Geoff Jones

Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life

Category: Biking

Geoff’s SE Asia bike trip – Tan Phong to Phu Phong

Woke up for an early start to find out, after loading the bike up, that the rear tyre was nearly flat 🙁 While the lady cooked my fried eggs in bread I pumped it up, hoping for the best. It helped to swing the decision for the route. I had a choice to Pleiku either 210km and 2660 metres of climbing via Kontum on Route 24 or to pound down Highway 1 to Phu Cat and then the 19 up to Pleiku which is longer at 278km but ‘only’ 1530 metres of climb.

A1-IMG_0107fter the first 25 miles it had visibly deflated so I found a little shop to fix it, the problem was a thin wire from a truck tyre had gone all the way through, so  it was soon expertly  fixed.  Interestingly this village also seems to be a centre for green and red rush matting.

The road proved to be undulating although i made good time as it was cooler & still a tail wind. Rather than by passing Hoal Nhon I went through it, finding a couple cleaning bikes for 50p 🙂 and a good job they made too. Loved that he greased the chain with Molybdenum Disulphide, bringing back memories of melting it in a tin on mum’s stove, dipping the chain in & hanging it from the grill 🙂

1-IMG_0147-001At Phu Cat I waved goodbye to Highway  1 and the East coast, the big Golden Buddha waved back to 🙂 I turned West towards  Pleiku, Cambodia & Thailand. Arriving in Phu Phong the first two hotels were full!, so a waitress in a local restaurant helped me to find Khach San by leading the way on her moped.

A long day with over 90 miles on Strava.

Tan_Phong_to_Phu_phong___Strava_Ride

 

All the photos are here

Cycling South East Asia – Dung Quat to Ta Phong via My Lai

Today was wild & windy fortunately it was blowing me along. With cloud & wind it was cooler too.  Due to the wind all the harbours were filled with fishing vessels which made an interesting sight.

Today, I wanted to visit the scene of the infamous massacre at My Lai or Son My, so I took the quiet back roads. I passed at least 3 military cemeteries  commemorating the deaths of over 2000 men, so a lot of fierce fighting took place in this small area of Vietnam.  I eventually arrived at the commemorative site which of cause is profoundly depressing similar to my experience in Vukovar. What makes this totally different is that the troops had an official photographer with them, which I found unbelievable, so the tragic events are documented.  Whereas in Vukovar the Serbs are still are in denial even to the extent of not knowing where a bus load of victims ended up.

One thing that is very noticeable in Vietnam is the huge number of school children, really makes me realise how geriatric we are in the West.

Here is the Strava:

Dung_Quat_to_Ta_Phong_via_My_Lai___Strava_Ride

 

Cycling South East Asia – Da Nang to Dung Quat

a lassi & ice cream I could have stayed all day :-)Phew what a scorcher as the UK tabloids would say! I set of early at 7am, grabbed a couple of rolls filled with fried eggs from a street vendor and then hit the melee on Highway 1 heading south. The road is quite narrow in places with all the dualling in process. When I reached Dien Ben I spotted a very cool looking building & place, which I thought was an upmarket hotel. However, it transpires it’s the worlds best motorway cafe! totally stunning gardens, meeting rooms etc It’s called Vina House (if you are heading towards Da Nang from HCMC  it’s a must stop at km950) I treated myself to a wonderful lassi & ice cream. Could quite happily have stayed all day 🙂

I continued on but stopping every hour for a drink, alternating fresh coconuts with Sprite, at one of the stops a European guy came charging along on a small wheeled bike (Dahon?) I later caught up with him and found he was Iñaki a Basque from near Bilbao who is doing the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City on some tight schedule so he is pushing 160km a day!  I let him speed on..

My left hand pedal has been getting grumpy so I keep on the look out for a shop that sells spares, few & far between I’ve found. Eventually a guy said he had a pair, he swopped the right hand one but couldn’t do the LH one so I put the old one back on, I strongly suspect the crank has been rethreaded & hence why the pedal fell off earlier. Across the road I found a tool shop so I bought a 15mm spanner so I can experiment at my  leisure. & also a 10mm spanner & pliers so I can adjust the brakes etc.

I found another couple of guys carrying epic loads on their mopeds one guy carrying 7 10 foot lengths of 100mm drain pipe 🙂 another one with 1/2 ton of rebar via a trailer hooked onto the pillion seat 🙂 Must bring some lengths of the elastic home so I can carry more on my bike 🙂

At the 65 mile mark I decided to quit for the day after spotting a hotel off the main drag, it’s the DLGL-Dung Quat Hotel allegedly 4 star but doesn’t compare to the places we stayed in Hungary.

Todays Strava is here:

Da_Nang_to_Dung_Qiat___Strava_RideThe pictures are here

 

South East asia tour – Hue to Dar Nang

me at the summittToday was a toughie with a 500 metre climb in the blazing afternoon sun & heat up the Hải Vân Pass at least all the heavy traffic disappeared into the tunnel. Whilst climbing up I met Day from Los Angeles whose bike was in for repair in The Hanoi Bike Collective when I was buying mine. A couple stormed past us on the way up, but they way to busy to have a chat.

Once again I passed many fascinating little workshops from drum making, coffin making, trowel manufacture etc including a guy who tightened up my brakes and another one who oiled my left pedal.

A good 64 mile day especially with all the passes I went over. I stopped at Khach San Hotel overlooking the beach in Dar Nang as I was feeling exhausted with perhaps a touch of sunstroke, tomorrow it’s bring out the Tilley hat day & try and find some suntan cream and insect repellent.

Heres the Strava:

Hue_to_Da_Nang___Strava_RideAnd the photos are here