Training Log Archive: revy

Day Two - Ba Be to Nguyen Binh. Today ended up being a longer ride than anticipated due to some issues with accommodations. This was the only day of the ride when we had nothing booked ahead of time. I knew there were some guesthouses in Thinh Tuc where we planned to stop but couldn't book them ahead of time. We left Ba Be and after passing through Cho Ra (which was essnentially a few km of stores and houses along the road - a similar set up for many of the towns on the route) found ourselves in much more remote terrain than yesterday. There was still farms and houses but felt quieter which was nice. We took a nice short cut that saved a few km via a back lane and saw some nice rural scenes. After a water stop (lots of small places to buy snacks and water) we started the long climb from 200m to 1350m. It was pretty sunny but the climb was not steep and spent alot of time in the shade so we never overheated. Started seeing locals dressed differntly suggesting we were seeing some of the northern hill tribes (which are ethnically Chinese rather than Vietnamese). 2/3 of the way up we passed through a small town. Our first attempt to find some real food didn't go too well but our second attempt led to a nice lunch of fried rice with egg.

The last portion of the climb had a fair bit of smooth gravel and fairly expansive views though in a direction that was towards the lower hills so nott super dramatic. Once down the other side views were more exciting as much more karst topography was visible. We had a longish descent to the junction with QL37 then a few more km to Thinh Tuc. There we fouind the one guesthouse but were told we couldn't stay there. They suggested we backtrack 5km to the hwy junction where there was another guesthouse. This one also said we couldn't stay there... it didnt appear to be a space issue as both seemed empty. Perhaps they aren't allowed to host foreigners? The language barrier added a layer of complexity and unfortuantely this portion of the route had no local homestays available (these were every 15km it seemed a few days later). The gentleman at the second hotel was not hlelpful as he suggested Ba Be or Baolac as options (both a five hour ride away which was not realistic given the time of day). We decided to ride 10km towards Cao Bang (in the wrong direction) to Nguyen Binh where I knew there was a hotel. We did manage to find a room but in retrospect had a few better options availaable there and should have been more picky. Of course at that point we were happy to find a place so snapped up the first place we found. At least it was cheap... the only other postiive was the great views on the additional section we rode. The ride ended up being 20km longer than planned.

C • So that explains that GPS track! 1

Day One of our NE Vietnam bike tour. My online research suggested that this was a reasonable spot for a cycle tour and initally we thought about going on a guided tour but in the end decided to do the trip on our own. Cost for the guided trip seemed high given the prices in Vietnam ($1500 to $2000 US for a week trip). We ended up spending about $300 CDN for the six days (this included private transfer to the start and back from the end which was about 1/3rd of the total cost). The guided costs did include a van to move the gear which we did not have - we travelled light with bikepacking bags. Packing list included a change of riding clothes, one set of casual clothes, rain jacket, a warm jacket, and some communal bike/first aid gear. Of course James brought his computer so he could edit wikipedia while we were on the road:) The bikes road well with the weight though I had made sure to have some easier gearing for the many upcoming hills...

Today we got picked up in Hanoi and drove 3 hours to Bac Kan where we started riding. The first 20km were on a busier road (though not that bad). We missed our turn off as no one was looking at the map and we weren't used to the signage yet. This meant a few extra km an extra climbing. We stopped for a drink and had our first expeirience of the locals taking selfies with us in the background:)

The next section of road was very nice along a valley with golden rice feilds and some rolling hills. Cool to see the rice being harvested - I thought we had missed it but at these lower elevations they have two harvests. We will have missed the harvest at higher elevations where they only have one crop per year. Periodically there were limestone outcrops rising steeply (northern Vietnam is full of karst). There are people living everywhere but standard of living seemed reasonable and cleaner than I expected. Certainly mainly a farming culture. Many of the kids were curious to see us and often waved high and screamed "hello". Lots of dogs but all seemed to be in a heat coma and barely raised their heads as we rode by. Due to the morning transfer we were riding in the hottest part of the day - certainly felt warm when climbing but kept the pace mellow and I felt fine. Beautiful blue skies and no haze so great views today. After checking into our hotel we biked a little farther to check out Ba Be Lake. If we had more time it would have been nice to spend a day here and do some boating around the lake. Had our first family dinner at the hotel we were staying at - quite tasty.

Two week trip to Vietnam with James and Wakana. We were supposed to go to Hong Kong for a 3 day visit with the Van Gorders too but life got in the way and we adjusted our flights to shorten the trip.

Had a tight connection in HKG and our bikes missed the last flight but they arrived later in the evening. I wanted to make sure everything worked before we headed north so we braved the Hanoi traffic and biked around West Lake. Once at the lake we had lots of quiet sections. The few km to and from there were another story... no one stops at traffic lights so crossing intersections requires just going for it and moving with intent. No sudden changes in speed and keep moving...

Nice to get some fresh air and exercise. The more we travel the more everywhere seems to share similarities though which I guess isn’t surprising.

C • Have fun! 2

Greenbelt run before heading to Kelowna. Milo came face to face with a deer and couldn't resistant taking offf. Luckily the deer was pretty fast and he came back after a few minutes. Sun was out today and as usual it is amazing how much nicer it feels with a little but of sunshine.

Greenbelt with MIlo and Courtney. Felt tired and slow today. Back is still bothering me - seemed tight today.