Mae Hong Son Loop: Pai to Soppong

Sunday 11 January 2015

The plan today was to cycle to Soppong, about 44km away.  The topographical profile appears to be a long uphill reaching above 1400 metres and downhill to our destination. 

We took a relaxed breakfast at the hotel.  David cleaned and waxed the chains which were covered with grit yesterday.  We were on our way just after 8am.

We could feel that our legs were tired from yesterday's efforts and we were also carrying some food and water purchased from 7-11 last night.  The first 16km were straightforward enough.  It is encouraging to see young teakwood plantations along the way.  We met 2 cyclists who whizzed past us with carbon bikes and backpacks and were envious of their light setup.   In the next section, however, there were three nasty changes in the incline.  These three steep sections really break your rhythm and two of them were even difficult to manage in our lowest gear. The first one commenced with a hairpin that lifted us up at least 10 m in altitude just within that one curve.  We were relieved to reach the summit viewpoint.  Thereafter, it was downhill all the way.

Tonight, we are staying at the Soppong River Inn, in an attap hut with balcony perched over the river.  We are following the news in Paris with dismay and anger.  We even noticed that the Muslim women at the night market in Pai were now fully blacked out which we have never seen before in Thailand except for the odd tourist in Bangkok.

Distance: 39 km

Total ascent: 1057 m

Max elevation: 1438 m

 

Mango and sticky rice: great fuel for climbing

Warning of fire risk - we thought those animals looked like reindeers

Warning for falling rocks!

River Rim Cottage at Soppong....

with its own terrace overlooking the river

Mae Hong Son Loop: Sop Poeng to Pai

Saturday, 10 January 2015

This morning at 1.30am, we were awoken to a tap dance recital given by the native critters on the roof of our villa.  What they were, we could not tell.  Quite large animals; we wondered if pine martins could be found in Thailand.  The running went on for an hour or so.  Guess that comes with the romance of living in a wooden house in the jungle.

As we slept, we were conscious that it was raining continuously.

Undeterred by the rain, we put on our waterproofs and left the resort at 7am.  Stopped on the main road for some breakfast.  While David adjusted the stem of his handlebar, Irene organised some food.  Watched the ladies prepare a big batch of kuay tiew which they tossed in a large round tray with sauce.  After we were served, they made many small packets which they folded carefully in origami style.  These were placed into larger plastic bags, takeaway lunch, no doubt.  In the background a Thai rendition of the theme song for 'Frozen'was playing on the radio.  The delicious kuay tiew and drip coffee sweetened with condensed milk set us up for the day.  It was expected to be hard, 90km with plenty of climbing.  Also, we have not had the preparation which we would have liked.

Although the sky was overcast, it did not rain.  Up and up we climbed.  As cars, vans and trucks pass us, some waved, gave the thumbs up, others including a monk with a nice digital SLR took a shot of these crazy people on bicycles.  We passed an orange grove and many strawberry plantations.  Then we cycled in the Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Reserve.  The climbs went on and on until 30km from Pai.  The highest point was 1426 metres above sea level and we had climbed a total of 2,042 metres

Late lunch was a simple affair of noodle soup at a stall by a police checkpoint.  Because of the area's proximity with Myanmar, there were frequent checks for illegal immigrants.  

Hill tribes make up 63% of the population of the Mae Hong Son province. The ladies who prepared our lunch were Shan (the Thais also call them Thai Yai) and they can be found on the northern border with Myanmar.  We also saw some Lisu people with their distinctive dress.

After lunch, we had an exhilaration 17-18km of descent.  The last 12km into Pai seemed to go on forever.  We were tired.  Our hotel, Phu Pai Art Resort, is 2km away from Pai itself, set among paddy fields.  Coincidentally, it is a sister hotel of the Baan Rai Lanna, although we did not know of the connection when we made our reservations through different sources.

We went into Pai for dinner and visited the street walking night market.  Very much the same and selling the same stuff as elsewhere.  So we have decided to have a good night's sleep and move on tomorrow.

Distance: 91 km

We were cycling through strawberry-growing country today, hence many references to the fruit

It is said that there are 972 curves on the route to Pai; we managed to keep our food down.

Mae Hong Son Loop: Phuket to Sop Poeng

Friday, 9 January 2015

The flight from Phuket to Chiang Mai went smoothly.  The baggage handlers took the bikes unboxed and they were delivered to us still in one piece in Chiang Mai.  The weather was filthy in Chiang Mai.  An unseasonal low depression was hovering in the region bringing a lot of rain.  We were thankful that we had booked a transfer from the airport to our hotel in Sop Poeng.  It is difficult enough getting out of Chiang Mai city with its heavy traffic, and when it rains, circulation grinds to a halt.

When we arrived at Baan Rai Lanna, they prepared us a late lunch of fried rice, after which we got to work sorting out our bicycles.  Not much else to do in the rain.  Will we be able to ride tomorrow?

A map of the Mae Hong Son region

To Paris the Green Way: Boisement to the Eiffel Tower

Sunday 6 April

Despite the rain forecast, the sun came out.  The road to Triel-sur-Seine was quiet with groups of lycra-clad cyclists out in force for their Sunday morning ride.  The route took us along the Seine into the Forêt of St Germain, Forêt of Marly le Roi, along Versailles, into the evocatively-named Forêt de Fausses Reposes, Parc de St Cloud, crossing the Seine on an acqueduct into the Bois de Boulogne - miles of cycle routes through forests and parks.  We rode half the circuit around the hippodrome, passing race goers to Longchamp.  It was the first day of the racing season 'Les Dimanches au Galop'.  Further on, we ran into the Paris Marathon in full swing.  Picking our way gingerly across the body of runners, we made it across the Boulevard Périphérique into central Paris.  The road closures for the marathon gave us a quiet run down towards the 'quai', where we crossed the Pont d'Iéna to meet the Tour d'Eiffel.  We celebrated with a photo before cycling home along the 'berges'.

Distance: 66km

A Brazilian band cheers on runners at the Paris Marathon

Hurrah!

To Paris the Green Way: Neufchâtel to Boisemont

Saturday 5 April

Planned to break the back of the 129-mile journey between Dieppe and Paris today.  It was a clear sunny morning - a little chilly for the fingers at the start.  We sailed through Forges les Eaux, Gournay en Bray, St Germer-de-Fly to arrive at Marines by mid-afternoon.  The roads were low traffic, passing through extensive farmland and quiet villages.  At Marines, we had to make up our minds whether to stop or try and ride on a bit more.  We were tired but after a brief rest in the town square and picking up some food for the next day (Sunday), we continued on our way, destination Boisement, more than 20km from Marines.  We checked into La Ferme Rose, the charming 15th century farmhouse of Claire and Yvon Chapon who run chambre d'hôtes and gîtes and enjoyed a convivial dinner with them and their guests.

Distance: 118km

The abbey St Germer-de-Fly 

Agricultural landscape

Rest stop in Marines

To Paris the Green Way: Newhaven to Neufchâtel en Bray

Friday 4 April

The ferry to Dieppe did not depart until noon, allowing us the morning for a leisurely breakfast and some food shopping.  The ferry terminal was 5 minutes from the hotel.  The 4-hour crossing was calm, the sea pancake-flat.  

In Dieppe, we followed Donald Hirsch's directions and found the Avenue Verte easily.  We cruised along a disused rail track which has been covered in Tarmac  and made very good progress of the 39km to Neufchâtel en Bray, where we stopped for the night.

Distance: 40km

Sur l'Avenue Verte

To Paris the Green Way: London to Newhaven

Thursday 3 April 2014

Cycling from London to Paris has been on the cards for a while.  We deferred the ride last autumn due to wet weather.  

On Thursday morning, 3 days after our return to Europe, we set off for Newhaven.  The plan was to follow the route set out in the Sustrans guide to the Avenue Verte.  It took us on the Clapham Common, Wandsworth Common before joining the Wandle Trail.  This was fine for a while, but as the Trail meandered through parks and was not well-signposted, it became slow-going and frustrating.  By 1pm, after nearly 4 hours, we stopped for lunch at Old Coulsdon, still within the M25.  The lack of progress prompted us to buy a map in Redhill and abandon the route proposed by Sustrans which, while designed to be low traffic or traffic-free, was convoluted and added miles to the journey.  We plotted a more direct route via East Grinstead and Lewes to our destination.  Although part of the A22 was busy, we enjoyed cycling the A275 to Lewes.  For the first time, we were in the countryside and the road was in good condition.

We arrived at the Premier Inn Newhaven around 6.30pm, exhausted and relieved to have made it before dark.  Had an Indian curry dinner before retiring to an early night.

Distance: 110km