We were on the road again today after spending an entire day lounging around Hoi An. The day began with a 45-minute boat ride down the river, to a back road that went along the coast.
Music and Dirt
I really enjoyed today’s riding, for two reasons: Most of the trail was unsurfaced off-road, which requires more engagement, and today was the first day I broke out the iPod. The roads were quieter, but I’m also much more used to traffic, so it didn’t seem at all dangerous. The music helped a lot. It’s surprising how far you can go in under an album’s length of tunes. I found myself going much faster in parts, too, as I would accelerate to match the rhythm of a song.
Videos
I took a bunch of videos today. I wanted to capture random parts of riding on the trip, so everyone can get an idea of what it’s actually like for the 90% of the time when we’re actually riding. I likely won’t be able to upload them once I’m back in the states, so look for those in a bit!
I did take some photos, though, which should be in the Flickr stream by the time you read this. We’re staying in an absolute dump of a “4-star” hotel. Cold shower with no curtain, stains on the carpet, electrical wires stapled to the walls to run up to the ceiling lights. We ate here, too; I haven’t had any digestion problems on the trip, but if I’m going to it’ll definitely be this place.
The ride tomorrow is a little longer, and then we have another rest day. The last two days of the tour are the big ones: 100 km and 90 km days. Should be fun, if a little brutal in terms of saddle soreness.
Looking forward to seeing some of your videos — the moving sights and sounds will really bring the trip home. Loved the photo of the train — shared it with my brother and his best friend rail buddy in Philadelphia.
Enjoy you final days in Vietnam.
Dad