Two Weeks on Two Wheels

I turned 31 inside a hard sleeper train bound for Hanoi.  I was lying on the lower berth of a three-tiered bunk bed in a train car room which I shared  with five other people, including my travel companions, a middle class Vietnamese man and his 10-year-old daughter.  

It’s the 11^th of January, 2013. Aside from it being my 31^st birthday, it was also the culmination of our multi-day cycling adventure from Hanoi to Sa Pa, a sojourn which led us to the northwest towns of Vietnam.

This was my first cycling tour, an inevitable progression, beginning with the significant other's induction of this weekend warrior to the wonderful world of bicycling.

Cycle touring is basically traveling to a desired destination, and going from point to point on a bike, over a period of time. It could take days, weeks or even months - depending on the cycle tourist's fancy and feasibilities.  For wander lusters who are also cyclists, this is the PERFECT way to see new places.

I’ve done quite a few things on my 9-speed mountain bike in the last couple of years.  But after this mind-opening trip, I must say that the best thing I’ve done so far is to check it into a plane, strap on a dry bag and pedal along the streets and by-ways of a foreign countryside. It's a lovely way to see the world.

The other characters in this collectively declared awesome adventure were:

Pen and Levi – bona fide athletes/seasoned travelers and our perennial advance party at destinations

G-third –bike and travel aficionado/significant other who introduced me to the beautiful concept of seeing places on two wheels

For 8 days, our motley crew of four made a bicycle beeline from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi to Sa Pa. We pedaled through easy flats, rolling hills, seemingly endless ascents, sleepy towns, unexpected mud, wet and cold fog, glorious sunny descents (and scary chilly ones). We stopped to fix flat tires and repair broken chains, feed hunger pangs, rest fatigued legs, and take photographs. For this weekend warrior, it was by no means a walk, or in this case, a bike in the park. My legs had never ever experienced this kind of non-stop motion over an extended period of time. Every morning , I would wake up with sore thighs.

And yet my heart was singing. The suffering always turned sweet for we had a firsthand look at the local culture, off the beaten tourist track. We had tastes of unadulterated local cuisine, and amusing conversations with non-English speaking locals.  Our rides were studded with endless cries of “Hello's!” from the young and curious pedestrians. We pedaled through the most breathtaking views of rice terraces, tea plantations, and mist-covered karst mountains. We breathed fresh country air. We saw unfamiliar, quirky, beautiful people and things.

During one of the muddy and uphill climbs, as I struggled to catch up with G-third, I remember thinking, “I would rather have this discomfort than a comfortable but mundane day in my cube.” 

One of the recurring best moments for me was the sight of Pen and Levi and their bikes propped up against some eatery – it means that the ride is done and I’ve made it.

I made it! Multi-day bike tour virgin – no more!