Rider's Corner

🚨 BREAKING BLOODY NEWS 🚨

Well, stone the flamin’ crows — looks like Harry and Meghan have finally cracked it.

Forget California. Forget Blighty. The Sussexes are apparently chucking the whole lot in and moving somewhere with cheaper tucker, better roads and considerably fewer blokes hiding in bushes with telephoto lenses.

CHIANG MAI. 🇹🇭

Sources close to absolutely nobody reckon Harry took one look at the Mae Hong Son Loop — 1,864 glorious curves — and said, “Stuff California, Meg. We’re moving.”

Meghan’s reportedly on board, although negotiations hit a snag after she asked whether there’s a Soho House in Pai.

Meanwhile, back at the Palace, Charles, Camilla, William and Kate have taken the news with remarkable equanimity.

🥂🍾🥂

Ian was waiting at Chiang Mai Airport with a couple of bikes, two helmets and some fairly straightforward advice:

“Travel light, mate.”

Unfortunately, nobody told Meghan. 😂

Welcome to Northern Thailand, Your Royal Highnesses.

Now grab a helmet, get stuck into a bowl of khao soi and try not to hold up the traffic on the 1095.

Rider’s Corner — solving international family disputes one motorcycle at a time. 🇹🇭🏍️🇦🇺

🏍️ BIGGER BIKE ≠ BIGGER GRIN

Here at Rider’s Corner, we could give you the classic rental-shop sales pitch:

“Mate, you definitely need the bigger bike.”

More horsepower. More cubes. More money in our till.

Except we reckon that’s a load of old cobblers. 😁

Our advice is pretty simple: choose the smallest bike that comfortably does what you need it to do.

Because for 99% of riding around Northern Thailand, the smaller, lighter machine is often the one you’ll have the most fun on.

A little bike is easier through tight mountain bends, easier around villages, easier to park, easier when the road suddenly turns to gravel, and considerably easier to pick up after discovering that what looked like firm ground was actually a cleverly disguised bloody ditch.

And you don’t need 100 horsepower to enjoy a road with 400 corners. Half the fun is wringing the neck of something modest without reaching speeds that make your guardian angel lodge a formal complaint.

That’s why we’re perfectly happy renting you a Giorno, ADV160 or CRF when a bigger machine isn’t necessary. We’d rather you come back grinning than come back saying, “Yeah, the bike was impressive, but Christ it was a handful.”

There’s no shame whatsoever in being the bloke on the smallest bike.

Even if you’re wearing a tweed jacket.

Even if everyone else is on adventure bikes.

And even if you’ve brought your teddy bear along for emotional support.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re as feckless as Mr Bean.

Probably. 🧸😎

Choose the bike that makes you smile. You don’t have to be fast to have the best day.

SIX BIKES, EIGHT PEOPLE… AND FOUR DAYS THAT TURNED INTO SIX. 🇨🇳🏍️🇹🇭

Now this is how you do a family holiday in Chiang Mai.

This Chinese family rolled into Rider’s Corner eight strong — three couples and two kids — and decided the best way to explore Chiang Mai wasn't cramming everyone into a minivan.

They hired six bikes instead. 😎

Four Honda Giornos, an ADV160 and a Yamaha PG-1, then off they went exploring Chiang Mai and the surrounding countryside at their own pace.

The original plan was four days.

Then Chiang Mai did what Chiang Mai tends to do.

"Reckon we'll stay a couple more days."

Can't argue with that. 😂

That's one of the beauties of having bikes here. Duck out for breakfast, wander through the back streets, head into the hills, find a temple, stop somewhere for lunch, discover a road you weren't planning to take, then somehow end up miles from where you started.

No grand expedition required. Just get on the bikes and have a bloody good time.

And judging by the smiles, this mob certainly did.

Thanks for riding with us, guys. We're stoked you enjoyed Chiang Mai enough to extend the adventure.

Four days booked. Six days ridden.

That's the sort of scheduling problem we thoroughly approve of. 🏍️🦎

🇹🇭 NAN’S DOING IT TOUGH — LET’S GIVE ’EM A HAND 🇹🇭

Nan province has been absolutely hammered by flooding in the last week, and plenty of good people are having a rough time of it right now.

Homes are underwater, roads are flooded and communities across the province are dealing with a proper mess.

One mob we're giving to, because they're right in the thick of it, is Sawang Nakhon Nan Ruam Jai Association (สมาคมสว่างนครน่านร่วมใจ) — a local Nan rescue organisation out there helping people on the ground. They’re asking for support with drinking water, food, essential supplies and, importantly, fuel to keep the rescue crews moving.

So if you’ve ever ridden Nan’s brilliant roads, stopped for a coffee in Pua, admired those mountains, or simply reckon helping your neighbours is the decent thing to do, now’s the time to chuck a few baht in the tin.

💰 DONATIONS

Government Savings Bank (GSB), Nan Branch
Account: สมาคมสว่างนครน่านร่วมใจ
Account No: 020393085004

When enough of us chip in, it buys water, food and fuel and puts help where it’s needed.

Nan has given motorcyclists some of the best bloody riding in Thailand.

Time to give a little something back. 🇹🇭❤️

Stay strong, Nan. We’re thinking of ya.

Rider’s Corner Chiang Mai

THREE BIKES. FOUR WEEKS. ONE PROPER NORTHERN THAILAND ADVENTURE. 🇫🇷🏍️🇹🇭

These two lovely Frenchies didn't muck around when it came to exploring the north.

Rather than trying to make one bike do everything, they went for the right weapon for each mission.

First up, two weeks on an ADV350 exploring around Chiang Mai — comfy, practical and bloody brilliant for day trips around the region.

Then it was time for the main event: one week on an NX500 tackling the Mae Hong Son Loop. More power, proper touring ability and just the ticket for disappearing into the mountains for a week.

And finally, an ADV160 for a week around town — light, nimble and perfect for slipping through Chiang Mai traffic without needing a three-point turn every time you spot somewhere good for lunch.

That's a full month of Northern Thailand on two wheels, with three very different bikes doing exactly what they're good at.

Bloody good planning, we reckon. 👌

We thoroughly enjoyed having these two around Rider's Corner and seeing them come back for the next bike and the next chapter of the trip.

Thanks for riding with us, you two. Safe travels, and we hope this isn't au revoir for too long.

There's still plenty of Northern Thailand left for next time. 😉🏍️

WELCOME TO INSTAGRAM VALLEY. 📸🏍️🇹🇭

Here's our imagining of a Thai couple taking one of our new Honda GB350Cs for a gentle fang through Mae Kampong.

And you've got to admit, the old girl looks pretty bloody comfortable here.

Mae Kampong is one of those ridiculously picturesque little mountain villages that seems almost purpose-built for photographs — timber houses clinging to the hillside, a stream running through town, lush forest everywhere and coffee shops appearing at roughly twelve-metre intervals.

We sometimes call the whole area “Instagram Valley.” 😂

And on a weekday morning, Mae Kampong can be absolutely lovely.

On a weekend?

Well... apparently everyone else in Thailand has also seen Instagram.

But here's the trick: don't just ride to Mae Kampong, take a photo and turn around.

The surrounding countryside is magnificent, and once you get away from the main tourist drag, the crowds disappear remarkably quickly. There are little mountain roads, quiet villages, forest, viewpoints and enough squiggly lines on the map to keep you happily wandering around for hours.

And that's exactly the sort of riding where the GB350C makes sense.

It's not about smashing out kilometres or attacking every corner like you're qualifying at Phillip Island. Just thump along, enjoy that lovely single-cylinder motor, stop when something looks interesting and generally remember that you're supposed to be on holiday.

If you want to explore beyond Instagram Valley, grab a copy of our Doi Saket to Lampang touring map at Rider's Corner. It'll give you plenty of ideas for turning a quick trip to Mae Kampong into a proper day's ride.

Take the photo, by all means.

Then keep riding. 🏍️⛰️

GETTING IN TOUCH WITH THAI CULTURE 🇹🇭🎷🛵

Ahhh, Chiang Mai.

A place where it's remarkably easy to convince yourself you're having a profound cultural awakening while actually just having a bloody good holiday. 😂

A bit of jazz at North Gate.

A leisurely scooter round the moat.

Some important international relations conducted over a few drinks at Zoe in Yellow.

Then off to bed, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow you'll finally leave all this touristy stuff behind and discover the “real” Thailand.

Right after coffee in Nimman at ten. ☕😎

And you know what?

Fair enough.

Because that's half the fun of Chiang Mai. You can spend one evening listening to live music and carrying on in town, then wake up the next morning, grab a bike and within an hour be among mountains, villages, temples, rice fields and little roads where you haven't got the faintest idea where you're going.

Is it a profound immersion in Thai culture?

Probably not.

Is it a bloody enjoyable way to spend your time in Thailand?

Absolutely.

Enjoy Chiang Mai however you like, ya legends.

The “real” Thailand isn't going anywhere. 🏍️🇹🇭