Chiang Mai 2014

Don't ask me why but I always wanted to do the homeless grunge shot....

What's suppose to be a trip in Nov got delayed till now... better late than never. My annual pilgrimage to the mountains in Chiang Mai. Right now is probably the driest couple months of the year but nothing really prepared me from the diff of the cooler Nov-Dec period of previous trips...
By the way Apr-Sep would be rainy season

Being a little different this year with a bigger group... more tech and mech failures along the way was to be expected . I was nursing a badly setup fork on day 1 and started running into brake issues. Changed too many parts and gears before the trip... First time I'm using a dual crown here and popped an angleset in just before the trip. Day 1 handling is best described as a FUBAR ride. Thinking back... in the enthused state of riding here again, Dumbass Me totally forgotten to check suspension settings on the first day! SShhhhhhhh.......

Also.... Lesson learned. Stick with what works from before. Yes full length knee-shin guards be it they are on the dorky-robocop side of fashion appeal. Even if its not for the knocks & spills... the dry lashing vegetation on the shins during high speed runs makes a BDSM scene looks like a Disney fairy tale.

CW from top left: Yours truly f@#ked up rear brake. Broken spoke from Tinny's long should-be-trashed wheels
Someone's broke a chain, Ivan's clean snapped rail bolts. Plus my new abstract mountain leg-art. Thankfully I took all the brunt.. fork and bike escaped unscathed.

Reflecting on all the boo boo of the previous day...
and hoping that everything was sorted out before reaching the summit

Gotta love the classical "WTF-happened" look on Ivan's face when the moment of truth dawned on him that he either has to go the next 1500ft  all trial-sy without  post+seat or start nurturing a close proctological relationship with his seatpost going down those 45 degree rutted rocky lines.

Ok Note, our guide to the rescue-- gave Ivan his seat post and gone sans seat and post. Can still jump and whip on the way down! Some Madmonkey indeed!

Note and Ivan: And we can all see the budding relationship in those few days
All thanks to 2 cleaned sheared off bolts ;)

I always bring spare rear dee and hanger but never occurred in the past to bring spare brake levers... maybe it was something in my subconscious says.. and luckily I did...

Thankfully by Day 2.  I was back in my element. Suspension adjusted and got used to the new riding positions as dictated by all the changes on the bike... I have been going back to Chiang Mai yearly and each time my fork got a little bigger or beefier... this year was the ultimate.. cramping the RV-1 DH fork on a non DH fork and working all sorts of magic to make things workable...I totally understand why people do stick with these big forks when the going gets ..well Big. It is truly worth it and judging from the performance I see -- frankly I will stick with RV-1.. Nah no FoX or Rochshox for me still.

Spare XT lever.. Whew!

Uplift: The most understated but critical piece of equipment from our guide. Without which there will be no gungho posing ride shots if we have to drag bollocks pushing the bikes up each time in this dusty heat.

Ok -- let's get to some riding pics Plucked from various cameras... in no particular sequence to the days we were there

Go Pro Good arh!

"Mai Tu Liao...chiong arh"

Group shots.. .can there ever be a trip without one?

No CM trip, repeat, NONE is ever complete without a cuppa 3000ft up in the cool mountain air.
One of our guide has to take up babysitting role while ma hand grind aged beans and prep the brew for us
city-bumpkin-tourist-bikers that keeps coming back yearly for the novelty. But seriously... its really good good kaffee.

"Camera Front!" Quick lah.. Pose Pose Pose.. Hip sway, Eyes front, Heels down. Look the part damnit!

Our mystery rider-- Look Ma, no hands! This has got to be another "WTF-Happened" moment....and the entire sequence? Here

Virgin-no-more-Smurf-Merv: Ok he deserve his own shot with the peak after surviving not only the rides but all the sh!t we were trying to scare him with :) Should have a calloused perineum that he can wear like some paratrooper's wing back home now.  Chilcotin ho arh!

Doi Inthanon: Not particularly exciting on the way I must say and we travelled 80+km to get there... But hey at least its bragging rights back home that we been to the highest mountain in Thailand that's part of the Himalayan range eh!

ahhh.. this trip's most verbally abused rider want his portrait shot with the peak too. Yea rite... over all our salt laden hairy ass... Permission not granted Tinny!

Ernie-the-Detonator did it again... another dust bomb from him.... All lovingly captured for posterity by cam-whore Dave.

Seeing fk-all : Just gotta have faith in the guy in front of you not to fall...

The dusty aftermath of Doi Inthanon... actually back in the rest
of the usual trails twas' pretty much the same in this dry season

whenever there are streams and falls in my ride-- old habits die hard.

Hot Hot Hot: Me icy skullcap creation to make sure I don't have to haul
some heat-collapsed bag of old bones I've known since the Jurassic Age

(1) Ernie- "wait wait wait, don't take yet... I'm not ready" (3)No one beats Sit-Down-Dave. Camera or not, his ischial callosite stays glued to the seat- all day,all trails ;) (2) & (4) Kim and Les definitely saw the camera ... all that body English.... PoSeR TiMe! (5) And we were still wondering if Tinny was trying to do a TT aero position when the shot caught him.  (6) Ivan's damping-less fork for the day.

Mid Trail Arm Pump Relieving Break: Excited Merv relating dunno what
experience he has up there. Note and Andrew lending big sympathetic ears :)

Videos to follow-- Too many cameras, too much to edit now...


Riding is just a part of CM trips. Food glorious food, gorge till you drop, great local stuff to things we will pay a king's ransom to feast on back home....

From nice chic restaurant to donnowachacallit-point-your-finger-and-order goodies...

Of course there's the default touristy thing to do... More pachyderm art in the house now...

and city-Indiana Jones certainly needs a moped to get around as always...

2nd trip for the missus to CM. Looks like they are enforcing
the helmet rule more in the last year since we were there.
Were told it's a 500 Baht fine if the coppers decide to stop you...

Ok one parting ass-shot oops I mean group shot. Yup, just about everyone got their personalized Madmonkey jersey.

Conclusion: Think I'll be back end of the year again if no other big trip materialize in between. A new DH bike? Nah... the EG is really versatile and good enuf for me... Just gonna keep all my different forks and shocks to Plug 'n' Play as necessary. With  no WC DH courses around the region nor me having the guts to pile some 30ft air anyway.. a full on DH would be just overkill.

But rough "FR"ish terrains for some of the trails here sure can use a DH pogostick if the frame can fit. For which the EG certainly is up to the task with the RV1 plonked on it. In retrospect, back then I wasn't really thinking so much about pure DH rigs but veered in the direction of things like the TR250 or Morewood Kalula. Bikes that are comfortable and catered to switch around with a big single or dual crown....

There's no wrong or right but often with all the marketing hypes we all tend to fall into the "more is better" trap. Been there done that too... not that I have always been all that wise on things mtb. But with a much better sense of knowing one's own capability and terrains to match, its a lot easier to settle on what's really necessary and functional.

The single biggest change wasn't so much as having the bigger fork in there this year.. It was the head angle change with the Workscomponent set. Never thought it would be so radical but it did necessitate quite a fair bit of changes in my riding positions to accommodate the differences from before. A lot more forward but which was still a lot more stable It also meant having to watch out for front hoop washouts and do the leg kickout routines more often into high speed turns..  a la MX style.

With increasing speed each year, I can see the limits of me XT brakes... time to swipe that plastic for a pair of Saints now... Definitely a proven piece of component as seen on the other guys' bikes on this trip.

Adjustable seatposts? Duh-- learned my lesson from past 2 trips. Much as I'm an advocate for one on any trail bike but for these kinda  riding and the possible cartwheeling spills, an adj post is like trying to carry a porcelain vase on a ride. No more, not for klutz me at least.

Chiang Mai 2013

2012 hasn't been much of a riding year. Then I miss my year end biking vacation, thanks to all the jack-all projects at work. But as usual leave it to my lime-green fetish buddy harassing me into another trip at the end of January....

 With a little addition this time-- yes the Missus bags were packed too.

Ok, nothing was going smooth-- Got the rear wheel rebuilt and realize my front hub's busted. Can't really blame the manufacturer. Bearings won't stay in place and it's sure seen lots of abuse over the last 3 years.

Luckily there's a  few other 20mm TA around the house all laced up...

 Day1: Right off the bat on arrival... Here We Go Again. Bamboo & ChompView
"Ok Im gonna keep my front wheel from abuse"

Did someone say its dry season now in Northern Thailand? Yea rite! 4 out of 6 nights came in a mix of moderate splatter to serious thunderstorm.

Scooter: The perfect urban assault rig zipping around for good local food and shopping,  'cept when its rains...

All of that wetness sure made the early morning runs interesting to say the least. Slick off cambered on either sides of erosion--makes for avoiding riding in the ruts impossible at times. Don't really want to kill the trail anymore than necessary but really wasn't left with much of a choice at some sections.

Oh did I mention I came with a half-busted right arm too... rubbed a ton of Deep Heat before, during and after, might as well have brushed my teeth with the bloody stuff to numb the gums from the riding chatter.

Despite everything and my mind screaming "You are gonna break some body parts for sure. Just go sightseeing"..  but ride we sure did and after a couple of days, hooked up with the local riders too.

Just need an orange loving freak to complete the "Traffic Light Team".

Here's Note, my new friend taking off with a "You Jump What You Build" attitude before asking others to do it!
Ok, Greenie and me chicken out though...

EG, Looking smug as the only single crown given top spot at the bottom of the uplift. Then they lose me like 10 sec into the start of each run...

Who would have thought a size 8 wrench is ever needed on the trail!

A really scary WTF moment when me brakes suddenly went limp like some octogenarian reproductive organ halfway down a 3K descend.

If there is something I never learn, its video editing ...Will really have to remember getting the vid cam properly angled up next time too, otherwise it looks like I'm perpetually staring down the front wheel in the vid.... Half the time the cline looks more like this rather than the flatness portrayed by the wide angle lens.

Start of first rock garden @ Crazy Dust

Nothing new for the seasoned riders but as Chiang Mai is becoming more and more popular, for all those Singaporean riders readying for your first trip, do prep up your bike and gear up on the armor sensibly. I can guarantee this is nothing like the usual teletubbie trails we have back home. Have Fun and Ride Safe.

Oh give these Madmonkeys a shout on Facebook if u need some guide and uplift arrangements for your biking holiday there.


Stuttering bits and pieces snipped and stitched from the few days of riding as is. A short  mix of what the place has to offer. No Oscar nomination for sure.

Look out for the Flying-Rocket-EG-No-Rider jutsu "stunt" aka blooper by yours truly ;)
https://vimeo.com/59344863

Back in Drak, Dec 2012

CMWS-- Chiang Mai Withdrawal Syndrome... that's how we were describing it. Back in SG after Nov trip, all's wet and trails ridden flat, I had another "off the saddle" episode till last week. Guess the rest must have felt the same so we decided to head over to Stewart's place again.

Sure started off miserable as the rain splatter came before we even got off the ferry but Stewart was already describing all the new stuff he and his crew has been up to in the last few months....


Sure enough after the "default 10 kliks of ass-to saddle pedal-&-pedal ... the fun begins...

But before that--stupid me with only 2 hrs of wink time before the ride was just doing everything wrong. Dumb mistakes and a well deserved spill. Good thing was wearing a full face. Else would probably have ended up with half a jaw less. 

Few other spills along the way. Nothing beats Try-&-Try Frankie though. But all was worth it with a Shot of the Day... just before another....    

Courtesy of yours truly's wonderful iPhone. 

But the shots and vids wouldn't have been possible if it aint for the sacrificing "camera-crew"

Short compilation of us at one of the newer feature, nicknamed Monster...

Guess its like drugs but thankfully it's just hooked on the pedal and not some psychedelic stuff... still a fix just gets shorter and shorter. Can't wait to get back again..

Chiang Mai, Thailand-Nov (2)

Been a month since I was back from Chiang Mai. Probably one of the best break despite almost not going on the trip... As usual, got Chwee to thank for everything for this trip again. Superb planner and everything timed down to the hilt as usual.

This is also the time of the year where everyone heads up for some good riding so it was kinda like local rides meeting different friends there instead of our usual trailheads in Singapore. Rode on different day with different folks...

Clockwise from top left. 
Mr On-The-Dot Chwee and his usual "Banana uniform",  
Dave, Ernest and Les-- Coffee @ 3000ft 
Me, Lone Run Day
Joining The Rideables on one of the nicest flowy trails in the area...
  

Getting there at the start of the dry season, riding was a refreshing change from the usual fetid tropical jungle rides that is all we get back home. Cool air, low humidity and goggles that dont fog up 10 seconds once you start wearing them.... But the terrain certainly is taxing for those like us not used to having so much to roll down. Who would have guess pulling up the blanket at night would result in finger cramping from a long day of descents... 
 

 From street to restaurant... 2 words on the food. Cheap. Good.

Lodging, nice and spacious and very affordable.

One of the most important aspects would be the uplift. If one isn't in a big group with dedicated transport or following one of the biking tours up there... time to hone your bargaining skills.

See those red mini trucks converted into taxis.. Drive a good bargain, especially if you'll gonna be doing more than one trip a day.

When wondering off on your own, minimally a GPS will be needed. Still that won't be easy as the trails start splitting up halfway down the mountains. 

Again, Chwee's got everything tidied up, from our cabbie, Nong to trail coordinates taken from other riders who has been regulars in this biking haven.

If you are gonna be signing up a package, might as well go with the best there is. X-Biking.

Enough of the touristy review... let's get to the rides.

Pushing the EG harder with each passing day after the "warm-up"... Times like these are really when I appreciate "knowing your bike" where one has painstakingly build and setup every aspects of AND most importantly  trusting it when the time comes. Aahh.. the Zen-ness of one with the bike... Suspension? oh yea...X Fusion and DSP rocks.

 ROcks and more ROcks... DH rigs certainly have the advantage in some of the sections. Hopefully by the next trip, I'll be back with one. With trips like these increasing, reckon its justifiable to go all the way with a dual crown setup....


When the helmets are off... its the breath taking views for those of us that doesnt live near mountains and fresh mountain air that is really appreciated. As much as the riding part is fun...its standing in awe looking at nature I believe that keeps attracting people to places like this.

Getting late.. will let the video compilation finish telling the rest of it...