Khao E-to Red trail at night
We did this singletrack mountain biking trail at khao I-to at night on a rainy evening. O.k. this sounds dangerous and it is but it has some advantages. It's a lot cooler in the night. We parked up in the car park and armed with 3 lights on our mountain bikes we headed off up the road in the pouring rain. We decided to miss out the first section of the trail and ride straight to the top of khao e-to on the road. The road is usually exhausting to ride up during the day but at night its a whole different ball game. There’s was no heat coming off the road, no 40 degree baking sun and the rain was keeping up cool. The road took us up the mountain and into cloud. Khao i-to is a totally different place at night. There is always the feeling of danger and a constant reminder from the creatures hiding in the undergrowth when the skittle away when as ride past.
By the time we had reached the top we were in thick cloud the creatures of the night, spiders, snakes
and whatever else were now nosier than before and seemed to be getting closer. Time for a break and a quick bike and light check before going down. Going down is a slower process at night than during the day and combined with rain even slower. But this really puts your riding skills to the test. The eerie feeling can be quite exciting but at least you know that within 10-15 mins you'll be back at the car park safe and sound.
After about 50 spiders webs in the face and getting wet through we made it back to the car.
How about the riding?
The riding is technical singletrack going down there aren’t any server downhill bits so the trail can be ridden at a slow pace if desired, there are a quite few rocky section to take care on.
When’s the best time to ride?
The best time to ride is when it gets dark, if it rains the trail become a lot more technical.
What to Bring?
Plenty of water and a good set of lights with some good batteries we used 3 lights 2 on the handle bars which are similar to Mag lights and one miner’s light on the helmet. All bought from Klong Tum for around 90 baht each.
Facilities ?
Car park, Toilet, Restaurant
Where to stay?
If you are going to stay overnight there is a campsite or we found a nice little hotel which is marked on the map below.
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info@mountainbiketoursthailand.com
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