If you never binned it, you weren't trying hard enough...

I finally christened the crash bars and barkbusters in earnest on the way down from Doi Ang Khang. In my defence, it's the only stretch of road marked on the GT Riders map as 'extremely steep' - which was a bit of a red rag to a bull... I'd left Chiang Mai at lunchtime and headed North up the 107, which is a bit of a snooze. But after peeling off onto the 1178, the road got much more interesting - fast sweeping bends for about 50km to Arunothai, and then onto the 1340 for the really steep mountain stuff. You literally ride along the top of a mountain range, with Burma on the other side of the valley. Views would be fantastic, but there's a lot of controlled burning going on, so things are a bit hazy.

Anyway, the surface is pretty much 'once was asphalt' north of Doi Ang Khang - broken bits of tarmac, ruts, sand, you name it - and just as I was starting to feel like a real Crusty Demon of Dirt, I hit the aforementioned 'extremely steep' downhill section, the front wheel dropped into a big rut, and I exitted front centre, feet first over the bars. Fortunately all the crash gear did it's job and the bike is still fully functioning, but it looks a bit more like the part now (before the spill, the Hepco and Becker crash bars looked so pristine that I saw a Swedish tourist stroke them as he walked past in Phuket). Rider protection worked fine as well, apart from the jacket which was safely stowed away due to the heat, so I now have a very fetching Ko Samui Tattoo on my left arm.

Scene of the crime

So backtracking a little, at the end of my last post I was contemplating a random punt from Kanchanaburi to Umphang along the Burmese border. In the end I decided not to because there were no roads on the map, plus there was about 400km between known fuel stops, so I would not have been able to turn round in the last stretch if I had got stuck. The deciding factor was that I slept through my alarm and didn't hit the road until 10am, so 500km mostly off road would have been a struggle... probably the right call, especially for a lone rider.

Instead, I rode up the 3086 to Dan Chang, and then took the 333 through Lan Sak. It's flat farmland, so there's no real sport except dodging the overloaded sugar cane trucks. I was hoping to access Umphang from the east, because my map shows the 1117 running from Pang Wai through the Mae Wong National Park, but when I got to the park entrance at about 5pm, they told me the road didn't go right the way through. After trying to persuade the warden that I'd like to have a look anyway, she said the road terminated 40km further along at a campsite. Since I still have my tent, 120 baht changed hands and I was on my way to the campsite.

Caning it

The 1117 up to the campsite at Chong Yen is like Jurassic Park - a steep, overgrown single track. The campsite is a nicely manicured piece of grass at 1,300 metres with stunning views over the park, and there were a couple of rangers staying at the station there. Wonderful fresh air, crystal clear sky, cooking on the camp stove again - marvellous!

Jurassic Park

The next morning, I checked out the road ahead and sure enough, it completely dead-ended - not even a dirt track. I decided that rather than spend the next night in Mae Sot, I'd head straight for Chiang Mai, since that's where the real riding is supposed to begin.

Camping bliss

The ride up to Chiang Mai is fairly unremarkable - I stayed off the main 1 highway, but the 106 from Thoen is straight and flat, just like an English A-road. Chiang Mai is a fun town - there are lots of bars and restaurants, and there's a clear distinction between the expat / backpacker / package tourist parts of town. I stayed at the Sripoon Hotel just off Moon Muang Road - great location with off-street parking, and spotless rooms with A/C and TV for 400 baht. After a heavy couple of days of riding, it was nice to be able to relax and take care of some maintenance. The bike got an oil change at G3, and I got a haircut. The shaved head is a big hit with the girls at the filling stations - as soon as the helmet comes off, I now get 'Beckham', which is a big improvement on 'Rooney', which was the usual response to my widow's peak...

At Chiang Mai, I met up with David Unkovich, who under the name of GT Rider has published some great maps of Northern Thailand and Laos. There are a few multi-days loops that I want to do, and I decided to hit the Golden Triangle first because it takes me up to Mae Sae and the Myanmar border, where I needed to get my Thai visa renewed. To make the most of the great riding conditions, I'm doing the multi-day trips with just the top box - the panniers are staying at the Sripoon Hotel - which makes the bike a lot lighter.

After riding up (and falling down) Doi Ang Khang, I followed the 1089 through the unappealingly-named Fang and the polite-sounding Mae Ai (yes, please do) before stopping at the charming town of Tha Ton on the amusingly-named River Kok. Clean, secure accommodation at Naam Waan cost 200 Baht, just round the corner from the Sunshine Cafe, where I had a wonderful red curry. I finished off the evening at the You and I, where the barman explained to me how difficult it was being a muslim in his profession (well, perhaps you should shave your beard off and change your name from Ali...). The clientele comprised Sylvie, Ali's French girlfriend, and her two Swiss ex-husbands - an interesting mix...

Next morning the riding really got interesting - fast sweeping bends and tight switchbacks on the 1234 up to Mae Salong, which is a beautiful hill town with an incredible history - it was given by the Thai government to the 93rd Division of the Chinese Army who refused to surrender to the communists after the Chinese civil war, who then grew opium to fund their anti-communist crusade... the whole story is on wikipedia, and will make a great 15 minute break when you're bored at work... What with opium not being quite so popular with the Thai government these days (they have completely eradicated cultivation in Thailand), those clever Chinese have switched to growing flowers, and have built some really nice lodges where trekkers from San Francisco can drink the locally grown Oolong tea and discuss Anna Karenina..

Mae Salong

Tea picking - Chinese style

Having failed to have my riding spirits dampened by the previous day's tumble, I left Mae Salong in search of some serious dirt roads, and I found them on the hack up to Hua Mae Kham, which is on a little spit of Thailand which sticks out into Myanmar. After about 20km of dirt, the road leads straight up the side of the mountain to a hill tribe, and the last kilometer is a steep gradient covered with ruts with bull dust about 4 inches deep. Bull dust is strange stuff - it's a bit like talcum powder and has a consistency like water - and at the top of the hill, I was covered from head to foot in the stuff.

Bull dust

Sport!

After hacking up and down that slope, I was pretty exhausted and decided to head for Mae Sai, which would give me good access to the border the next day. I had time for a couple more great stretches of road - the 1334, which an absolute pearler and has some of the tightest hairpins I've ever seen coming out of Pha Bur, and the 1149 which leads up to the temple at Doi Tung. The ride back down to the 1 highway is incredible - the road is close to perfection (which may have something to do with the Royal Villa half way up...) and you can smell the perfume from the nurseries all the way up the hill.

Doi Tung - but what does it all mean???

I finished the day in Mae Sai, which is definitely not one of the more appealing spots in Thailand, and I won't recommend any accommodation because I'm sure the Bamboo House where I stayed is not the best.