Cycling in Asia

A day of relaxation in Dalat is just what we needed after some major climbing the day before (18 km Ngoan Muc Pass, followed shortly by the 10 km Drann Pass – aka HELLclimb) We spent the day wandering the streets of Dalat which reminded us of a quaint European city.  The hotel that we stayed at resembled something you would find in the Swiss Alps, and was really an enjoyable place to relax and take in the cool temperatures.   During the day we visited a nice flower market, great restaurants and of course the massage services at the hotel.  Nobody even looked at their bikes.

Lunch at Cafe De La Poste

Footrub in Dalat

Hotel in Dalat

The Final Ride

After a much needed rest day in Dalat, we prepared for our final ride towards Ho Chi Minh City.  Unlike the distressful ride up the 5000 ft elevation to reach Dalat, the 70km ride today was mostly downhill.  Most of the roads were in good condition which made the final ride of our trip most enjoyable.  Descending out of Dalat was fun and hitting speeds of 60km/h while braking my way down the hill was most thrilling.  Charlie sailed by the entire group down a steep 13km descent displaying either extreme bravery or some form of death wish.  The ride finished just outside of Ho Chi Minh in order to prevent the riders from having to ride through the chaotic streets of the big city.  It was a great feeling of accomplishment to finish the ride.  While there were no Lance Armstrongs in the group, it was pretty cool to watch all of us roll into the finish where we were greeted by children and Mr. Hung....it was our Champs d'Elyse (without the fame, money, yellow jersey or beautiful gals that stand by the winner) and we all reveled in our success for cycling across Vietnam.

Mr. Hung - Champagne at the finish line (well....cold 333 beer actually)

Bob, who has been on this trip four times now, always brings small gifts for the children.  As you can see, the kids loved the whistles and sunglasses.

Reaching Ho Chi Minh