Photos from Day 18 - 'Dak Glei' - 'Kon Tum'

Our magnificent hotel

Enjoying a rare piece of flat road

No rest for the wicked....downhill straight into unhill

130 km later.... we arrived in 'Kon Tum'

Day 18 - 'Dak Glei' - 'Kon Tum'

After a mosquito ridden nights stay in the worst hotel we’ve stayed in yet, we were keen to get out on the road, even though we were aching from the massive day of climbing we had had the previous afternoon. Luckily, what lay ahead of us, was a simple 60 km day of small climbs and descents. This would give us a nice well earned long time to relax after our ride. However in true 'Ride4Education' fashion; expectation and reality were not one and the same.

Approximately half-way into the ride our driver hit us with the news that the place we had planned to stay at, which was 30 km away was as poor, if not worse, than the place we had stayed in last night. 

He suggested to us that we should cycle the next days ride of 70 km as well, for the end destination for the following day was a place called 'Kon Tum' which was apparently one hundred times better than our planned night stop.

This suggestion was met with skepticism from the group as we really wanted an easy day. However, the driver assured us it was ‘all downhill’. We decided to trust him, as we couldn’t face another night in what can only be described as a ‘hole’. What came next was not only the longest distance we’ve gone since the trip started, but also contained the most un-relenting hilly roads! The statement ‘all downhill’ could not have been further from the truth...... The ride contained undulating hills, as soon as we’d used all our energy to climb one hill we had to muster up speed and power on the down hill as it immediately fed into the next energy sapping ascent. It was a touch demoralizing.

Finally, 130 km after our starting position, we arrived in Kon Tum. Thankfully the driver (this time) was not lying and it was a much larger settlement and cetainly a better place to stay.

We were all truly knackered and since we’d ridden the equivalent of two days in one, we decided to take a well earned rest with the extra rest day we’d given ourselves.

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Photos - Day 17 - 'Dak Kum' to 'Dak Glei'

Questionable road quality.....

One of our many picture stops

Freshening up under a roadside waterfall

Man sewing rice in 'Dak Glei'

Nothing left in the tank

Day 17- 'Dak Kum' to 'Dak Glei'

An unwelcome sense of nerves drifted through the camp during our morning ritual of small talk, groin stretching and luke-warm ‘porridge.’ This was because we were fully aware that this was to be our toughest day yet- even taking into account our 120k the day before.....

On we pedalled, towards the ‘Ho-Chi-Minh Highway,’ and were approached with the refreshingly beautiful sight of green-rolling hills. However, these picturesque hills soon took on a much more ugly shape- in the form of a 1,300m mountain- with nothing but our lonely dusty trail to guide us over the 12% gradient. The views were indeed stunning the higher up we climbed; and the number of rest stops (cleverly disguised as ‘picture stops’) also increased.

Over 2 hours of constant climbing later, we reached what we believed to be the ‘top’, only to find the 'distance signs' had lied to us, and as we went round the next bend, we discovered we had a further steep climb until we finally reached the true summit.

The 2 hours hard work of climbing was duly rewarded with a rapid 10 minute downhill pursuit, where the unique scent of brake-pads melting was clear to smell. This beautiful road, however, led us straight into a valley floor- where the only way out was up another 10% climb over an equally impressive mountain. This tested our mental strength to the limit, and the many passing lorries made it a very dangerous riding on some very testing terrain. Again, the views from the top were stunning- and we could see our road stretching out into the mountains.

An enjoyable 10k decline gently bought us into the small mountain-town of 'Dak Glie' -  a tiny settlement inhabited by some very interesting people. The receptionist (an absolute behemoth of a woman, who clearly struggled with the concept of good manners - or any manners for that matter) at one point even tasted some of our pasta, only to spit it out back into our bowls! So we filled our bellies and settled in for an eventful night’s sleep - where we were introduced first hand to the ancient Vietnamese art of karaoke, conveniently happening next door... either that, or the dying cat parade was passing through town! www.justgiving.com/ride4education

Photos from Day 16

Standard Vietnam.........

The boy we gave the pens to

View from one of the many dams used to generate some of Vietnam's electricity

Two little girls racing Callum to thier house.

Day 16 - 'Hoi An' to 'Dak Kum'

Rested, Relaxed and now equipped with suits, we were ready to set off from 'Hoi An'- Vietnam’s answer to Savile Row.

Our first proper breakfast since our arrival in Vietnam spurred us on through the morning covering the first 70km in record time, yet by mid morning temperatures were searing into the 40’s once again.

As we stopped, once again, to fill our empty water bottles, a little Vietnamese boy came to say hello. We were so impressed by his fluency and interest in our journey that we decided to buy him a batch of pens to accompany the handful of school books he was carrying. We watched on with amusement and a great sense of well being as the boy gave Callum a 'high-five' and sprinted down the street shrieking with joy to passers-by. I can only imagine the joy that the close to £15,000 we have raised so far for 'Saigon Children's Charity' will be bringing to the children and young adults that we’re supporting around Saigon, so thank you, one and all, for your support!
 The afternoon granted us no cloud cover as we began climbing steep tracks that lead back onto the 'Ho Chi Minh Trail' - the road we’ll be taking for the next 12 days or so. We battled through the mighty ascents and rattled nervously on the gravelly descents barely daring to mutter a word to each other -  120km, 24 litres of water, and an impressive 8 hours later we had reached Dak Kum! All that was left was for Sam  to fall asleep at 5pm, George to throw-up on dodgy noodles and Cal to lose a game of darts meaning he has to carry the magnetic darts board for another day!  

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Photos from Day 14 & 15 - 'Hai Van Pass' & ' Hoi An'

Eyeing up the 500m 'Hai Van' Pass

Jamie & George on the 10% incline

Sam, with 'Lang Co Bay' and the 'South China Sea' behind

Jamie & callum with 'Da Nang' behind

'Da Nang' madness...........

Enjoying our trimmer waistlines after 1100 km in the saddle

Sorry, this is all we're showing you of our suits until England!

Day 14 & 15 - 'Hai Van Pass' & 'Hoi An'

After Hue we chose to stay at 'Lang Co' due to the fact that we thought it would give us about 10 km of cyling in order to stretch off our very stiff legs from the previous days, before attempting to climb  the 'Hai Van Pass'. However, as we set off, our driver told us that we only had 2 km until the climb was to due to start - this wasn’t great news, as Callum was suffering from knee pains from, believe it or not, a bouncy castle accident from the day before, and Sam and Jamie were feeling particularly stiff (George being in tip-top shape as usual!).

We eased our way through the first few km in the shadow of the 'Hai Van pass' before the road started to move up quite steeply. Over the 10km the road hugged the mountain side, and as we arduously climbed, we were greeted with stunning views over the South China Sea.

We were met with the stunned faces of motorcyclists and drivers as we ascended the mountain, as it is not a climb for the faint hearted. As signs indicating a steepening in gradient came into view round every bend we all let out a muttering of discontent as we cranked into yet another gear to prepare ourselves for what was to come.

Fortunately the tour photographers (Sam and George) were on hand to capture every moment of the climb as Jamie was in too much pain to stop and get his camera out! After about an hour we all converged on top, to be greated with sensational views over the sea to our left and 'Da Nan'g to our right.

What followed was a glorious decent which we managed to prolong by taking yet more photos and admiring the incredible views. Although the pass was finally behind us, we still had about 45 km left to 'Hoi An', which although not far, was into a very strong headwind, and combined with the fact that we had missed breakfast, made for a tough few hours in the saddle along an extremely irritating and boring road as it was lined with 5 star hotels that we knew we would never have the pleasure of staying at, and no doubt would be in the B&B down the road which would be missing the last ‘B’ and have a questionable first ‘B’!

 Having arrived in 'Hoi An', we had two things on our mind, firstly to stock up on western food, and secondly to get to the tailors to be fitted for suits, jackets, blazers and shirts!

Having had a busy afternoon, we settled down for what would be Jamie's last meal with the other guys on the trip. It was certainly a fitting evening to what had been a very eventful and enjoyable few weeks, and I wish the guys the best of luck for the last stage down to HCMC!

If you haven’t donated already please do, the boys have a gruelling 2 weeks through the Annamite Mountains and could use your support:

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Photos from Days 12 & 13 - 'Hue' & 'Lang Co'

Callum with our legendary driver, Carn

'Hue' lights up at night 

Setting off after a water break 20 km from 'Lang Co'

Callum eyeing up tomorrow' climb.......                   the 500 metre 'Hai Van Pass'

Sunset from the back of our hotel in 'Lang Co'

Day 9, 10 & 11

After having decided to spend a rest day recovering from our food poisoning,
 we finally shot down to our next location, looking somewhat 
like a bunch of infected hospital inmates commandeering a rogue DHL 
van. We stocked up on much needed supplies and hit the pillow at the aggressively 
late hour of 9.30pm, ready for our glorious return to the saddle in 
the morrow. ‘Glorious’ seemed like a rather hyperbolic way to describe 
the meandering and drunken ride which actually ensued... The lack of 
quality food and obvious dehydration made the surprisingly favourable 
road and weather conditions on the A1 highway seem arduous and 
hard-work. However, after 2 hours (and roughly 40k) later we stopped 
for a necessary break- where various fluids were taken on... whereas 
others were rejected and sent back up! In a gesture of good team 
spirit, Sam decided to get a novelty hair cut as well- to top off a 
morning that, in truth, nobody fully remembers! The afternoon’s ride 
got underway in much higher spirits- and we quickly made up the miles, 
flying down the A1, and into ‘Dong Hoi City’ - after passing through 
the apocalyptic rainstorm that lay in wait.

The decision was made to have an additional rest day the following 
morning, to recover in time for the 115k ride to come; where the day 
was spent catching up on the Euro World Cub, and admiring Brad Pitt’s acting 
prowess- both crucial steps in this hearty marathon!

The team awoke fighting fit; and even the car-honking orchestra or the 
questionable smells that seem to follow us everywhere, were not enough 
to put us off one of the best days cycling yet. We cycled out of 'Dong 
Hoi' and onto the ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’- a mountainous pass that 
stretches the length of Vietnam, where we saw the Vietnam we’d all 
been waiting to see....... Endless rolling green hills, gorgeous 
cloud-tipped peaks and smooth riding were the order of the day- with 
fewer cars seen all day than we had  seen during an hour on the much more 
crazy ‘A1 highway’

. This truly lifted our spirits; as did the hoards  of school-children that chased after us- even the stoic Callum Ewing  lifted a smile at one point today (a skill that this horrific food  poisoning has robbed of poor Callum). We arrived at our destination of  ‘Cam Lo’, and were extremely
  surprised to hear that we had travelled 101k. With the beautiful scenery and milder temperatures seemingly distracting us from what would normally be a mammoth distance. Buoyed by this new sensation of contentment, we decided to cycle a further 15 k to                ‘Dong Luong’, and prepared for tomorrows 80k trip to ‘Hue’ - bring it  on! -
Thanks for your support and keep donating at  www.justgiving.com/ride4education

Photos from Day 9, 10 & 11

Sam sporting his Star-Trek style haircut!

George looking anxious about the approaching storm

The Ho Chi Minh Trail heading into the mountains

Jamie navigating through the hectic A1

A few more recruits wanting to join us

Jamie - 84 km into todays ride & enjoying the mountains.....

At the top of the hill - Jamie post climb

Day 7 & 8 - A Tough Few Days

Having done a lot of miles over the previous few days, we were rewarded with just 3 hours in the saddle on Wednesday. We arrived at the small beach resort of Tanh Gia in high spirits, looking forward to the seafood that was recommended to us by previous visitors. We wandered down to one of the beach side restaurants, with George and Sam catching our lunch from one of the big fish tanks. The food was great, all of us feeling full and looking forward to a relaxing afternoon at this idillic location. However, over the next few hours things took a turn for the worse, each one of us coming down with violent food poisoning, which left our hotel room less like the relaxing haven it had been just a few hours previously and more like a quarantine zone just after a biological attack.

The situation in the morning wasn't any better, with none of us were in any fit state to cycle. This meant we had to make the decision to jump in the van to the next major settlement, hoping that we would feel better the next day. This did mean that we have had to change our route slightly, but the change was necessary so that we could stay on target for reaching HCMC, as making up the miles when feeling as we did was going to be nigh on impossible.
By the end of the evening, spirits were much higher in the camp, we had managed to track down some western style food in a supermarket meaning that we could eat with confidence once again.

Thank You

We really appreciate all the donations that are coming in. It is really motivating for us to know that you are reading our blog and continuing to donate to our Just Giving Page:

www.justgiving.com/ride4education


Sam, Callum, George & Jamie

Photos from Day 5 & 6

Sam

Sporting our Ride4 Education kit



Passing the time whilst waiting for our DHL driver to return ......

 Enjoying the quieter rural roads

Day 5 & 6

Day 5

After a surprisingly decent night’s sleep, in an equally decent hotel in the unknown village, we set off for what we had hoped would be a shorter day due to the distance we had cycled the previous day. It had originally been planned as a 115km day, however now was more 88km. The ride was tough along highways and into a strong head wind that made every turn of the pedal an almighty effort! After finally reaching our location of Ninm Binh (not before a big climb right at the end however, just Vietnams way of saying 'cyclists welcome') we set out in hunt for food. By our amazement we stumbled across our first supermarket!! Like locusts to a field, we pillaged the shop of all its biscuits and snacks. So hungry were we, that a debate was even raised over whether buying gigantic rice steamer was ‘worth it in the long run’. Bags bulging with goodies (minus rice steamer) we headed back to the hotel to gorge to our hearts content after a toilsome, but rewarding day.

Day 6

Day 6 is the day that will live long in our memories. Until this point in the trip, no day had gone exactly to how we had planned or foreseen. i.e. The distance we’d set ourselves was right, the finish location was correct or a fall or breakdown hadn't occurred. This trend was not about to buck. As us weary cyclists arose from our beds, what lay ahead for the day seemed reasonable with a 70km cycle on the cards. But the reality of this was so very, very different.....

The first part of the journey was through the centre of town and along busy up sloped highway kicking up dust left right and centre, as we all donned our bandanas over our faces like a group of bandits on the run we rode hard as 70km is all we had to achieve...surely.

The next stage of the journey was mountainous as several road closures meant that our route had to be altered. Fortunately the roads were quiet and picturesque. We racked up a good 70km and our driver said there was a place he had stayed the previous year that he said was a nicer place and was better to stay at. However, this was 20km further on.... Feeling okay we decided to go for it and cycle the extra 20km.  Later we were instructed to wait whilst the driver went ahead to find us a suitable hotel (as always happens). Half an hour went by, followed by an hour and then 2 hours.  Where was the driver?! By this point the village people (not the YMCA kind) had gathered in numbers to ogle at the strange foreign white men that come on such fascinating contraptions landed with flashing lights. They were very hospitable and kind offering us water, a seat in shade and even some ice cream which, due to the un-pasteurization of milk we had to dispose of tactically as to avoid potential upset stomachs and offended locals. They enjoyed taking our bikes for a spin around the village. However, always on the back of our mind was the whereabouts of our driver.

Finally he returned with the news that the place he had previously stayed at was shut and the nearest settlement was an extra 30km or so away!! Our faces fell, and our ice creams dropped out of our limp hands in shock (luckily). The heat had reached a new PB of 45 degrees by this point and we were all feeling the burn. However we soldiered on through the intense heat and finally reached the hotel (after a few wrong turns along the way) at 4.30pm without having had any lunch. This had been a 10 hour day on the bike, by far our longest yet. We were in need of some serious R&R. At this point spirits were low. But soon we found fortune and the 110km day in 45 degree heat would pay dividends.

Photos from Day 3 & 4 - which includes our Rest Day



The awesome views at Halong Bay



Playing footy on the beach - enjoying our rest day



Strolling through a night market














Jamie sporting his Ride4Education T-shirt with our sponsors - DHL. The rest of us are beginning to develop quite a tan!



The four of us wearing our Ride4Education kit



Enjoying the rather cooler temperatures



Day 3 & 4 - which includes our Rest Day

The first 2 days of cycling were a great test for the four of us, where we definitely saw both the enjoyable and gruelling sides of the challenge that we’ve undertaken. The rest day was invaluable in lifting the spirits in the camp; as the long hours planning the previous evening, on what to do with the infamous snapped derailleur from one of the bikes, helped bring us to the decision to drive to the next stop and try and find some marvellous men to fix the bike. And marvellous they were; fixing the snapped derailleur in under 30 minutes, with even enough time to share a few celebratory beers as well.

 George made it back just in time to join us on the top deck of our tour boat where we sat in awe as we sailed through  the  1000’s of limestone islands that make Halong Bay so special.  However, one of our team members was more preoccupied by the worrying lack of health and safety standards to really take in the true splendour of the occasion.

After a game of footy on the beach and a stroll through the night market we headed home to prepare the bikes for tomorrow’s ride to Haiphong.

Four very well-rested team members assembled atop the hotel for a rather unconvincing meal of ‘strawberry flavoured crisps’, but nonetheless we set off towards Haiphong at good speed, and high morale. A rather chilly morning (a mere 28 degrees Celsius) brought us to our destination much faster than anticipated- after cycling most of the same road we had two days earlier. We stopped for a roadside ‘brunch’ at 11am, and came to the wonderful decision to cycle a further 30km- this was met with mixed opinions. After a motivating meal (spicy tuna and a lovely ‘mystery meat skewer’) we set off into the midday heat (a much more aggressive 43 degrees, as well as the humidity to deal with). We are currently unsure of our exact location, but can confirm that the heat has not subdued, nor has the relentless symphony of truck horns. Due to the additional 30k cycle today, we estimate that we cycled close to 95-100km in total, making tomorrow’s initial 115km trip to Nimh Binh much less daunting, but challenging nonetheless.

The trip is going very well, but we would still urge everyone who hasn’t donated to get a move on- as simply hearing of somebody donating is very motivating news to all of us. Thank you very much

Photos from Day 1 & 2

Our first day of cycling in Vietnam -
wearing our Ride4Education kit

Reassembling our bikes after our flight - Backpackers - Hanoi

George's shorts changed colour due to the amount he sweated in the intense 40 degree heat whilst trying to reassemble his bike

Our DHL van is the best - we love our vietnamese driver who has been amazing and is keeping  us well supplied with           plenty of fluids

Riding in the rain - didn't realise that we would love the rain so much - a welcome change as the temperature is not so intense

The four of us chilling

Day 1 & 2

Arrival in Hanoi
Our trip to our first hostel was surprisingly easy, we landed in Hanoi on time, then had a relatively straight forward time through customs. After clearing customs, we walked into baggage collection saw our 4 bike boxes looking relatively unscathed, soon after our bags followed up. Having collected our bags, we walked into the lounge to a see a man holding up a ‘Sam Wilson’ sign, then followed a short trip into the centre of Hanoi.

Having arrived at our hostel after, a brief moment to relax and collect our thoughts we began to assemble our bikes. As there was not enough room inside the hostel we were forced to put our bikes up outside in the heat of the day. With a few hiccups and confusions here and there, our bikes were up, and ready to cycle..... As the photos show, this was a baptism of fire into the heat of northern Vietnam as all of our clothes were soaked through, and we ended up creating a puddle of sweat. George, in particular, struggled with the heat - his shorts going from a bright green, to sweat ridden dark green.  -(Jamie)

Day 1 of cycling followed after a ropey nights sleep caused by our fellow room mates coming in at 3am and one snoring like a beast!  We started late around 12.30pm after our DHL support van arrived and we got everything on board and drove to the start point in Bac Giang. The heat was immense at a ‘comfortable’ 40 degrees!! We hastily changed on road side to the amusement of onlookers. The 65km ride was tough in the midday heat. The DHL van driver was brilliant buying water for us and scouting the route ahead and securing a hotel for us in our stop at Dong Treiu. We were pretty drained once we’d finished as the heat and lack of proper food had taken its toll, yet Sam still managed to say hello to everyone along the route. There were not many places to buy food so we stocked up on bread which was lunch, dinner and breakfast... yum. 

Day 2 was better as we started at 7am and it was raining! This was a God send as it lowered the heat to 28 degrees and was refreshing, which noticeably increased our speed to an average of 25km an hour. The roads were better than expected although the driving is hectic, with very little rules and A LOT of horn usage. The scenery is already stunning with luckily a lot of flat cycling so far. During the 70km day we had one broken bike fixed, 2 falls and another broken bike right at the finish line! Meaning we had to drive to a city and get it fixed. -(Callum)

On the Plane

Hello! Sam and Callum here. On our first official blog post of the trip!! As we type we are sitting on the plane (beverage in hand). We realised that on our blog we haven’t really outlined our trip very clearly so we’ll do a short summary of the highlights of what we’re all doing:

Start: 7^th-8^th June (Bac Giang- Halong Bay)

10^th-18^th June (Halong Bay- Phong Nha Khe Bang National Park) 

20^th – 24^th June (Phong Nha Khe Bang National Park-Hoi An) 

26^th June-2^nd July (Hoi An – Lein Son)

4^th- 8^th July: End (Lein Son – Ho Chi Minh City)

At an average of 88km a day we are looking to cover a total distance of over 2,300km!

OUR REST DAYS!; Top right: Halong Bay. Top left: Phong Nha Khe Bang National park. Bottom Left: Lein Son. Bottom Right: Elephant rides

With gift aid added to the donations we have received so far we are on £12,480, which is incredible considering our initial target was only £5,000! We want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has donated to us and the 700+ people that have supported us along the process. Whether that be donating on our JustGiving page, our sponsors like DHL or simply buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts at one of our fundraisers. 

As it stands we have a target of £15,000. With your support we are hopeful of raising more money to benefit the education of Vietnamese children through Saigon Children’s Charity (SCC). Once we have finished the cycle they have kindly offered to show us round their projects so we can relay on to you back home the amazing work that they are doing and exactly how your money will used to provide university scholarships. 

The 4 of us are so excited now that we are finally packed and on our way to Vietnam! Although Jamie is a little gutted that he won’t be able to stay for the whole trip due to his internship. This means he’ll have to leave towards the end of June for an internship starting in July (about 2/3rds of the way along the trip). 

The trip will be physically grueling; with climbs of over 1,000 meters, days of more than 115km, the possibility of monsoons, an overall distance more than London to Greece that being 3 times the length of John O’Groats to Lands End. Not to mention it being mentally challenging; Being in a foreign environment with none of us speaking Vietnamese, temperatures of over 35 degrees and last but not least having to put up with Sam’s “bant” for 2 months! This said, with 4 scheduled ‘rest days’, and the whole country to discover, as you’ll see from our photos throughout the next month this is sure to be an once in a life time challenge.  

We hope you guys will keep following our blog and keep checking up on us once in a while as we’ll be updating it with photos, videos and stories every few days.... www.just...