Fun and danger in Suphan Buri
Khao Phra, a hill in Suphan Buri’s Doem Bang Nang Buat district, will be the venue of the first round of the Thailand Gravity Series 2017 set to take place this weekend. If you plan to participate in the event or wish to try this downhill track someday, read on and you’ll find tips on how to be fast and safe on this racecourse.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that a lame rider like me would dare to give such advice. The tips are from those elite racers you see in the photos: Seubsakun “Saen” Sukchanya and Jirathiwat “Jarja” Chaipimai. The first is a prominent member of the national DH team, while the latter is also a familiar face on race podiums.
Before we get to the two pros, allow me to give some background about Khao Phra to those who might not have been there before. The hill has hosted a couple of DH competitions the past two years. Each time it has been improved with new jumps and other features. It was also a setting for videos of Loose Riders TV, featuring world-class bikers such as Nico Vink and Vinny-T. The current track is, therefore, the result of accumulated efforts by local as well as international trail builders. The race this weekend will be the first since the tragic bike accident on May 21 that took the life of former top Thai downhiller Tanaphon “Por” Jarupeng. During a ride with his friends and students of his biking class, Por crashed at the track’s last big jump and later died from internal bleeding.
Now let’s get back to Saen and Jarja. The two travelled all the way from their hometown in Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima, to meet me at Khao Phra last Friday. After we finished shooting photos of the entire racecourse, I asked them what they thought about Khao Phra.
“The track here is different from anywhere else in Thailand,” Saen said. “It’s built with the help of machinery so it’s pretty wide. There are also many jumps and berms.”
The hard rocky ground, he added, allows riders to go at very high speed, “which makes it both fun and dangerous”.
This technical DH track has a number of steep sections that not only have a loose surface but also end with sharp banked turns. “It’s very slippery. You have to be very careful otherwise, you may shoot yourself off the curves,” said Jarja.
“Some riders may brake too hard and slide their rear wheel into the curve but that takes away much of the speed. I prefer to slow down from a distance and hit those berms head-on with my front wheel,” Saen explained.
I must admit their words made me confused because earlier while we were on the trail I didn’t notice any sign of them slowing down. The two just rocketed past my camera no matter how steep the slope or how tight a curve. At certain parts where there are rough rocks on the ground, they just took off and literally flew over the obstacles (see picture), landing with speed just before smoothly entering a sharp curve ahead. Obviously, their definition of “slow” is extremely different from mine.
Asked for tips on how to clear the big jumps, especially the intimidating gap jump on the upper part of the track (see the main picture), Saen replied: “That’s easy. As you come down, pedal a little to add speed and pull the bike up a bit at take off, and you can clear it.”
As I was about to scratch my head, the national team rider continued: “Before you try a jump, watch how other riders do it first. After you get the picture, ride after the jumpers towards the launch, using the same speed, and stop just before you reach the lip.” This, Jarja pointed out, would help you determine how fast you need to go to send yourself to the other side of the gap.
“Do this as many times as you wish until you feel confident to risk it,” he said. Both downhillers stressed that every rider should be careful at every jump. “Some, like the one at the bottom where Por crashed, may not look scary but they are no less dangerous. To me, it’s the one that’s most difficult,” Saen said, adding that the steep angle of the launch can send you higher in the air than other jumps, which make it harder to control the bike, especially when you’re tired after having gone through the other parts of the energy-sapping track.
Well, I wish fun and safe runs to Saen and Jarja as well as every rider joining the race at Khao Phra this weekend. The event will be exciting for spectators, too. If you have time, I recommend you go see for yourself how the elite riders clear all those obstacles and finish the entire course in less than two-and-a-half minutes.
See you here again next Thursday. Until then, if you have questions, news or biking insights you wish to share, please feel free to send an email to pongpetm@bangkokpost.co.th or go to Freewheel Bangkok community page on Facebook.