Day 11: Hue – Danang

Distance: 68.76 miles

Time: 5:49

Average Speed: 11.8 mph

Today I was eager to get moving, so I was on the road by half 8. I was hoping that it would be a nice flat ride to the 500m Hai Van pass, and once over that, more flat running to Hoi An, some 80 miles away.

It was certainly flat riding for the most part, and I was delighted to be through the first 14 miles in an hour, and 35 miles by 12 o’clock. I had read motorcyclists’ reports of the route, and what they didn’t let on, was that, as well as the Hai Van tunnel not taking bikes or motorbikes, there were also two other tunnels that didn’t allow bicycles. Both of these required climbs of 60 or 70 metres to avoid the tunnelled section, and on both occasions, I had reached the tunnel before having to turn around and find an alternative route. It was sweltering during the heat of the day and I had to stop during the climbs to keep from overheating.

Finally, at 1 o’clock – and after 45 miles – I reached the foot of the Hai Van pass, known as ‘one of the best coast roads in the world’ (Clarkson, J., 2008). Setting off on its lower slopes, I soon had to stop for a train to cross the road.

The early stages warned of 8% gradients, and it was steady rather than steep, but through the middle of the climb there were sections where it got steeper again. It was tough going, and the road was busy.

Motorcyclists and cyclists weren’t the only vehicles barred from the tunnel, as the steady stream of tankers attested to. I took it in stages, needing time to cool off for every hundred metres of ascent or so. Getting mimed applause and thumbs up from the endless stream of moped-riding backpackers helped spur me on, I wondered if I was the only cyclist to tackle the Hai Van pass today. Making it to the 500 metre summit, I instantly took off down the other side to avoid the sizable gathering of coach tours. The views were much better this side and it was a fun twisty descent, I’d instantaneously gone from the slowest vehicle on the mountain, to one of the fastest.

Back approaching sea level again, the heat was intense and it almost took me by surprise to be back from the relative wilderness of the mountain pass to a bustling Vietnamese town. A few kilometres later, I spotted two cycle tourists at the side of the road, and it took me the couple of seconds of braking time to decide that, if I stopped, I probably wasn’t going to make it to Hoi An, and that was fine. I’d have gone far enough, so I pulled over.

They were a French couple, Flo and Marie, and they were travelling around South East Asia for 4 months, and had already completed two. They’d started in Bangkok, moved north to Chiang Rai, then they’d crossed into Laos and along the Mekong before traversing into Vietnam. Flo had been trying to fix a puncture for an hour, and there was still a problem. It appeared they’d started slightly south of Hue today and were heading for Danang, so I guess I wasn’t the only cyclist to cross the Hai Van Pass today after all.

I’d been chatting to them for a while when Flo managed to sort his bike, so he suggested we pedal into Danang together. I quite enjoyed cutting through the manic city traffic, but there was almost a slight mishap, when a girl on a scooter came flying off the kerb onto the road, with Flo taking evasive action just in time.

Managing to acquire accommodation in the same hotel as Flo and Marie, we had a drink at the rooftop bar before relocating to a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner. Marie remarked that it was strange to be having dinner in an Indian restaurant, in Vietnam, with a Scot. Yes, but why not as Flo replied.

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