Danny Straub in Thailand

Danny is a recent transplant to Thailand and has been willing to put up with my torture on the off-road trails in Chiang Mai. Here's a clip of Danny demonstrating how to duck paddle up a heavily rutted section of uphill.

Off Road with Robert

I found a sweet 97 Yamaha TTR Raid 250 for Robert and today was our inaugural off road ride. We started off with me on the mighty WR200, aka muppet chaser, but quickly returned it to the crafty hands of Mr Ball so he could continue his work on the carburetor. With the DRZ400S in hand we headed back to the 700 year stadium to continue our ride. We did see the muppets on the trail but opted to explore some trails that haven’t been mapped yet rather than chase their butts across the mountain.



If you’ve ridden the single track trail from the 700 year stadium to Huay Theung Thao you know there are two places where there are nasty branches hanging low and where the foliage makes it difficult to see the trail. After fighting to get me and the DRZ through, I stopped and got out the Leatherman with saw blade to do a little trail maintenance.



Here’s Robert trying to use his puny little 85 KGs to pull a branch from the undergrowth. I said “Here Son, let me show you how to do that” as I weigh in at just a few more kilos than him. We got the trail pretty well cleaned up but have to go back with the "chainsaw in a can" to finish the job.



All in all, we rode 50 km off road and had a great day. I was really nice to have my best riding buddy back on the trail with me. I hope we can share many more rides together.

Signs of 50

Some thoughts about turning 50 this week...

Sarcasm, just one more service I offer.

Pushing 50 is exercise enough.

I have one nerve left… and you’re getting on it!

Thank you for not being perky.

I’m much too young to be this old.

I’m smiling, that alone should scare you.

I’m not deaf, I’m ignoring you.

Embarrassing my children, just one more service I offer.

Youth passes, but with luck immaturity can last a lifetime.

50 is when you still believe you’ll feel better in the morning.

“Not a morning person” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Where I live the squeaky wheel gets replaced.

I’ve forgotten more than you probably ever learned.

There’s no way to excuse the way I’m about to behave.

You can hold your stomach in for just so many years.

Do I look like a people person?

They’re making adults much younger these days.

I’m not anti-social… I’m just not very friendly.

Ever stop to think and forget to start again?

What if the “Hokey Pokey” really IS what it’s all about?

How about NEVER? Is never good for you?

I’m not tense, I’m just terribly alert.

I wasn’t flirting, I was just being friendly.

After 50 your body has a mind of its own.

All stressed out and no one to choke.

Drink coffee. Do stupid things faster and with more energy.

Everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Life is short, break some rules.

Mateship

Being a human kickstand while your riding mate runs in to the 7-11, is this good mateship?

A well known GT Rider was quite upset with me recently because I wouldn't meet with him to discuss what he called "mateship". I tried to explain to him that he was stepping beyond his boundaries. You know, the whole glass houses & stones thing. I don't think he understood. In my opinion, "mate" should be used as a noun and not as a verb, especially when you're talking about "mateship"

Maybe I'm missing something or is this a case of "farang rules don't apply here"?

Guilt

A picture is worth a thousand words. Look at this one, guilty or not guilty?

Luke and the pole he Hiekeled, doesn't he look guilty?

Lucky for me I didn't slow down to see what the sound behind me was as it was Luke's CRF250 trying to knock me down like so many bowling pins.

Off the road again

Me and my traveling buddy, Willie Nelson. We shared a few laughs in first class on our way from Houston to Raleigh a few years after the IRS busted him and he had to fly common carrier like the rest of us.

Anyway, yes I've been off the road and off the trail again. The off road part was on purpose but the off trail stuff wasn't. I think it's all Luke's fault. Justin and I were doing just fine exploring all of the off road trails we could find between home and Samoeng and then Luke came back and the old testosterone level got cranked up a few notches.

I learned to carry your own pain killers when adventuring in the jungle. I have Vicodin (codeine) for the small stuff like bruises and bumps and I also have some stronger stuff in case of compound fractures. It's a long way from the jungle to the hospital and the last thing I want to do is suffer while I'm bouncing along in the back of an old pickup. This is especially helpful if you're riding in Laos or Cambodia as the standard protocol if you need medical attention there is to get to Bangkok ASAP.

A crazy rooster spotted in a lychee orchard

BBQ the tree killer - at least I crashed with dignity and didn't slip in an oil spot on the side of the road and scar up my tg who was on the back.

Big & Tall says "good job"

Helmet cams at the ready, luckily they didn't capture my graceful dismount

Team Red shows us how it's done

Team Blue is not one to be outdone

Sometimes the trail is hard to see

You never know who you're going to find in the jungle

It's always good to have Ian along on the trail