The Golden Triangle Challenge 2006

Five challenging cycling stages, riding 400 kms
from Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle

Dates: Sunday 15th October - Saturday 21st October 2006

Click here for Latest Update - October 7, 2006

The Event

The Piers Simon Appeal Golden Triangle Challenge 2006 is a meaningful way to raise funds for charity! It allows you to travel in North Thailand, exercise and cement friendships while at the same time bring benefit to victims of natural disasters such as Tsunami's and earthquakes.

For more background on the Piers Simon Appeal, please see their website.

This is a team challenge rather than a race, so every participant can cycle at their own pace. The tour is fully escorted, and is is a great way to meet new people, catch up with old friends, and tour through this beautiful country in an active way—on bicycle.

Join the Golden Triangle Challenge 2006, and be part of a team effort to ride the 400km from Chiang Mai to the Golden Triangle.

Introduction

On behalf of the Piers Simon Appeal we would like to invite you for joining us in our first cycling fundraising event in association with Contact Travel. I like to think that this is a trip Piers himself would have made and cherished—he and I took part in a charity cycle challenge in the year 2000 cycling five hundred kilometers through Rajasthan in India. It certainly was an experience which cemented friendships, embraced cultures and raised valuable money for a much needed cause. Added to this of course were the physical demands of completing the challenge and on that trip there was a vast cross section of participants in the 93 strong party. Some were keen cyclists who treated daily stages as time trials, whilst for others each stage completed was another mountain scaled in their goal to make it to the end. In essence, that is the beauty of such charity challenges—there is something for everyone and both the participant and the charity benefit enormously from the event.

Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand

With its temperate climate, mountainous terrain and colourful mix of hill-tribe peoples, northern Thailand is a very special destination for many travellers. Located 650 km north of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city, the heart of this historic and beautiful region.

Northern hospitality opens its arms to visitors as they walk among the old wooden temples and two-story houses of the ancient walled city. This region is home to many minority villages with intriguing traditional ways of life. The exquisite weavings and handicrafts worn, traded and sold by the villagers are typified by rugged quality and unique design. There are also a number of local handicrafts that make Chiang Mai an interesting shopping destination.

The Itinerary

View the full itinerary here.