Western Frontier Coming Soon
Following the first edition of the Northern Frontier 4 dayer in November 2019, its sister 4 stager is now in the making. This epic challenge ride will feature a set of KOMs along the stunning border with Laos.
In far flung areas in the extreme North and near Laos in the West, signs for the Frontier Areas stand. In these distant lands, riders already know they are remote, but to have it bluntly confirmed in three languages (English and Vietnamese and either Lao or Chinese depending on your Frontier zone) definitely adds to the sense of adventure.
In the past, many of these areas were out of bounds for foreigners on bicycles. Indeed, when we first rode Vietnam on bikes, permits were needed to enter, and still to this day tourism activities in some more remote parts are not welcomed. Still on sections of the Western Frontier your passage is not guaranteed.
The first Northern Frontier ride took place late 2019, with a small group of selected riders taking on 17 KOMs over four tough days in the hills. These test riders confirmed that the right balance of arduousness, adventure and attainability was struck, and so we are now taking the concept to the Western Frontier along the border with Laos.
For the Western Frontier we are still doing research and having ‘fun’ finding out where the line of ‘too much’ lies.
We recently headed out to check a potential Western Frontier stage. It looked solid enough on paper, but over the course of the 262km day with 5000m of ascent on every road type imaginable (including dirt, rock and gravel), we decided it is overkill, especially given that of the four riders, only one finished without using some form of motorised transport….
In the end it was an easy decision to keep this 262km mutli-surface beast for private clients and to continue with the original Western Frontier route that has long been in mind … much more on this to follow very soon.
The Western Frontier is expected to feature:
4 Days of between 100k and 200k with up to 3000m gain per day
20 designated ‘KOM’ climb segments
A competitive edge, whether you compete with yourself or others
No racing between the KOMs, so no stress
Very remote, very spectacular mountain riding
