a few of you. I'm not trying to plan a big ride but rather gather a list of whose going to be out there and the dates they plan to ride.

I will be in Chaing Mai from the 4th December and intend to do a few of 1-2 day trips...

On the 10th Dec I will be going to Laos on the hunt of the Midnight Mapper until 1st January 2011, I have a biked booked with remote Asia and intend to see as much as I possibly can...

Be great to see you out on the trails.....

 

[Pounce]

!8 weeks & counting until I'm there too Chris.
Flights booked & paid for, maps loaded in GPS, bikes (sort of) reserved, spending money squirreled away, broken wrist & back well on the mend.
Still trying to work out which route I'll be taking but will definitely try & meet up somewhere in Laos with you.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Still trying to work out which route I'll be taking but will definitely try & meet up somewhere in Laos with you.

What's on the top of your list mate....

 

[Pounce]

Doing the most out of the way tracks & trails.
Not too concerned with planning tourist spots. If we run across any though, all the better.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Where are you going to enter Laos and what date...

 

[KTMphil]

Where are you going to enter Laos and what date...

Hopefully will be around Chris, perfect time for some Laos trail riding. Do you want a Honda XR 250 or a Kawasaki KLX 250?

 

[Steve Canyon]

I have a bike booked with Remote Asia, so I will fly to Laos, but I do need a bike for the first week in Thailand....Honda me thinks....

 

[Pounce]

Hey fellas,

Was thinking about northish - Chiang Khong to Houasysai (Huai Sai)
Probably on the 19th - 20th December.
Was thinking of riding dirt on the way over to the border 'cause that's what the trails are for.
Still up in the air as to how many are coming now. Getting lots of interest but no commitment.
Told them all to let me know by October or it's too late.

 

[KTMphil]

if you're doing north Laos, consider going all the way north to Phongsali - Don/ midnightmapper informs me that there is an awesome 2 day trail that goes NE then NW up to Phongsali that not many people know about.

Hey fellas,

Was thinking about northish - Chiang Khong to Houasysai (Huai Sai)
Probably on the 19th - 20th December.
Was thinking of riding dirt on the way over to the border 'cause that's what the trails are for.
Still up in the air as to how many are coming now. Getting lots of interest but no commitment.
Told them all to let me know by October or it's too late.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Fantastic, I'll do the south first then come meet you guys....

.

if you're doing north Laos, consider going all the way north to Phongsali - Don/ midnightmapper informs me that there is an awesome 2 day trail that goes NE then NW up to Phongsali that not many people know about

This sounds good.... :RO

 

[KTMphil]

Chris - this is Midnight Mappers "unkown/ secret route" up to Phongsali, in northern Laos that most are unaware of

Fantastic, I'll do the south first then come meet you guys....

.

if you're doing north Laos, consider going all the way north to Phongsali - Don/ midnightmapper informs me that there is an awesome 2 day trail that goes NE then NW up to Phongsali that not many people know about

This sounds good.... :RO

 

[Pounce]

Hey Chris,
How's your route plannng coming along?
I really haven't had a chance to look into it much yet & the way things are going this side, I might be the only one going this year.
If that turns out to be the case, I might have to meet up with you sooner rather than later in Laos. A day or 3 ride from CNX to meet you isn't a drama at all.

Phil, are you still thinking of coming for a blatt? I had a look at the route to Phongsali you posted in you last post on Google Earth & it looks great. I know you want to ride it!

15 weeks to go...

 

[KTMphil]

Looks like i can come ...i'd love to do that backdoor route to Phongsali too, probably can get a pass from the Admiral for that trip.

Hey Chris,
How's your route plannng coming along?
I really haven't had a chance to look into it much yet & the way things are going this side, I might be the only one going this year.
If that turns out to be the case, I might have to meet up with you sooner rather than later in Laos. A day or 3 ride from CNX to meet you isn't a drama at all.

Phil, are you still thinking of coming for a blatt? I had a look at the route to Phongsali you posted in you last post on Google Earth & it looks great. I know you want to ride it!

15 weeks to go...

 

[Steve Canyon]

Hey Fellas, I've not really planned much, just going to ride the HM trails to you lot arrive...

Will be arriving on the 12 November now...

Going to do a course out there for the first 4 weeks, then hit Laos, I really don't mind where i go as long as I'm riding.....

Phil your gonna need some passes to go out and play..... 3

Look forward to seeing you all... :MJ

 

[KTMphil]

i think we're headed for the HM Trail in a few weeks Chris ....I'll keep good notes of interesting stuff to see, where to stay & where to eat as well for you.

Hey Fellas, I've not really planned much, just going to ride the HM trails to you lot arrive...

Will be arriving on the 12 November now...

Going to do a course out there for the first 4 weeks, then hit Laos, I really don't mind where i go as long as I'm riding.....

Phil your gonna need some passes to go out and play..... 3

Look forward to seeing you all... :MJ

 

[Steve Canyon]

If I've got the balls I'm going camping, Ray mears is coming with me..

That should be a help, i think with the Laos Gps it's going to be easy to get into some remote spots. I've Managed to get the things I want to see onto my PC as way-points so I can view on a large screen with Garmin world, think some days will be very few K's done, but I'm hoping for some great shots..

Nearly went into one there, cant wait.....

MM, what is Elephant dung?

:RO

:MJ

 

[Steve Canyon]

If you camping out in the jungle phil save the lat longs..

Might come in Handy if I'm not sure where to set up the million star hotel...

:RO

 

[Pounce]

13 weeks to go.
I'm going to have to get my shit together soon & start doing stuff.
Phil, I will contact you in the next couple of weeks regarding the bike/bikes. I read somewhere here that C&P has some new KLX's? If that's true, I would prefer one of those over an XR if it's possible. I might even risk the wrath of the bill payer & give you a call to discuss it.
Chris, camping sounds like a good option if needed. I'm trying to find a small (packed size) tent to throw on the bike too.
With the Laos Kip, as it's about 8000 to the dollar, do I need one of those money sacks with the $$$ on it to carry enough cash for lunch?

 

[KTMphil]

Just got back from Laos an hour ago, some amazing landslides there with all the rain.

Yep C&P has some decent KLX's and Joe has well maintained XR 250's, those 2 are your best shot in Chiang Mai for trail riding bikes.

Be careful, because the time of year you're coming is super high season and all the bikes could be booked for the tours

Phil, I will contact you in the next couple of weeks regarding the bike/bikes. I read somewhere here that C&P has some new KLX's? If that's true, I would prefer one of those over an XR if it's possible. I might even risk the wrath of the bill payer & give you a call to discuss it.

 

[Steve Canyon]

13 weeks to go.
I'm going to have to get my shit together soon & start doing stuff.
Phil, I will contact you in the next couple of weeks regarding the bike/bikes. I read somewhere here that C&P has some new KLX's? If that's true, I would prefer one of those over an XR if it's possible. I might even risk the wrath of the bill payer & give you a call to discuss it.
Chris, camping sounds like a good option if needed. I'm trying to find a small (packed size) tent to throw on the bike too

Yes time is moving on, got most of my shit together, route planning is going well MrP :!:

Going to buy a small hammock and a few bits and bobs and I'm there.....

Are there any dangerous animals other than snakes that I should worry about??? Big cats???

Mind you there are some big snakes out there...

If we have overnight gear we don't have to worry about getting some where before dark..

Scare the shit out of ourselves in the jungle...

:RO

 

[KTMphil]

Nothing to worry about Chris!

Are there any dangerous animals other than snakes that I should worry about??? Big cats???

 

[Pounce]

Just looking around on Google Earth & I found this hill.

It's along the route 4530 (?). GE says it's about a 1000m high. Too cool not to have a look at.
19 06'20"N 102 05'00"E

Start posting up things you'ld like to see on the way.

 

[KTMphil]

The stone road to Phongsali is a bitch, something will come loose or fall off your bike for sure.

Now midnight mapper's secret back route, that takes two days on beautiful trails,up to Phongsali, i must admit is irresistible.

Midnight mapper's "super secret" trail riding route by-passing the stone cobbled mind-numbing road north to Phongsali

Details about the route in the link below:

alternative-to-r-1b-stone-road-ne-laos-to-phongsaly-t313.html


Usual stone cobbled "main road" route to Phongsali

Phil, are you still thinking of coming for a blatt? I had a look at the route to Phongsali you posted in you last post on Google Earth & it looks great. I know you want to ride it!

15 weeks to go...

 

[Steve Canyon]

Looking forward to this gentlemen..........

:MJ

 

[KTMphil]

Wouldn't mind poking around down this trail in yellow & spending a night in the settlement down there too

 

[KTMphil]

I have it on good authority, if you've got one of Midnight Mappers Laos GPS maps, that there's some interesting trail riding to be explored on the Laos finger peninsular in the center of the photo below, there;s some trails in this area that are on his map.

 

[Pounce]

As we were going to do the North area, I was hoping we could get to the 3 corner border of Laos - Burma - China if it's allowed.
Then scoot around the border area of Vietnam sort of thing.
Looking along that finger in Google Earth you just posted, It's an impressive river valley with a road that runs all the way along it.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Wakey wakey...

not long now...how's it all coming along?

:RO

 

[Pounce]

Phil,
Do you know if it's possible to ride from Nong Khoi on the Nam Ou (N20 30.194 E102 36.79) to Mueng Gnoi Kaou (N20 40.535 E102 40.515) along the river?
It says there is a river trip that way along the river, so if it can't be ridden, can we get the bikes on a boat up there? If we can, the next question is the map says there's a trail leading out to the 2508 so is that trail rideable?
This is just one of the bits I'm looking at.
Chris, have you got any routes you've picked out you can send me? I can send you some of the ideas I've got.

 

[KTMphil]

A far as I know (Ill ask MM & LR), it's not possible, the dirt trail from Nong Khiaw only goes about 6km in a NNE direction then stops.

I think you have to put your bike on one of the boats to get north to Muang Ngoy - See the map below:

Phil,
Do you know if it's possible to ride from Nong Khoi on the Nam Ou (N20 30.194 E102 36.79) to Mueng Gnoi Kaou (N20 40.535 E102 40.515) along the river?
It says there is a river trip that way along the river, so if it can't be ridden, can we get the bikes on a boat up there? If we can, the next question is the map says there's a trail leading out to the 2508 so is that trail rideable?
This is just one of the bits I'm looking at.
Chris, have you got any routes you've picked out you can send me? I can send you some of the ideas I've got.

 

[KTMphil]

Pounce - Midnight Mapper is on his way back to Vientiane with no computer, he sent me this message regarding that route:


"Do not think there is a trail to take your bike.
However a great walking track running East from M Ngoy up the vally connecting to the road on top of the hill.
Surely would be a great hike!
Nother backpacker haven!
That is a very steep karsty valley the Nam Ou runs through there".

Wakey wakey...

not long now...how's it all coming along?

:RO

 

[Pounce]

Thanks Phil & MM
So if I read that right, we can get to Muang Ngoy with the bikes on a boat but there's no way to ride them out.
(I don't hike, that's what the bike is for :d )
Bugger, that looked like it would have been a good day trip.
Back to the planning board.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Hey fellas, I've not been planning much at all, just going to pick up the bike and head for the HM trail ride around the south for a week or so then go meet you guys.

As long as I'm riding I don't mind where I go....

 

[Pounce]

Am I going to really need a tent or hammock?
Trying to keep the kilo's down for baggage on the flight plus I'm getting fat so the less weight the bike has to carry the better.

5 1/2 weeks to go.

 

[KTMphil]

Am I going to really need a tent or hammock?
Trying to keep the kilo's down for baggage on the flight plus I'm getting fat so the less weight the bike has to carry the better.

5 1/2 weeks to go.

You dont need one -- any small settlement will offer you somewhere to sleep ..... a mosquito net might be useful

 

[Pounce]

2 weeks for you Chris, 4 for me.

Have you turned on your spot tracker to try it yet?

I've only got a basic plan of where I'ld like to go sorted out, (everyone wants everything befor Xmas so work has been flat out, no time to plan) so it will be a "find a trail & see where it goes" trip. They're usually the best anyway.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Have you turned on your spot tracker to try it yet?

I've only got a basic plan of where I'ld like to go sorted out,

Yes I fired it up yesterday, it's working well.....I will check in every night so you can see where I'm at, you can come meet me or we can arrange something...(Via facebook, I'll add a phone number)

2 weeks....Cant wait...

 

[chris]

If any of you guys haven't yet crossed the border to Laos between 17 and 27 Dec, it'd be great to ride a few trails round the Chiang Mai area together. I'm on a short flying (in/out) visit to Chiang Mai from the UK and am renting a xr250. I'm most interested in single and twin track. I've bought the paper/gps maps from R-C.

Maybe see you around,
Chris

 

[Pounce]

Hey Chris,
I fly in the night of the 17th then heading straight over to meet up with KTM Chris in Laos on the 19th.
Why not come to Laos? I'm planning on being back in Chiang Mai for New Years, so we could arrange to be near a border crossing for you to get you back for when you need, otherwise why not extend your trip a few days?
There's plenty of guys around who'll have a ride with you I'm sure.
Enjoy.

 

[chris]

Hey Chris,
I fly in the night of the 17th then heading straight over to meet up with KTM Chris in Laos on the 19th.
Why not come to Laos? I'm planning on being back in Chiang Mai for New Years, so we could arrange to be near a border crossing for you to get you back for when you need, otherwise why not extend your trip a few days?
There's plenty of guys around who'll have a ride with you I'm sure.
Enjoy.

Many thanks for that kind offer, but I think I'll have to pass on it. Having never ridden in SE Asia I'll stick with an introduction to N Thailand before venturing further afield.

Also I assume I will have to leave my passport as a deposit on the bike, so will stuggle getting across the border. My timings are very brief, limited by work and family committments. :cry

Have a really good one.

cheers
Chris