Chiang Rai Bikers Day Ride, July 10, Tuesday

[crsaddlebags]

Hello Udon folks. We hope you can make it to the following-

The following e-mail was sent to all on the Chiang Rai Bikers Day Rider mailing list. Welcome to all to attend the ride.

Hello all. I hope all is well with you all. This e-mail announces the next Chiang Rai Bikers Day Ride which is scheduled for July 10, a Tuesday. This ride will encompass some of the nicest, most scenic riding roads in northern Thailand.

As always, if you wish to NOT receive the e-mails for the monthly Chiang Rai Bikers Day Ride, please let me know and I will remove you from the mailing list. And as always, feel free to post this info to any websites, forums or blogs you may know of and feel free to forward this e-mail to all who may wish to know about the ride. If you know of anyone who wishes to be on the mailing list, contact me and I will add them.

While the day ride is listed as a bikers day ride, all folks with all modes of transportation are welcome. We have trucks and cars with us on each ride, as well as a wide range of motorcycle sizes and styles. Typically, we have several scooters starting at around 100 or 125 cc and we have a Harley at 1,800 cc. We have the newest models of dirt bikes, cruisers and street bikes and we have antique bikes in attendance. It isn't all about bikers. It is as much a social outing where you can meet new people, make new friends and see some country in the company of others who can lend some advice and information about the area as we travel it. If any of you have family members that wish to attend but don't want to accompany you on the bike, let us know and we will see if we have seats enough in the four wheel vehicles for everyone.

There is no hurry to complete the route and no need to ride as a herd. Faster bikes and bikers will do their thing while the slower ones do their thing and we will all meet up at about the same time for lunch. Lunch seems to last for about two hours as people get to meeting and greeting, swapping know-how and route info and aren't in a hurry to get back on the road. Coffee stops, rest stops, picture taking and dodging or waiting out the occasional rain shower are up to the individual riders.

We get quite a few from out of town and from fairly far away. If anyone is in need of advice or directions about where to stay overnight in Chiang Rai, let me know.

Meeting point for the start of the ride is the PTT/ Amazon Coffee on the Super Highway (Highway 1) in Chiang Rai. Location on the map can be found here: http://g.co/maps/8pdq4
Look for the yellow petrol pump icon on the map to see the exact location. Fuel, compressed air, oil, snacks coffee and restrooms are available.
Meeting time is 08:30, departure is at 09:00

The route as suggested by two anonymous riders is:
Chiang Rai to Mae Chan via Route 1
Shortly after Mae Chan, left on the 1130, west, until it turns into 1234. Mid morning break is scheduled for Doi Mae Salong.
Continuing after Doi Mae Salong on the 1234 and then go right on the 1089, west.
1089 to Fang and a lunch stop. Lunch stop isn't finalized yet; if anyone knows of a good place or places that can accommodate us for lunch, let me know.
After Fang, at Mae Sun the slower bikes will head east on 109 to Mae Saui, then left and east on the 118 to highway 1211, left and north. This is the old Chiang Mai highway and it will take us back into Chiang Rai.

After Fang, faster bikes who wish for a longer ride will take the 107 south at Mae Sun. Stay on 107 until Ping Khong, then left and east on the 1150 to Foei Hai and then left on the 118, north to 1211 and into Chiang Rai.

It looks like several will be taking the longer route and if the time is right, I may go that way as well.

Udonmap forum note:

I don't know how to put the map in this post so if anyone wants the pdf file containing the map that was sent to me, let me know and I'll e-mail it to you. If anyone wants to map this out with GPS and provide the info to all, send it to me and I will forward it to all on the list.

Here is a Google Map link with the route also: http://goo.gl/maps/C1t4

[crsaddlebags]

Update for the July 10 Chiang Rai Bikers Day Ride.

Several riders recently scouted the route for July 10. One thing that stood out for me on that route is- BRING A CAMERA. There are so many places early in the route that offer fantastic views of the valleys and mountains. On the scouting trip, we were in a bit of a hurry and didn’t stop to take advantage of all that was available to be appreciated. On July 10, I will be stopping quite a bit so the wife can snap pics of the more memorable sights.

We identified one place where the main road is closed near Doi Mae Salong but by making a left at the detour sign, we were able to slip through a village on cobblestone streets and reconnect with the main highway just a few minutes a later.

Coffee stops- We found several. Near Doi Mae Salong, there is a beautiful flower garden and coffee shop that will accommodate a large group, coffee at 40 baht. However, the right-hand turn into the driveway of that place is very steep and may be a hazard for large bikes and leaving the place and re-entering the highway is even more hazardous because of the steep climb up the driveway. Just a short distance further up the road and on the left there is another coffee stop that offers hot water and instant coffee in addition to cold drinks.

At Tha Ton, we crossed the river bridge, made an immediate left and found a nice Thai food café for lunch. Good prices, good food. A recommendation was also made to eat at the first restaurant on the left prior to crossing that bridge. So, in Tha Ton there is enough seating for very large group if we end up with lots of people on the 10th.

After leaving Fang and heading east toward Highway 1 (the short route for this ride), there is again some really nice twisty riding and some opportunities for good camera shots. This road is torn up in a few places and under construction in one place but it is a very nice ride. We made a refreshment stop in a small village on this road and then proceeded to Highway 1 and a last stop for dessert, coffee and beer at Charin Resort and then a 25 minute ride home from there.

Just south of Fang, several of the scouts continued on south to Chiang Mai. I haven’t heard what they found on that route.

I don’t have grid coordinates for the places I mention above and not sure we need them. If needed, a briefing can be given on the morning of the 10th at the PTT before we start out. Overall, it looks a great route for bikes of all sizes and riders of all skill levels. The wife and I are looking forward to it.

[crsaddlebags]

One week warning folks! The 10th is coming. Pack your bags and bring your cameras.
I was told it is approximately 250 km from start to finish in CR, the short route. I didn't check the distance on the day we checked out the route but it did take us about 7 hours. We goofed off a lot on that day and I suspect we will goof off a lot on the 10th. I like to goof off when riding. The guys who rode the longer route south have identified some coffee stops at Phrao next to the police station and at Wiang Pa Pao at the traffic lights, hang a right and go 700 meters to the big white coffee cup on your left. Hope to see you all there.

[Alfred]

I hope you will write how the day was. I sit between Udon T. and Sakhon N. City, a bit far to come to your meeting point.
Have fun

[crsaddlebags]

Hello Alfred. Yes, you are a ways away. However, we have people who ride up from the islands in the deep south for this so maybe one day, you will make it.

I and several others write up some ride reports after each ride. Some reports with pictures can be found here http://chiangraities.com/index.php?board=30.0 and others can be found in links within those ride reports from past months.

[crsaddlebags]

The Chiang Rai Bikers Day Ride for July 10 saw roughly 18 bikes starting out. Two were lost before we left town, two more were lost during the ride, one to an inoperative cooling fan. We picked up a few at Mae Chan and continued on. The Thai community was represented by several faster bikes and riders. We ended up with one four wheel vehicle at the last moment but no drinks, ice or snacks this time. We had folks from Chiang Rai, Chiang Saen, and Chiang Mai at least. One small scooter, two- up with tourists, left town with us and waved us off at Mae Chan. I believe the smallest bike to make the journey was a 150cc and the largest was 1,800cc. Our regular 110cc and 125cc scooter crowd couldn’t make it this time.

As always, this was a great group of guys and gals. I am always impressed by quality of people that show up for these rides. No egos, no problems; just folks who want to get along, meet new people, make new friends and share a fine day out. I am also always impressed by the free-flow exchange of information about routes, riding and bike maintenance, accessories and repairs. Sometimes, it seems the ride is worth the time if only for the information that a person gains from speaking with and listening to others. We are fortunate that the people who show up for these are exceptionally friendly people. Thank you to all who attended.

Bob chose a fine route, lots of great views, some nice twisties and only a few livestock on the road. Traffic was light, leaving the riders more time to enjoy the scenery and less time watching out for hazards. And since Bob knows me and my ways, he was kind enough to zoom ahead and then wait at crucial intersections to make sure the last guys made the correct turn.

First stop was Doi Mae Salong and a coffee shop that could contain us all. The staff stayed busy for quite a while trying to get all of the orders filled. Lunch was at Tha Ton and too many of us selected the same restaurant, overwhelming the staff. Several in the group surmised this and moved down the street to an almost empty café and got their lunches quickly. A quick re-fuel stop for some of us and we started on the last leg of the route. After several smoke breaks, we made the last stop at the Charin Resort Café and enjoyed some pie and coffee and then headed for home. During the morning, we had to pull over and shelter from rain near a mountain top for a few minutes and we did go through a couple of brief light showers. There was sunshine during the afternoon.

This was the first time for some of the faster riders that were with us and they figured out that they would have some extra time for visiting at rest stops and the lunch stop while waiting for the tail end of the group to arrive. Toward the end of the ride, the guys in a bigger hurry sped away and quite a few of the faster riders chose to tag along with the slower group.

It looks like we have a taker for planning the August ride and it looks like we will move that one to the 11th, instead of the 10th. That is a Saturday. I’ll post details of that ride as soon as the planner has the route set.

I’ll post up some pics soon and if any of you have some pics that you would like for me to post, send them along.

For those of you who are new to this ride, make a note: This isn’t my ride or the Chiang Rai Saddlebags Ride or any club’s ride. It is the Chiang Rai Bikers Day ride. We are a VERY loose-knit group and if you attend, then you belong. There are no member lists, no sponsors, no fees or colors here; just folks who want to get out for a day and some of those are driving trucks and cars. If there is any meeting, it is only a route planning meeting where the planner would like input on particular roads or rest stops. Whoever steps up first and calls the route for any particular month is the route planner for that month. And once you have seen the route published, it is a good idea to print your map or plot your course on your GPS so you know where we are going. I personally don’t usually know the route and usually have never been on the route, so don’t follow me. And since this Day Ride is about the only time I get out, I don’t know any of the scenic, fun routes to take so I won’t be planning any routes for us in the near future. Fortunately, we have enough people with a lot of riding experience here to make some fine routes for us to enjoy.