Category: cycle-touring

Day 21: Dong Xoai – Ho Chi Minh City

Distance: 66.21

Time: 5:39

Average Speed: 11.7 mph

The last leg, the final furlong, the end was nigh, all I needed to do was cycle 60 miles and I was done. Not that I was getting complacent, there could be a 5000 metre pass in my way for all I knew. But, after an early climb, the road took a turn for the better, and it was gradually descending for much of the day.

The road passed through a few endless towns, and with little in the way of scenery to keep me occupied, I found other distractions instead. I pondered why there seemed to be a cluster of speakers piping out bird song at the top of every tall building. I noted the fire remains outside every house – assuming them to be some form of New Year’s ritual – and I watched as several women sprinkled salt on the pavements outside their homes, clearly it’s not just Scotland that’s expecting snow.

I passed crashes too, on an otherwise empty section of Highway a car had smashed straight into the back of another, and further along the road, two scooters had had a collision, with one losing its front wheel in the process. Police were in attendance.

It was 34 degrees in the heat of the midday sun, and trying to push on into a 13 mile an hour headwind, I started to fade fast. Taking shelter in the next shop I passed, I downed two ice cold cans of juice and ate a large bag of crisps. Temperature back in check, I was still starving. After many days of running at a calorie deficit, my Bun Bo Hue noodles in the morning clearly hadn’t been enough. I rode on for long enough to find the next Com Ga stall. Approaching the counter the woman stated ‘Com Ga’, and that sounded ideal, a fried chicken wing with a huge pile of aromatic rice and a fresh ‘slaw.

Back on the highway, traffic was light, and most of the businesses along the route were still closed for Tet. The quiet roads made it frustrating at the stop lights as they counted down for 45 seconds or more, with nothing travelling the other way.

Eventually, I found myself on busier roads as the road crossed a huge roundabout under a bridge, then crossed the Sai Gon river into District 1.

After winding my way through the city streets, passed rows of towering hotels, I located my own – the Silverland Yen – arriving just in time for afternoon tea. Later, I took in the views from the rooftop terrace, a moment to reflect on a wonderful trip.

I call this one ‘Orange Juice with Saigon Skyline’.

It had taken me 21 days to cycle from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, a total distance of 1,196 miles, and an average of 56.96 miles a day.

Vietnam 2020: The Ho Chi Minh Trail

Gearing Up

Since I returned from cycling the Pacific Coast Highway in June 2017, I have been asked countless times if I had any more cycling trips planned. The answer was usually, ‘no, not yet, but I’ve had a few ideas!’ It was always going to take some time before I was ready to undergo a similar trip again. For a start, successfully completing my biggest challenge yet meant that my ambitions were likely to remain higher for future endeavours, and that required me to find a long enough window with which to fit my plans.

Another problem was that, since the America trip, my touring bike had had a fairly tough time of it. In January 2018, I was out for a short cycle not far from home when I changed gear to pedal up a steep hill and there was a loud crunch from the back of the bike. The chain had broken, the rear derailleur had snapped in half and bent the derailleur mounting point on the frame in the process. Not good. In the end, it turned out an absolutely trashed small chainring, from my 2000 mile sojourn, was the root of the problem, and it was really spring 2019 before it was back up and running properly.

Then it was time to start planning something…

Opting to go in January helped narrow the range of possibilities significantly, and in the end I was trying to decide between an End to End of New Zealand or something in South-East Asia. I decided to leave New Zealand until I was feeling less adventurous, so South-East Asia it was. I’d been to Thailand, so not there. A lack of tarmacked roads and a predominance of hills did for Cambodia and Laos respectively, and eventually, it was the lure of a 1000 mile stretch of well-maintained tarmac through rural farmland and stunning karst mountains that won it. So, as of the 4th of January, I’m heading for the Ho Chi Minh Highway – between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – in Vietnam!

Hope you can join me,

Michael

To read about my Pacific Coast trip start here:

https://pedaltheglobeblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/my-pacific-coast-odyssey/

To read about my Morocco trip:

https://pedaltheglobeblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/22/413-miles-and-endless-hills/

US and Canada 2017: Pacific Coast Highway

Vancouver – San Diego:

38 Days

2113.59 miles

55.6 miles per day

As I planned this trip, there were many occasions when I was concerned that I was attempting the impossible; indeed, for much of the route, I’d only hoped to get as far as Los Angeles, and I didn’t actually book my flight back from San Diego until I reached there. Before the Pacific Coast, my longest previous cycle tour had been 400 miles, and by the end of that I had been ready to go home. Physically I had still felt strong, but the mental strain of cycling solo through the Moroccan Atlas, sleeping amongst wild dogs and patronising shops in which sellers tried to sell me unwanted trinkets, had worn me down. I knew that if I was to enjoy the experience of testing myself on a longer route, I would need to travel somewhere that felt more culturally familiar. The fact that the US Pacific Coast Highway regularly featured in the top 3 on lists of the world’s best cycle tours helped to narrow my scope considerably.

Having decided on the US Pacific Coast Highway, I wanted to be sure that it would be possible with my given timeframe before I took any drastic steps – such as booking flights. The process seemed endless as I probed the internet for campsite opening dates to determine whether the trip would be plausible at all. As I worked through the campsites, results seemed to suggest that most of the campsites would be available, in fact, most of them were probably available throughout the year. As I spoke to US-based cyclists on the road, they seemed amused to find that I’d been worried about the accessibility of campsites – they clearly hadn’t arrived at a campsite in France at quarter to 7 in the evening, only to find that the reception was closing and security gates fastened into place. As the journey unfolded, I realised that much of my planning had been unnecessary, I was in the land of the RV and the road trip, on one of the most popular routes in the country. This was a route well served by amenities.

Many of the campsites I stayed in on the route were those recommended in the Bicycling the Pacific Coast route guide, and most of the rest I found in the official American Cycling Association maps of the route. I used them interchangeably at times, and was pleased to discover that – until quite far South in California – most of the campsites were excellent for my requirements, whether I’d seen them recommended or not.

It was much the same with restaurants, I’d spent weeks before I left researching potential food stops in guidebooks and jotting them down in a small notebook. Of course, I barely glanced at the notebook during my trip and, checking back afterwards, I realised that I hadn’t been to any of the places I’d planned out beforehand. When restaurant-hunting a quick glance at Trip Advisor had usually been my first port of call, and the next step was to assess individual restaurants, largely based on whether there was somewhere suitable to leave my bike.

During the 5 and a half week journey, I was on the limit in terms of keeping my bike on the road, punctures were a constant issue, especially when the weather worsened, and there were times during the ride where I was getting by with as few as two gears running smoothly, one for the hills, and one for the flat. I could coast the downhills. I went through brake pads quickly in the wet weather, and not being able to set up gears properly meant I snapped more gear cables than I should. Despite all this, I kept the bike rolling along.

Throughout the trip, the ever-changing spectacle of nature left me awestruck on countless occasions. Vancouver Island, Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains, Deception Pass, Cannon Beach, Nehalem Bay, Boiler Bay, Cape Perpetua, Oregon Dunes, Pebble Beach, Elk Prairie Redwoods, The Avenue of the Giants, Pacific Grove, Monterey Wine Country, Lake Nacimiento, Point Mugu, La Jolla and Coronado were just a few of the natural wonders I witnessed.

When I think of all that I experienced along the way, I’m reminded of Gilles, the Canadian, who I’d met in the campsite near Santa Cruz, and who was cycling the Pacific Coast for the second time, 25 years after the first. I asked him how he was finding it after so long. ‘Oh, The same!’ was his response. Life had moved on, but the Pacific Coast Highway remained the same, a wonderful adventure waiting to happen.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

To read again from the start:

https://pedaltheglobeblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/30/my-pacific-coast-odyssey/

To find out what happened next:

https://pedaltheglobeblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/31/gearing-up/

To read about my trip around the ring road in Iceland:

https://pedaltheglobeblog.wordpress.com/2023/06/13/back-in-the-saddle/

Day 1: Vancouver to Porpoise Bay

Day 1: Vancouver – Porpoise Bay Provincial Park

Distance 38.56 miles.
Time: 03:54
Average speed: 9.9 mph.

Having arrived at Vancouver airport last night, I took the Skytrain into Downtown, before making the foolish decision to try and carry my 27 kg bike box and additional pannier the kilometre to the hotel. By the time I’d got there, I was an exhausted, sweaty, mess and all of the handles on the giant cardboard box had disintegrated, requiring me to drag the box for block after block along the sidewalk.

This morning was a busy one as I had to pick up camping gas amongst other things, and pack up the bike. Considering the problems I had setting up the bike before I left, I was surprised to achieve the perfect set-up on the first attempt! I also managed a whistle-stop march around Vancouver, enjoying some great Waffles at Caffe Artigiano.

The beginning of the route was lovely using bike paths through Vancouver – along the river and through Stanley Park, even passing some totem poles en route. I took the bridge to West Vancouver, then followed Marine Drive – over some steepening hills – out to Horseshoe bay. The ferry to Gibsons was some time off but I had great fish and chips at the oddly named ‘Troll’s fish and chips’.

After a nice ferry journey, with views of the Rockies in the background, I realised that there were only 2 hours until sunset, as I struggled up the long steep stretch out of the ferry terminal. Taking a wrong turning down into Roberts Creek didn’t help, and either did arriving at my first intended campsite at 19:50 to find it shut!

8 miles and 40 minutes later I made it to Porpoise Bay and was relieved to find the biker field open, if empty.. Luckily the warden happened along to turn on the showers for me shortly after.

Plan for tomorrow: Start earlier!

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