We rode out of Dong Le under another grey, drizzly sky for a 92 kilometer cycle to Dong Hoi. The first couple of hours took us through the incredible landscape of Quang Binh province, where bright rice paddies fan out until they hit majestic limestone karsts.
The team enjoying the scenery
Vietnam on Two Wheels: Part 3 - To the coast and back
Vietnam on Two Wheels: Part 4 - Epic nature
I also noticed a few reminders that this part of the country was heavily bombed during the American War – water-filled craters in rice paddies, and a few SUVs from the Mine Action Group, an organization that works to remove unexploded ordinance (UXO). Few people talk about the war here, but there are still ongoing problems related to it.
We carried on through rapidly changing weather, where one stretch of road would be dry, only to run into light rain around the next corner. We stopped for lunch at a town before turning onto Highway 1 for the last 40km. This meant plenty of close encounters with psychotic bus and trucks drivers, but the smooth surface combined with a tailwind meant we smashed the distance. Dong Hoi is a sizeable city, and we took advantage of this by stocking up on snacks at a supermarket and eating our first Western food since beginning the journey.
The next day, the tenth of the ride, was 100km to Cam Lo, all on the Ho Chi Minh Highway. This turned into the most miserable day we had experienced yet. After days of threatening rain the skies finally opened up, and steady rain fell for several hours. The terrain wasn’t difficult, but the rain and chill that accompanied it were terrible.
Then there were the two idiots on a motorbike who tried to scare a number of us. I was riding on my own when I noticed a motor coming towards me at high speed in my lane. The driver swerved within two feet of me while he and his moronic friend on the back screamed something, laughing all the while. I was more angry than scared, and all I could think for a while after that was how badly I wanted to smash a blunt object into their faces. I don’t get why people think it’s funny to do things like that to people on bicycles. I soon found out that they had done the same thing several other riders.
On this particular day there was very little in the way of civilization along our route, and we weren’t able to stop for lunch until we were 70km in. We took turns crowding into the kitchen in an attempt to warm up, as the rain still hadn’t stopped.
It finally slacked off just as we reached Cam Lo, an awful little town that is nothing more than an intersection where two highways meet. We stayed at the only hotel in the place, where plenty of questionable stains on the bedsheets greeted us.
Day 11 would bring us to Hue, where we would have our first rest day. We couldn’t wait to have almost 48 cycling-free hours, though we were even more excited to eat Indian food. The 80km ride was almost entirely on Highway 1, which meant no scenery worth mentioning and plenty of cursing at bus drivers who nearly ran us over.
We regrouped outside of the Imperial Citadel and headed to our hotel. We would be riding into the mountains immediately after leaving Hue, but for now we were focused on food and the opportunity to sleep in the following morning. Hue-llelujah!
Michael Tatarski