“Guardians of The Galaxy Ride” (Memorial Ride & Stunning Bua Tong)
Mae Hong Son Province | Cool Season | 576 KM Ride | 2 Days
This ride incorporates the GT. Rider Mae Hong Son Memorial Ride, (an annual ride commemorating fallen riders) and the Bua Tong Sunflower Fields in Doi Mae U’Kho, Khun Yuam Province.
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Contents
Pai Travel Guide: What to Do, Where to Stay &…
Epic Mae Hong Son Loop – An Epic Twist!
The Mae Hong Son Loop
Mae Hong Son Fun Scooter Challenge! The Loop in 1…
About the Memorial Ride
The GT Rider Mae Hong Son Memorial Ride is an annual memorial ride in which riders get together to commemorate fallen riders. Riders meet up in early-mid November, ride to Mae Hong Son, participate in a Buddhist ceremony, and then have fun together in the evening.
The following video from Destination Thailand TV provides further details about the event.
Day 1. Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son
The memorial ride began early, with a meet up at a Petrol Station outside of Chiang Mai City. Once everyone was gathered, larger groups were split into smaller ride groups, to stagger the ride. This ride saw around 60 riders joining in on the ride.
The ride was fast-paced at a lot of fun. There was feeling of challenge but comradery. A halfway lunch stop was arranged for us at a great little spot, giving us time to eat and chat before setting off on the last leg.
Arrive Mae Hong Son – Ceremony
Once we had all arrived in Mae Hong Son, there was no time for any of us to check in to our accommodation or get cleaned up. We had been instructed to wait for everyone to arrive, so that we can ride a procession ride up to Wat Phrathat Doi Kongmu, to participate in the organised ceremony.
The monks blessed all of us before proceeding up to the memorial chedi and blessing the site also. It was a very special experience.
Once the ceremony was over, I checked into my guesthouse and relaxed for a while in Mae Hong Son, before the evening event.
The Evening Event
Riders gathered at the Sunflower Restaurant for the planned evening of activities and socialising. I caught up with old friends and was introduced to some new ones.
I left the evening early, preferring a little quiet downtime. I sat around the lake for a little while before heading back to my room for a restful early night.
– End of Day 1
Day 2. Mae Hong Son To Chiang Mai
We met up at the Sunflower Restaurant again, in order to say our goodbyes. There was no organised group ride for this day, so some riders chose to stay in Mae Hong Son, some chose to ride to Pai and some, like myself, wished to ride back to Chiang Mai.
This period (November) is also when the Mexican Sunflowers Bloom in Doi Mae U’kho. So I wanted to ride the R4009 to see the blooms.
I wasn’t sure if the Mexican sunflowers would be in full bloom, but was worth a look (these flowers bloom once a year around this time). I had visited the sunflowers the previous year and found the scene very beautiful (that trip report, plus my overnight camping report at Mae Surin Waterfall is HERE).
A Motley Crew of Riders…
A few friends were planning to ride to the sunflowers also, so we decided to make it a fun group ride. We were all on very different bikes and had different riding styles, so I dubbed the ride “The Guardians of the Galaxy Ride”, due to the fun and eclectic mix of riders and styles.
Early on in the ride my friend Adam noted that Sam, in her red modular helmet, looked a lot like Judge Dredd. Cue some giggles. It further enhanced the whole Sci-Fi element.
It was great to ride with people who have respect for each other’s comfort levels and riding abilities. There was no ego, just comradery!
The R4009
The R4009 was a joy to ride. It is really quite a small section of road actually, but the wonderful steep inclines and hairpin bends make it feel endless.
For a few riders, this was quite a challenging route, especially on their choice of bike. I was concerned at one point and pulled over at a flat spot so we could all catch up together. I felt relief when I saw everyone arrive. We stopped for a moment, which is when this silly dance took place. A ton of fun!
Usually, there is very little traffic on this route, but we still needed to be on guard. The route is narrow and trucks can sometimes come down blind corners, or random obstacles such as cows on the road.
We stopped at the stunning lookout zone and captured a great photo.
What a fab road!
Posaho Cafe’
After a thrilling first half of the R4009, we stopped in at Posaho Cafe. A great little cafe run by the local hilltribe community.
A really pretty open air cafe and viewpoint. Luckily the weather was great also.
After a while, we set off again to ride to the sunflower blooms, which we hoped would be in full bloom.
Doi Mae U’Kho Mexican Sunflowers
Lucky for us, Doi Mae U’Kho was still in bloom. It only blooms for a couple of weeks each year. (Full guide to this festival is here).
Fuel Dilemma
After enjoying the sunflowers we headed to the R1263 junction, in order to ride back to Chiang Mai. I needed petrol, however, and thankfully I knew of a self-service petrol pump from my ride the previous year.
Funny story about this petrol pump. Last year I put in money and the damn thing wouldn’t give me out any petrol! I went to tell the shop owner and he came out to the pump, gave it a hard thump, and then the petrol came out! So, when it happened yet again this time around, I figured I would just give it a thump, because yet again the stupid machine took my money but wouldn’t deliver any fuel. Cue a young local family coming to watch slacked jawed at the crazy foreigner women slap the bejesus out of a self-service petrol pump.
I explained why I was hitting the machine, and then the young father came and joined in to help me, thumping the heck out of the machine. This resulted in the petrol coming out. So funny!
Roadside Eatery
I rejoined the group and we stopped for a spot of lunch at a local roadside eatery. The food was pretty good, but the toilet facility not so much…
Outhouse toilet in a cabbage field.
After eating we rode solidly until the Doi Inthanon checkpoint area. One on section of road I got a bit wobbly, with it being the site of my bad accident some years back. Each time I ride the route the odd frightened feeling gets less and less, but it is still there, unfortunately.
By the time we reached the checkpoint was already pretty late (around 5pm or so), but the temptation to ride the longer Mae Wang way was strong. In the end the group (except for myself and Dominque) chose the main R1009 then R108 route to Chiang Mai. Dominique and I decided to take the longer route, knowing we would probably be riding in the dark in the end. Which ended up being the case, but worth it!
)All in all a fantastic trip, and one for the memory banks. I don’t often ride with others, so this was an interesting and fun change of scenery. What is lovely, is that there were no inflated egos, just smiles and jokes and support. Very heart warming Many thanks to the Guardians of the Galaxy crew for a fun and enjoyable group ride!
– End of Ride
Video of the Ride
As an aside, Dominque, who has lived in Thailand for almost 2 decades, is not only an amazing motorcycle rider with tons of adventures under his belt, but also an incredible patisserie chef and baker! His shop is renowned in Chiang Mai for exceptional bakery products. Get your bakery fix at his shop! Dominque Bread.
)I hope you enjoyed this “Guardian of the Galaxy” ride report.
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