Bangkok To Chaing Mai.. The First Leg Sukhothai

[monty1412]

Set out this morning at 5:30 am and made it to Sukhothai at 11:45 . Decided to break trip into two lots as i can work on internet at Sukhotahi hotel during day and not have to take days leave. Will push on in morning to CM.

Road out of Bangkok was Thanon Yothin all the way up till it joins 1 just past Don Mueng. I prefer this road in the early morning as it avoids general airport traffic . 1 onto 32 and onwards past Ayutthaya and Ang Thong turnoffs and onto Nakon Sawon.

Getting from NS 32 onto 117 north to Phitsanoluk is a night mare.. road contruction all over the place in NS and its one big dustbowl or one big muddy section of road depending on where you are.

Highway up to NS is in good condition and traffic was light.... of course the inevitable truck who pulls out to overtake a truck doing same speed and a boy racer in some sort of suped up rice burner trying to sit on your rear but other than that very good and fuel stops a plenty.

Ran on RED 91 and really noticed the difference in fuel economy.. excellent compared to the green 91 that i had to fuel up with a few weeks ago.

117 North from NS to Pits is a mixed back.. light traffic dual carriageway.. about 20 K out of NS the road is in only fair condition but does not suffer the heavy rutting on the inside truck land that so many other roads seem to exhibit. Last 60 K or so to Pits is good road and one can sit on 120K plus no problems.

From NS it was onto 12 to Sukhothai, great road , dual carriageway and sat on around 120/130 with little traffic.

For most part took it easy and wasn't in particular hell bent on making Sukhothai in record time.

Travelled 480KMs on this leg... if one was on a mission to get to CM in one hit then from here its another 4+ hours.

Estimate that if you want to have the wrist twisted and not want to stop for coffee and roadside breaks other than to fuel up you could do Asoke to Sukhothai in about 4- 4.5 hours.. certainly leaving bangkok early is mandatory in my view.

Tomorrow its the delights of 101 to Den Chai ( great twisty road in good condition) and then west on 11 and into CM.

Will leave at sunup in morning and may stop for some pics along way and post here.

Smoke/ haze levels high just north of Ayutthaya for about 30kms but otherwise pretty good road conditions.

The Schuberth C3 is really a great helmet for long hauls, just so quiet and really good ventilation.

Didn't take any happy snaps as all pretty mundane.. only one i wished I could have taken was a pick up loaded with mattress's.. this guy must have had 20 + on board and was loaded Id say 15 Ft in the air.... every time a large truck went past him the mattress's would seemingly all bend in towards the truck forcing the pick up driver to correct his steering and then when the truck cleared the pick up they would bend out again forcing the pick up driver to correct again ..... just amazed this guy allowed to drive on the road but also amused that this will not be the only time these mattress's in their life will see allot of blowing and sucking.

Fazer in its element on open road, it really does love the long stretches and very stable and predictable.. gave it its legs on 12 just after Phitsanulok and hit 230 for a nanosecond before backing off , it has allot more to go after this but just don't feel comfortable with that type of speed .

While we all bitch and moan at times about Thailand and various things i do have to say that once you get out onto open roads the police and general nanny state presence that so many of us see back home is just simply not there or if it is it doesn't bother you for doing 10k/ 20k/50k over speed limit.

Dinner and rinks tonight in chopper cafe which is just down the road from hotel Im staying in....101 delights in morning so will keep it sensible tonight and have a bigger one in CM tomorrow night.

You just gotta love the open road

cheers

[JeffreyMcCollum]

101 is a wonderful road north out of Sukhothai. At first I thought you might be on a wave. Not really sure why you picked the route you did, but the worst is over and things get nicer the more north you go.

Enjoy your ride !

[monty1412]

101 is a wonderful road north out of Sukhothai. At first I thought you might be on a wave. Not really sure why you picked the route you did, but the worst is over and things get nicer the more north you go.

Enjoy your ride !

Thanks JM.... what route would you have recommended... are you talking about 1 through to Khampaeng Phet and then pick up 101 there ??? Thought about this but wanted to go through NS and look at the 117....open to suggestions especally if it involves twisties or hills.

Cheers

[BigBikeBKK]

101 is a wonderful road north out of Sukhothai. At first I thought you might be on a wave. Not really sure why you picked the route you did, but the worst is over and things get nicer the more north you go. Enjoy your ride !

Thanks JM.... what route would you have recommended... are you talking about 1 through to Khampaeng Phet and then pick up 101 there ??? Thought about this but wanted to go through NS and look at the 117....open to suggestions especally if it involves twisties or hills. Cheers

Are you sure you're not on the CB'r'? On liter bikes we usually do Bangkok-CM in about 6-7 hours with two fuel stops along the way. Leave the Big Smoke at dawn and we're in CM for lunch

As is, since you split the ride into two days, you certainly could have chosen a more pleasant route for day one...

Next time avoid Nakhon Sawan by taking Highway 11 which splits off the main highway just north of Singburi. It's not a very fast road, but traffic is light and it's quite scenic. You can follow highway 11 all the way to Pitsanulok and on to Uttaradit, Den Chai and Lampang. North of Uttaradit it's a fantastic road!

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Route+32%2FAH1%2FAH2&daddr=Mittraphap+Rd%2FRoute+12%2FAH16+to:Route+101%2FRoute+11&hl=en&ll=16.393931,101.225281&spn=2.13679,4.22699&sll=14.981933,100.511856&sspn=0.26897,0.528374&geocode=FfZ95QAd-vr6BQ%3BFXa6AAEdVmv8BQ%3BFZMsEgEd-9X2BQ&mra=dme&mrsp=0&sz=12&t=m&z=9

Highway 11 near Den Chai-

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

[madjbs]

If you are lucky with traffic you can get to Chiang Mai in 6.5 hours but only if you take 32 to NS, 1 to Lampang then 11 to CM.

If I was planning to stop along the way I would probably take the 32 to Singburi then the 11 to Phitsanulok and stay there, then the 11 to Den Chai and on to CM. Or Stay in Sukhothai and take the 101 to Den Chai. The 117 is just a straight dual carriageway through fields, so not much fun on a bike.

Another way to do it over two days is to head west out of BKK through Suphan Buri, Uthai Thani etc.. and stay the night in Khampaengphet. Then up to Den Chai on the 101 and CM on the 11

Edited February 23, 2012 by madjbs

[madjbs]

Road out of Bangkok was Thanon Yothin all the way up till it joins 1 just past Don Mueng. I prefer this road in the early morning as it avoids general airport traffic

Do you mean you road out of Bangkok on Thanon Phahonyothin (highway 1), until it joins with Thanon Wippawadee-Rangsit (highway 31), just past Don Mueng?

Edited February 23, 2012 by madjbs

[monty1412]

101 is a wonderful road north out of Sukhothai. At first I thought you might be on a wave. Not really sure why you picked the route you did, but the worst is over and things get nicer the more north you go. Enjoy your ride !

Thanks JM.... what route would you have recommended... are you talking about 1 through to Khampaeng Phet and then pick up 101 there ??? Thought about this but wanted to go through NS and look at the 117....open to suggestions especally if it involves twisties or hills. Cheers

Are you sure you're not on the CB'r'? On liter bikes we usually do Bangkok-CM in about 6-7 hours with two fuel stops along the way. Leave the Big Smoke at dawn and we're in CM for lunch

As is, since you split the ride into two days, you certainly could have chosen a more pleasant route for day one...

Next time avoid Nakhon Sawan by taking Highway 11 which splits off the main highway just north of Singburi. It's not a very fast road, but traffic is light and it's quite scenic. You can follow highway 11 all the way to Pitsanulok and on to Uttaradit, Den Chai and Lampang. North of Uttaradit it's a fantastic road!

Google Maps Link: http://maps.google.c...0&sz=12&t=m&z=9

Highway 11 near Den Chai-

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

Definitely on Fazer.. came through Sukhothai as wanted to pick up 101 to Den Chai. Im not in a hurry here rather just enjoying the ride and freedom and having a laugh at the mattress truck.. still makes me chuckle.

101 here we come its 6:34 amd I off from Sukhothai.

Thanks Tony.... if I ever ride with you I'll probably have to set off three hours earlier

Cheers

[monty1412]

Road out of Bangkok was Thanon Yothin all the way up till it joins 1 just past Don Mueng. I prefer this road in the early morning as it avoids general airport traffic

Do you mean you road out of Bangkok on Thanon Phahonyothin (highway 1), until it joins with Thanon Wippawadee-Rangsit (highway 31), just past Don Mueng?

Yes correct

[Travelmate]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

[BigBikeBKK]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

When's the last time you went to CM by bike?

[Travelmate]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

When's the last time you went to CM by bike?

Late last year.

It was the big trip to Nan.

I had to take a detour to CM to get a brand new rear tyre, no stock in BKK.

So I and one other rider went to CM, the others to Nan.

Hit CM at 11am, drop by Yamaha shop for tyre, went next door for brekkie.

Hour later back on the bike, headed over to Nan. Got there late afternoon.

I think Neil McSprint was the creater of this trip.

[monty1412]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

Thats a long trip.. how long were you delayed at the airport .. bloody Bangkok airways again eh???

5 hours.. your kidding right..... what unholy speed would you have to travel at to do this ?

I can believe 5 am depart and in around lunch but wow this must have been motoring big time.

Guess I just am just enjoying the road with no set time to be anywhere so to speak... case in point this morning stopped aboput 50km before Den Chai on 101 and jsut had a rest in the forest.. sun was just coming up over trees, brids were a singing and not another car passed for about 10 minutes

photos attached....

Guess Im not going to make myself known on this forum as " Mr KwikTrip"

Photos from my roadside stop

other reason or self justification that i will end up with slow travel times is that i have found particularly on a big bike folks just come on over and start talking... at lamphun this morning while stopped for a coffee a Thai guy walked over and we got talking.. seems he is professor of agriculture at MaeJo University . I am at present involved in a project to convert agricultural aste to a high grade cellulosic fibre for use in various downstream applications so we got talking about how we could structure collection centres around the main plantation areas.. I have his card and will be in contact with him.

Nice guy and useful contact....

Dont get me wrong guys i would love to have the riding skill and prowess to ride like a banshee but there are also benefits to stopping and smelling the outdoors and meeting the people... no one right no one here. It is what it is.

[BigBikeBKK]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

Thats a long trip.. how long were you delayed at the airport .. bloody Bangkok airways again eh???

5 hours.. your kidding right..... what unholy speed would you have to travel at to do this ?

I can believe 5 am depart and in around lunch but wow this must have been motoring big time.

Guess I just am just enjoying the road with no set time to be anywhere so to speak... case in point this morning stopped aboput 50km before Den Chai on 101 and jsut had a rest in the forest.. sun was just coming up over trees, brids were a singing and not another car passed for about 10 minutes

photos attached....

Guess Im not going to make myself known on this forum as " Mr KwikTrip"

Photos from my roadside stop

other reason or self justification that i will end up with slow travel times is that i have found particularly on a big bike folks just come on over and start talking... at lamphun this morning while stopped for a coffee a Thai guy walked over and we got talking.. seems he is professor of agriculture at MaeJo University . I am at present involved in a project to convert agricultural aste to a high grade cellulosic fibre for use in various downstream applications so we got talking about how we could structure collection centres around the main plantation areas.. I have his card and will be in contact with him.

Nice guy and useful contact....

Dont get me wrong guys i would love to have the riding skill and prowess to ride like a banshee but there are also benefits to stopping and smelling the outdoors and meeting the people... no one right no one here. It is what it is.

Certainly nothing wrong with stopping to smell the roses

Good lord you're carrying a lot of luggage- how long will you be on the road?

Sometimes I ride with road racers, sometimes just out for a nice and mellow cruise. I like to mix it up.

As for doing BKK-CM in 5 hours... well, that's 700km so you would need to do an AVERAGE speed of 140kph and Travelmate's bike could do it with only 1 fuel stop, so I reckon if they really whacked it, it could be done, but that's gotta be a record! My best time is 6 hours and that's with 2 gas'n go pit stops.

I'll be blasting up there next week, but will take the scenic route via Pitsanulok and Den Chai so don't plan to set any speed records. The "fast" way via Nakhon Sawan- Kampaeng Pet and Tak is also pretty boring on a bike.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Edited February 24, 2012 by BigBikeBKK

[Travelmate]

we needed to be in Nan in the afternoon.

Hence pitstop in CM.

I and another rider don't slow down for much

but we did stop for a tyre change and breakfast and got chatting to a lovely waitress. Though I failed to get her card.

[monty1412]

once left Bkk at 6am and arrived in CM 11am.

(Tony was not in the group )

Thats a long trip.. how long were you delayed at the airport .. bloody Bangkok airways again eh???

5 hours.. your kidding right..... what unholy speed would you have to travel at to do this ?

I can believe 5 am depart and in around lunch but wow this must have been motoring big time.

Guess I just am just enjoying the road with no set time to be anywhere so to speak... case in point this morning stopped aboput 50km before Den Chai on 101 and jsut had a rest in the forest.. sun was just coming up over trees, brids were a singing and not another car passed for about 10 minutes

photos attached....

Guess Im not going to make myself known on this forum as " Mr KwikTrip"

Photos from my roadside stop

other reason or self justification that i will end up with slow travel times is that i have found particularly on a big bike folks just come on over and start talking... at lamphun this morning while stopped for a coffee a Thai guy walked over and we got talking.. seems he is professor of agriculture at MaeJo University . I am at present involved in a project to convert agricultural aste to a high grade cellulosic fibre for use in various downstream applications so we got talking about how we could structure collection centres around the main plantation areas.. I have his card and will be in contact with him.

Nice guy and useful contact....

Dont get me wrong guys i would love to have the riding skill and prowess to ride like a banshee but there are also benefits to stopping and smelling the outdoors and meeting the people... no one right no one here. It is what it is.

Certainly nothing wrong with stopping to smell the roses

Good lord you're carrying a lot of luggage- how long will you be on the road?

Sometimes I ride with road racers, sometimes just out for a nice and mellow cruise. I like to mix it up.

As for doing BKK-CM in 5 hours... well, that's 700km so you would need to do an AVERAGE speed of 140kph and Travelmate's bike could do it with only 1 fuel stop, so I reckon if they really whacked it, it could be done, but that's gotta be a record! My best time is 6 hours and that's with 2 gas'n go pit stops.

I'll be blasting up there next week, but will take the scenic route via Pitsanulok and Den Chai so don't plan to set any speed records. The "fast" way via Nakhon Sawan- Kampaeng Pet and Tak is also pretty boring on a bike.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Im going to rent an apartment up here as well as the one I have in BKK and just fly up here on Friday nights etc. I have job where i can do allot of my work from home office and so really doesn't matter where I am as long as I have internet/ phone/ printer and when i travel regionally CM isn't bad as it has direct flights to China/ Singapore and KL.

The bag thats on top in the photos was on my shoulders ( back pack) so not as bike laden as it looks in photo.

Let me know when your up here or when your going to be coming through Phits and I might motor down and meet up for ride back..

cheers

[ALFREDO]

I would have a lot of that stuff on the Motorbike with a Bus, if I had a friend in Chiang Mai to pick it up.

Or sent it with Mr. Postman.

But I would definitely not send a new Motorbike with the Thai Post! I burned now already!

Edited March 10, 2012 by ALFREDO