Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Day 74 - Dien Bien Phu to beyond Tuan Giao

Start: Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam
End: 17 km beyond Tuan Giao, near the top of the pass on the border between Lai Chau and Son La provinces.
Distance: 99 km
Time: 6'53"
Avg: 14.3 k/h
Max: 41 k/h
Total: 4643 km
Total riding days: 53
Roadkill: The odd snake, a broken fan-belt that looked like a snake (they always do, and they always make me jump), and, unusually, a live snake too (not roadkill, I know - or not yet, anyway).
Riding hours: 0910 - 1730

An easy day, I think the double rest day helped... Planned to stay in Tuan Giao, but the only hotel was a little expensive and not very nice, so, since it was early, I bought an ice cream and headed on up what was supposed to be tomorrow's pass instead.

An 800 metre climb, but if you've got to climb, there is no nicer time to do it (no nicer time for any sort of riding, in fact) than in the late evening around sunset.

I got lucky with a camp-spot again - nothing all the way up, then just as the sun set the road flattened towards the top of the pass, and a perfect, hidden, flat and easy-to-reach camp-spot materialised.

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