Simply cycling around
Aaah finally! Finally an easy day! The day started with rain but I enjoyed a long down hill. I didn’t expect that last hill coming but apart that the ride was much easier than the past two weeks. I needed that, my legs needed that :-) I’ve ended sleeping in a valley where the weather we’re more pleasant.
I thought the worst was behind me but it didn’t mean the road would be flat. Ban Nam Chat is situated in a hole. I’ve enjoyed yesterday night going down hill for quite a while. After dinner, when I was trying to find a spot where to sleep I’ve ended cycling uphill again. That was only the beginning of the hill. This morning I started with a 650m ascension. I had some lunch at Phou Khoun which was in a bowl but still 1200m high. Finally I had another climb that brought above 1500m and started a huge downhill during late afternoon. At night, another huge storm hit the sheds where I was staying. The wind was super strong and I thought the roof was going to collapse but it didn’t fortunately!
Originally, we planned to leave at 7am this morning which is already quite late for me. That would let us only 2 hours of fresh temperature before the sun start attacking seriously. We got prepared, asked to the owner of the hotel if he could take a picture of us which he did obviously. Then, we were kind of ready to go but still talk and talk and talk until 9am! Arg! That’s nearly too late to start cycling now! Anyway, we must move! Have a good trip Stéphane. Enjoy Vietnam :-)
I started the day in the mist. During the first hour I could not see very far. The first part of the day was easy compared to the second part that was much steeper. I had to push my bike few times. I finished cycling at night today and experienced another storm later on. The weather in the northern part of Laos is very different compared to Northern Thailand. It’s raining almost every night. Well, rain only would be okay if strong wind, strikes and thunder would not join it each time.
Today I have done two passes again. There is not much choice if I want to keep doing a minimum of 70km per day. I have also met 3 cyclists from United Kingdom during the first morning ascension. Once at the top, I was welcome by those 4 children who waited for me to take pictures of them. Then I continued downhill until I reached the river and a village where I had my lunch break. Finally I started the second climb of the day, reached the summit and then got caught by the night and a double storm. I really thought I would finish the night fully wet but fortunately my camp site resisted. Lucky me!
Today I’ve reached one of the famous place in Laos, Nong Khiaw. Due to the big hills around, this place is well known for its peacefulness and treks which I won’t do because of shortage of days. Since I’ve started cycling in Laos, this portion of the road is one of the easiest one I’ve done. The road today was completely new. I’ve seen the workers painting the lines on it. I’ve done a 20km downhill from approximately 1300m high down to 350m! Finally, I arrived in Nong Khiaw earlier than usually and could rest a bit more.