The Golden Triangle Ride - Day Three: Homewards Across Doi Luang National Park

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After a breakfast of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, we drove south from Golden Triangle along the Mekong River and into the town of Chiang Rai, down the Kok River which we had crossed two days before. It was here that we visited the famous Chapel of Wat Rong Khun, also known as the White Temple.

This was our last day of riding with Khun Game and we were hoping to get back to Chiang Mai by late afternoon in order to get in a massage and have dinner with Khun Pui at a reasonable hour. So, we decided to concentrate on "quality" cycling rather than "quantity," intending to get in some good climbs inside one of the National Parks that we had not seen before.

We drove south to Phayao, almost an hour south of Chiang Rai, where Khun Game dropped us off for a ride west across Doi Luang National Park.

It was a stunning day, blue skies, low humidity, although by the time we were climbing the temperature was in the upper seventies and low eighties. Spectacular roads, with nice broad shoulders, winding through the park. Only 2:39 of riding this day, with 4,700 feet of vertical climbing in two big pushes. After riding hard on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, this was an easier day. We stopped by a little waterfall and had noodles for lunch and by 2:30 pm we were in the van, heading back home. Markus and I got our massages and had margaritas and Mexican food in Chiang Mai with Khun Pui. While I love Thai food, when you want to cram down massive quantities of carbohydrates, there is nothing like nachos, enchiladas, refried beans, tacos and hot sauce.