Back on Bikes Again

Hello from Da Lat. Yesterday morning we finally left the teeming city of Saigon. After 3 full days and 4 nights in a huge city in the extreme heat MIke and I were ready to get going. We got a good sense of Saigon ,or Ho Chi Minh City but, like most big world cities, the true culture often doesn’t shine through when you stay in the expensive tourist areas. We met our fellow travellers and our tour leader (Lam) on Sunday night. At 17, it’s a larger group than expected - 6 from Victoria!! And most of the others from the UK. After our meet and greet dinner , Mike immediately found a couple of beer drinking buddies - one a “ scouser” from the Liverpool area and another fellow from Glasgow. A nice group, but relatively younger than I expected and the first Monday “shake-out ride” proved challenging. The heat on Monday was brutal - approaching 40 and the riding pace was fast. I had to suppress my inner cranky 3 year old the whole time. There is one young guy in the group who is training for Ironman, so you get the idea! Mike and I were concerned after the first day that we would be unable to keep up but we have since realized that everyone felt some pressure on the first day to stay with the tour leader who, evidently, has a reputation, for pushing the pace. Yes, I’m glad to have an ebike but Mike is suffering.
When my bike was presented to me on Monday, I realized that the frame was too small. It felt like a clown bike and the further the seat was elevated the worse it got. But overnight the bike technician made some adjustments and, though not perfect, it will do for the time we’re here. Mike has a pretty heavy industrial mountain type bike with fat tires and big shocks . The potholes make the shocks very useful at times.
Monday we cycled 35 km to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside of Saigon. This is one of the main must sees if you’re in the area. The site consists of a large network of tunnels that were occupied by the Viet Cong during the “American War”. The whole thing was fascinating. Our main tour leader, Lam, was quite excited to share the ingenuity of the Viet Cong in their fight to liberate the south from the American imperialists. We all tried crawling through a few tunnels. Now I’m no giant, and it was a real head banging experience for even me. Picture enclosed.
Over the past two days we have biked north. Each day about 55 km. The heat has proven to be an enormous challenge. At 35 degrees it is beyond what we have experienced on most of our cycling trips. The good news about this tour is that the support is excellent. Every 15 km or so there is a stop with delicious lemonade, snacks and sometimes rest stops. Our tour leader is cheerful and his support guys are great. Although my misgivings about the plumbing have been well founded……..we’ve made do, as you do when traveling. The tour leader calls them “ happy rooms” but they aren’t always very happy places. Much of the routes have been very busy with all kinds of potholes , motorbikes, animals, children and traffic to dodge. So you have to keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel , as it were.
Today we climbed away from the coast into some forested areas. We’re in the central highlands now. The temp has cooled to a manageable 17 degrees C and everyone looks to be in winter clothes. We saw a coffee plantation. Also along the way, we have seen lots of rice paddies, dragon fruit groves, cashew nut trees and drying fish.
Tomorrow we leave the highlands for a 90 km ride including a long 30 km downhill and we’ll spend 2 nights on a island off of the coast. My nether regions will enjoy a full day off of the bike. Evidently, there is some snorkelling in our future, so that will be fun.
That’s the news from here, Hope that everyone is well at home or wherever your travels have taken you.
Take care , Heather/ Mom xxRead more