The Iron Man trail is popular among Chiang Mai locals but perhaps lesser known to visitors to Chiang Mai, despite this it is a fun yet technical downhill that will test not only your ability but also your bike suspension on demanding sections of rocky singletrack. The trail starts at ‘Sun Koo’, the site of a small temple at the top of Doi Pui and the start point for several trails around Doi Pui Suthep National Park. A Songteaw will take you up for around 400THB depending on the season, you can say Sun Koo and they should know the location. You will be dropped off on the side of the road and its worth a few minutes checking out the small temple which is just 100m down the dirt trail.

The first few kilometres of the trail follows the paved road leading into Ban Khun Chang, a small village with a pleasant coffee shop at the entrance and well worth a quick stop. Ride along the road for about 1km further and turn off before the school and you will find the single track leading to the trail head. For anyone familiar with the Gee House trail this section is essentially the same and you will quickly descend into the forest for a fun and exhilarating downhill section with plenty of flowy sections, roots, ruts and jumps along the way. The trail eventually leads out onto a crossroad with Gee House to the left and the Iron Man trail straight on. From here the trail gets more testing with large rocks strewn across the trail making the going pretty tough. Your arms and legs will get a good workout as you try and control your bike through the rock beds, and despite intermittent smooth sections and short uphill sections, the going is pretty tough all the way down. The trail ends with the option to take a left leading straight onto the road down past the zoo or left which leads to a small waterfall which makes for a nice diversion with great views of the city.