Christmas Ride – Day 2

Phitsanulok to Nan

We set off the next morning around 9am. I took the road heading out East from Phitsanulok. Then took the Route 11 heading North towards Uttaradit. About 40km along I peeled off onto Route 1296. This is a nice road, a few long straight bits but a lot of rolling hills nice with views across the hills.  It more or less follows parallel to the 1296 but is more interesting and involving so not as boring to ride.  It later meets the Route 1143 heading North and then joins onto 1246 heading North East.

The road carried on past a huge Teak forest and meets up with Route 1214.   I had travelled on this road a few weeks earlier in the opposite direction and so was already familiar with the great views and quality of riding along this road. Some nice temples and Wat’s at which to stop for a photo break.  On the outskirts of Nam Phat, we stopped at a PTT station for a rest.  Here there was a group of Ducati riders who had stopped for a break and they soon set off after our arrival.  After a good 30 minute break we set off and turned left onto Route 1339 toward the Sirikit Dam lake.

This is an old twisty road, some rough sections but quite slow going. I wondered if the Ducati group had come along here but didn’t expect to see them as they had a good 30 min head start against me.. On approaching the lake, the actual road goes off GPS and so seems I was on a new road section that wasn’t yet updated in the map.  The map seems to show the original road before the lake was created. Across the lake I could see a ferry already crossing with a car on it. So I knew what I was heading for.

What I wasn’t prepared was the dirt road that I had to go down to get onto the ferry. Suddenly there is no road, just a dirt track and a metal sheet with an arrow painted on it. So I got onto the pegs and made my way down the road.  I could see a line of cars waiting and decided I was going around them to the front.  When I got to the front I was shocked to see the Ducati group had just loaded onto a ferry. They had a 30 minute start on me, and I had taken my time along this road and yet here they were just about to set off across the lake.  So the ferry operator held back the ferry for me to get on and I promptly rode onto the ferry and squeezed into a space.

The ferry ride itself is a 20 mins journey. We got to the other end and waited for the Ducati group to ride off before riding off myself.  It’s more precarious disembarking than it looks coming off the ramp and up the dirt hill where I could not resist pulling a wheel spin up the hill, as I had the traction control disengaged.

 

 

After a few snaps we set off and on getting onto the main road it was a lovely road, great views over the hill tops and nice road surface with long flowing high speed bends. The Northern side of the lake road is much better than the Southern and very well worth riding more than once.

Arriving at the bottom of the park I turned right towards Nan onto Route 1026 and soon after this we found again the Ducati crew having a lunch break at a PTT station where I also decided was a good place for lunch and a coffee. Settings off I proceeded towards Nan and the road then joined onto the main Route 101 into Nan.  We rode through a rain shower which was a surprise at this time of year, but a cool down was quite welcomed. Arriving into Nan I had planned to stop at the Wat Phrathat Khao Noi, a famous temple on the hillside with a standing Buddha looking out across the vista below.  There are great views from here all around even though it  was a bit cloudy.  After a rather prolonged photo stop and an ice cream, we proceeded to the hotel in Nan which itself was quite nice and quaint.

Overall it was a great days ride, relaxing and unhurried.  A little damp due to the rain but that was ok and the bike now had picked up a solid layer of dirt and mud.  This was the first day on the bike two-up with luggage through twisties and dirt roads and I was impressed at how the bike handles and how rideable it is.

• Distance Covered Day : 305km / Total 709.5km
• Fuel Used : 5.2L/100km
• Roads Travelled : 11,1296, 1143, 1246, 1339, 1026, 101
• Hotel : Pukha Nanfa Hotel, Nan
• URL : Pukha Nanfa Hotel