Cross Country Cycling: Misty Mountains of Central Vietnam
“I remember it now, just one more little climb and then we’re almost there” so says our fearless co-leader, Atowne.
Sidenote: Have serious discussion with Atowne on what actually constitutes a “little climb”. Point of consideration: a “little climb” does not contain >6% incline nor does it last more than 1 km.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Today’s story starts in a little town called A Lươí, nestled in the mountains near-ish to the Laotian border. It promised to be a doozy of a day with 105 km of cycling through the mountains with scarce to no options for food or drink in the last 70 km. Ten years ago, this day earned the moniker “Evil Bitch Day” because it’s hands down the hardest day of cycling on our journey, but it’s also the best day. The scenery is grand, the road is in fairly good condition, the downhills generally match the uphills, and the swimming hole is a refreshing stop.
As every H2H morning begins, we did our group stretching after eating breakfast and looking over our bicycles. Also per usual, we got a later start than intended (though we did successfully leave a bit earlier than usual owing to the difficulty of the day’s ride. We made the requisite stop for cold beverages and last minute snackage prior to really beginning our mountainous ride.
The cycling was hard, but after crushing the first climb of the day and traversing two tunnels, we had a lovely downhill into the swimming stream (Suối A Pát) . The Caboose Crew’s time at the stream was cut short by the thunder rolling in and visible lightning in the distance. We had around 55 km to go and had to push hard to make it to Prao before dark as H2H is a daylight-only ride. We traversed the remaining mountains partially inundated by the rain, but we all had brightly colored raincoats (that didn’t really keep us dry, but did keep us visible). Like all rainstorms, it eventually broke to far cooler temperatures and misty clouds that hugged the mountain peaks. It kind of felt like being in Jurassic Park, which I’ve since downloaded on Spotify to continue jamming to. It was especially fitting given that according to signs, we were in a Primeval forest. I was low-key on the lookout for the critically endangered Sao La because we were cycling through it’s territory, but also dinosaurs because primeval forest (fyi, this was a reference to the fantastic show Primeval).
We rolled into Prao and had very little time to do anything aside from eat and sleep and rest our weary legs.
Now that the daily details are done and dusted, it’s time for a little reflection. Today’s ride is roughly the halfway point of the journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Mentally, I feel good though some mornings are harder than others to drag myself out of my bed, partially because I’m tired, partially because I’m most definitely not a morning person . . . it’s not a coincidence that I prefer night shifts at the hospital. Packing my belongings up before I go to bed helps because it’s one less thing to do and worry about, but mornings are still hard. Physically, I feel great though maybe a little rough on the edges owing to mild dehydration, though I’ve avoided any serious issues by drinking plenty of water, usually spiking every other bottle with a Nuun tablet in addition to an evening glass of Pedialyte (available in convenient little packets that can be stirred into a beverage of your choice, water probably being the best) or proper oral rehydration salts on the longer days. I brought my own supply from home, adequate for the duration of the ride, but underestimated on the Nuun and picked up additional supply in Hue at a nice bicycle shop (along with additional packets of Gu). The second element contributing to my feeling rough on the edges is diet. I’ve written about this elsewhere, but I’m not someone that can eat right away when I wake up in the morning, I tend to eat multiple small meals and I rarely eat a lot in one sitting, though the biggest issue is that I lose my appetite in the heat. Vietnamese cuisine is quite possibly my favorite, but my own issues prevented me from being able to eat as much as I need to . . .I’d wager I consumed 2,500 calories a day, but various fitness watches estimated us to be burning anywhere between 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day, which is a deficit that adds up.
Physically, aside from caloric deficit induced tiredness, the most challenging thing for me has been the heat. I was able to train at a local gym prior to the ride and while I was able to do variable resistance on the stationary bike to mimic peddling on an incline, an indoor bike cannot train you to cycle in outdoor conditions. I did manage to take my bicycle out for a spin around the lake in early March a few weeks before departure and all that got me was a cold injury on my leg through my fleece lined bike pants. Heat is something you can acclimate to and now at this halfway point, I feel like I have become one with the muggy inferno that is Vietnam. Point of fact, Vietnam would go on to have record breaking temperatures nine days after this post was initially written (and thankfully the H2H juggernaut was not at ground zero).
But on day one of the ride, a relatively easy day out of Hanoi, I was most decidedly NOT one with the muggy inferno. Truthfully, it wasn’t even that hot or humid, but it was drastically warmer than the lingering winter we were experiencing at the time in Wisconsin. By the time I arrived at what I thought was our stop for the day (j/k, there were still approximately five kilometers to go and let me tell you they were the single longest kilometers of my life), I was tired, nauseated, the very act of breathing seemed more laborious than it should, and I could not imagine getting back on my bike and doing 27 more days of this. 1,915 more kilometers. In weather that would be getting hotter as we moved south (a fellow rider helpfully supplied that information). That night, since I was flying solo in my room, I went to bed in a room with broken AC, questionably functional running water, and after about 8 pm, reliable electricity. Reliable electricity that powered the fan I had pointed directly at me, which in turn allowed me to sleep as well as I was going to. Days two and three were still tough with regard to the heat, but it got a little bit easier every day until eventually we were cycling through the mountains in the middle and despite the real feel temperature of 117 (actual temp 105?), I didn’t feel sick nor did I feel like I was getting heat exhaustion and with that my main physical hurdle was obliterated.
As this year’s ride is the 10th Anniversary, I’ve spent a lot of time comparing and contrasting the 1st and 10th rides and that even goes for my own personal experience. 10 years ago when we arrived in Prao, I was also feeling strong and confident (and rightfully so) as evidenced by this line from my journal, but at this point I’d add something about the heat because I truly think the heat exponentially increases the difficulty of the ride, mountains or no mountains. Perhaps I didn’t notice the heat back then either because we rode in November or I was already acclimated after having been in Southeast Asia on and off for nearly two years.
I was also feeling a sense of accomplishment because after 110 kilometers in the mountains on a road bike [note: same bike I used this year],a person can do anything
Endless mountains in all directions as far as the eye can see
Note: The first part of this post initially appeared in the H2H Blog
