Cycling in Asia

Well today we set a new record for the longest ride in my short cycling career.  The ride from Hue to Hoi An took us 137 km over many beautiful sites and over some hills.  Hills are very different  in Vietnam compared to what I am used to riding in Singapore.  I thought that the many days of cycling in Singapore riding up and down Mt. Faber with our fit cycling group would enable me to ride whatever this tour throws at me.....I guess I still have a lot to learn.  First of all, the things that I had to ride up yesterday should not be called hills but mountains.  Second, while descending hills in Singapore is a whole lot of fun, riding down mountains is not only scary but really hard too....my hands were killing from riding my brakes too much.  Now some may say that is not the right way to do it but until I learn the proper way to descend that is the way I need to do it!  Anyhow despite the numerous hill rides in Singapore and all of the techniques I have learned for riding up hills, I really struggled to make it up the 11km mountain.    On a positive note, I did make it up...but stopped a few times to take photos.  Really I did not want to take photos but I needed a break as I thought my legs and heart were going to explode. My heart rate monitor was above my maximum training level for most of the climb so I thought I was going to drop dead a few times.  During one of my 'photo sessions', Bob, who is 65, pedalled by me without making a stop.   Now I could start making excuses like 'Bob cycles mountains in Colorado, Bob has a small chain ring' etc, but I am not going to do that.  Anyhow it was my first real mountain climb and descent and after it was done it felt great.  It reminded me of doing the 'normal side' of Mt. Faber in Singapore but for 11km!  Despite getting a nice book about cycling nutrition for Christmas, which I have actually read, I failed to follow its advice for pre-ride meals.  Right before this mountain climb, I proceeded to eat very heavy foods, including french fries (like what Nazar the cook in Helmand Afghansitan used to make) and too much rice.  Anybody who has climbed a mountain will understand how silly that was...especially given that the mountain climb started 2km after lunch.  Kim also made it all the way up using a variety of methods (cycling, walking, crawling, pleading) but she did it!  She passed on the descent as I think it would have been her first and last descent! 

 
Photo Opp (break)

In addition to the hills, and the mountain (2 hills, 1 mountain yesterday) we traveled some busy roads, bumpy roads and also got stuck in a funeral procession that slowed our time down a bit.  The 137 km ride took us approximately 6 hours of riding.  Along the way we passed some very cool monuments and once again were met with many 'hellos' from the children riding in the streets.

Funeral traffic jam....can you imagine drafting behind this?

Cool monuments

Break time

In conclusion, my butt hurts, legs hurt, back hurts but we are having a great time.  Tomorrow we ride 150+km but we have the day off today in Hoi An to get massages, food, massages and some rest on the beach.  If you ever do this type of trip you start to appreciate the athletic ability of professional cyclists (the ones who don't dope), especially on the mountains and who ride long distances day after day.  This is really a great way to see a country.