Day 2: Hoa Binh – Mai Chau

Distance: 41.32 miles

Time: 4:22

Average Speed: 9.5 mph

After a good sleep at the Ha Tam hotel, I went for breakfast at a local street stall, having Pho Ga (chicken), which was the best so far. Whilst I was eating, a shot glass was slammed down on the table beside me, then another, by a passing local who was there for breakfast. Then he filled them up with an unidentified spirit and urged me to take a shot. Then he filled them back up again, I’m almost entirely sure that’s the first time I’ve had shots for breakfast, certainly with chicken and noodle soup!

Hitting the road at just after 10, I was soon deciding that I’d been lured into a false sense of security by the flat roads yesterday, it wasn’t going to stay that way. The road soon climbed steeply before dropping down the other side and continuing to undulate for most of the day.

The roads were lined with orange stalls and cafes while mountains loomed overhead. By the time I started looking for somewhere to get lunch, all of the roadside stalls seemed to have closed for lunch, themselves, something I’ll have to be wary of on the days ahead.

Towards the end of the day the road started to climb, and climb and climb. This might be the cool season, but 27 degrees seems plenty to me, and it was tough work climbing up to an eventual altitude of over 700 metres.

As I dropped down the other side, the suffering began to look worthwhile as I caught glimpses of my final destination, Mai Chau, far below. It’s a glorious spot, a vast flat plateau of rice fields ringed with mountains, and my lovely pool-side bungalow situated in the middle.

Day 1: Hanoi – Hoa Binh

Distance: 49.35 miles

Time: 4.03

Average Speed: 12.1 mph

Ok, so that’s yesterday’s cliffhanger, of would I make it out of the hotel ruined, but to be honest I’m as surprised as anyone. I didn’t really sleep at all last night after my extra long sleep the night before, and it was pouring down outside, so I got up and went for a swim. After that, I headed around the corner to a handily placed bike shop I’d spotted and was graciously allowed to use their bike pump. I also bought one to replace the one I’d brought, which is now languishing in the hotel bin. Hopefully the new one is an improvement!

Having assembled the bike and filled the panniers with stuff which will now become superfluous as I’m cycling for most of every day, I was finally ready to set off, at half past 11. With 50 miles to ride and sunset at not much after 5 it felt dangerously like time trial territory already, on day one.

I quickly got vaguely up to speed with the crazy Hanoi traffic. There are no rules, other than, push in and let everyone else react accordingly. Simple.

Around 10 miles in, having gotten lost a couple of times in the utter chaos, I stopped for lunch, having Pho of the non beef description. What meat was it? I’m not quite sure…

Following Highway 6 out of the city was endless, block after block of noise and fumes, it was 30 miles before it started to feel like I’d entered the countryside, and then all of a sudden, majestic Karst peaks all around.

Soon after, the road started to climb for the first time all day, but not for long and a descent followed, before route 6 turned left towards Hoa Binh, passing rice fields surrounded by the stunning mountainous back drop.

I arrived in Hoa Binh and headed for the Ha Tam hotel, just over the bridge. Nice room, and it cost just over a 10th of the price of an additional night in last night’s hotel. Not that I had thought about it for a second…

Suffice to say, it’s been a busy week. There always seems to be more to do to prepare for a trip like this than I remember. Even after a week preparing my bike and equipment, it was the night before that I realised that the pannier bags I was intending on using wouldn’t fit my pannier rack, and my seat post was stuck in the frame. Luckily my Dad was on hand to make the required amendments while I continued to pack.

Arriving in Hanoi, I organised travel to the hotel, and, as it was a third of the price of the alternative hotel-arranged airport transfer I took that as a win. Driving into town the roads were absolute chaos and when the rain started lashing down I decided to spend the rest of the day in the hotel. Still with a leisure suite and rooftop sky bar it could be worse. The quality of my accommodation after this may deteriorate…

Finally waking at 2 o’clock on my second day in Hanoi, I headed off into the Old Quarter to pick up a phone SIM and explore a bit. I’m feeling much better acclimated today and enjoyed exploring.

Road crossings were a nightmare due to the endless stream of scooters, maybe it’ll be easier when travelling alongside them, by bike?

I was happy to chat to Lanh and Anh and some fellow Hanoi University students near Ho Hoan Kiem, they were keen to try out their English skills, though none of them were actually studying English, Anh was studying Korean as well just to add to the list.

I tried some street food including a Banh Mi (pork baguette) and Pho Bo (beef noodles), Vietnamese staples that I might be encountering a lot on the road, which is fine by me. I’m also quite happy with the Bia Hoi draught beer found randomly dotted about on street corners!

This evening, I tried to pump up the tyres on my bike without much luck. I think I’ll probably need a new pump, so will head for a bike shop in the morning. Tonight it’s back to the Pan Pacific Summit bar to enjoy their eclectic range of out of place Christmas songs…

Should be starting cycling tomorrow if I have a working bike!

Day 39: San Diego – Home

Knowing that the bike would fit in the bike box was a massive relief and just left the sizeable task of repacking my possessions for the flights – of which there were 4 – home. By the time I’d finished, the bins in the motel room were full of assorted receipts, leftover food and toiletries that had been spared the return journey. The motel offered airport transfers for $5, which was ideal, and as it was basically the handyman with a people carrier, there was no difficulty with taking my bike in the back.

Arriving at San Diego airport, I checked in for my United Airlines flights through to Vancouver. I was charged $150 for checking in a bike, a fee I was prepared for, and one that reminded me how lucky I was that British Airways generally waived the oversize baggage fees associated with carrying bikes. Luckily, I was able to carry on my two panniers as hand luggage at all four airports.

After a tasty pulled pork sandwich at the airport, I boarded the plane for the short hop back to San Francisco. On my first visit to San Francisco I passed through in an hour and a half, on this occasion I was there for 50 minutes, exiting the plane straight back to the gates and walking the short distance to the gate for the Vancouver flight.

Arriving in Vancouver, I made my way straight to the oversize baggage carousel where my bike had been located when I arrived in Canada 5 and a half weeks before, and was relieved to see that although it had clearly been through a security check, it looked fine. The bike making it to Vancouver was a massive relief, it arriving late in Edinburgh was much less of an issue!

Sitting on the return flight from Vancouver, I tried to remember the films I’d watched on the way out, what seemed like a very long time ago. I’d watched The Big Lebowski, but I was struggling to remember it. It was a 9 hour flight to Heathrow, so I had plenty time to watch another couple of films on the way home, opting for Fargo and Rogue One.

I arrived in Heathrow and had a few hours to spare before my final flight back to Edinburgh. I was delighted to find a Wagamamas in the departure lounge, not having had any Asian cuisine whilst in America, my Ginger Chicken Udon made a welcome change. My onward flight to Edinburgh was delayed by 15 minutes, hardly a great hardship, especially when the rest of the journey had gone seamlessly.

Finally, after 24 hours on the move, I arrived home, exhausted but delighted to have successfully completed my mission! And after days of sleep deprivation, I slept for 15 hours straight.