Thursday, November 03, 2005

Day 62. That place beginning with S, Vietnam

Start: Victoria Hotel, Sapa, Vietnam
End: Quynh Anh Guesthouse, Sapa
Distance: 8 km
Time: 0'34"
Avg: 14.6 k/h
Max: 39.5 k/h
Total: 4177 km
Total riding days: 47
Riding hours: 1200 - 1235

My freehub has come back from Hanoi. They do not sell them there.

Well, 98% of my freehub has come back from Hanoi. It is missing one of its pawls. Pawls are little sticky-outy bits. A freehub should have 3. Now mine has 2.

On a rainier day, this might make me quite upset.

But, as it is, (a) at least this way I get to find out what a pawl is; and (b) since the thing is broken anyway, I don't really suppose it matters too much.

My days of indolence and folded down lavatory paper have come to an end; I am now slumming it at the Quynh Anh Guesthouse down the steps from the Victoria. The price tag is about 1/40th of what it costs at the bright shiny place up the hill; but then, here I have to fold my own bogroll.
Oh, the depths to which a man can sink.

I take the bike with the semi-repaired 98% of a freehub with its 2 remaining pawls and a third bodged pawl that a local engineer manages to fashion out of something he found down the back of the skirting board. Remarkably, the wheel goes round and things feel, if not quite perfect, then at least worth a shot.

Tomorrow, we will see.

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