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Trip Start Oct 01, 2008 Previous
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  Nong Khai, Lao Peoples Dem Rep
Monday, October 27, 2008

James had a rough night with D&V so isn't able to ride. He looks pretty washed out. He is referred to as 'Gastro' for the rest of the day.
 
J - We knew this was going to be a long tough day and it didn't disappoint. Fortunately it was dry and overcast. We cycled a few km out of town and then started to climb. The surface was good but the climb relentless. Charlie and Andrew went on ahead. The girls settled into a good rythmn and kept grinding on. Three main climbs.
1)      14 km
2)      6km
3)      18km
 
We met a young Portuguese doctor, Carlos, cycling solo with panniers. He joined us for snacks and lunch.
Apparently the scenery was spectacular on the way up but I didn't notice.
 
A - Villages clinging to the side of mountains. Pigs, water buffalo, chickens in road. Climbing for km after km, it is easier to go at your own pace. Very little traffic.
 
Ant and I are first down a descent and we stop to wait for the others by a shop. We do the trick of taking children's photos and showing the results to them. A little girl turns up. It turns out she is a 20 year old teacher from the local school.
 
After lunch there is a great 28km descent through sweeping bends always ready for that truck coming up the other way. Sometimes the road is covered by hard baked mud which has been washed down by the rains. I get to the bottom first and meet James in the van. We look around a Chinese hardware shop. There are a lot of Chinese people in this part of Laos. Apparently they are not very popular as they 'dont obey local laws'. It is 4pm and Noi, the Laos guide, is keen that we drive the last 31km in the van. (I think he is tired.) We insist on cycling and are very glad that we did. Fantastic late afternoon light - spectacular scenery - towering limestone cliffs - people coming back from the fields sitting / squatting and chatting. We roll together into the Nong Khai Riverside Resort over a wide Chinese-built bridge. Nice bamboo bungalows, good fan and shower.
 
Ant joins us for supper, we have a few beers (Beer Lao - recommended) and when Noi arrives at the end of the evening with the next days instructions we are all quite cheerful.
 
120km, a good day although we are a bit tender in the undercarriage.
 
Janice writes:
 
Thoughts from the home correspondent which I include here for the entertainment of the  'Bath City Riders' and 'Coast to Coasters'
 
Dear Friends
 
What an adventure I am having. Those of you lucky enough to have cycled with Andrew in the past will already have noted some of his pod entries and smiled knowingly to yourselves.
 
I am a reasonable woman and not easily swayed in the face of cycling adversity. I fronted up to day 9 with the best of them. 120 km in total, the first 50km constantly uphill (aka the North Face) - what reasonable woman wouldn't rise to the thrill of that? I didn't stop, I didn't get off, I didn't get in the 'van of shame' and after 10 hours cycling I got in at the front of the pack.
 
My purpose for writing, however, is not to discuss the thrills and spills of every ascent and descent but to add the small details which may enhance your understanding of what is actually going on here in SE Asia.
 
To assist you, I offer a glossary of terms relating to Andrew's pod entries so far -
Brisk = too fast for most normal people. Use of the term next to any distance over 20km means big trouble.
Fast = abandon hope.
Undulations= dangerously non specific and may be interpreted as  undulation undulation or UNDULATION
Basic = no running water
Firm mattress - no indentation will be left on rising.
 
Accomodation
Has been varied. Some nights we have even had a toilet you can sit on. I  need do no more than direct you to photographic evidence from 25th October to demonstrate my point.
 
Daily Routine
 
Get up before it is light.
Dress - anything as long as it is made of lycra and padded to make your bum look even bigger than it is.
Anoint exposed flesh with 
1)      Thick layer sun block (nothing less than factor 30+)
2)      Insect repellent or what we fondly call 'Eau de Deet'. 50% - 100% depending on ferocity of onslaught .
Fill camelback rucksack with water and strap it on.
Get on bike, cycle for miles in sweltering heat, mud, dust, monsoon rain.
Sweat bucketloads.
Keep mouth closed at all times to avoid insect build up.
Stop approx every 20km to take on fluid and carbs. Green food colouring is a big favourite in Laos so lurid fizzy drinks and biscuits enable an additive high to be achieved in minutes.
Apply further sunblock and chemical warfare - dermabrasive effect by this time due to thick layer  of dust and grime.
Stop cycling when somebody surgically removes you from bike.
Peel off lycra (try to avoid inhaling at this point)
Look at lycra, body, small bar of guest soap and bucket.
Accept defeat.
 
By end of day Andrew is searching for the laptop to download photographs and  craft his next pod entry. [My public needs me - A] This process is then followed by consideration of the next  days cycle: terrain, distance, profile etc. I, by contrast, adopt the 'it's better not to know what  pain lies ahead' approach and busy myself by lying semi conscious on the closest horizontal surface muttering  'Beer Lao'  until somebody responds.
 
I'll leave it there then. I think you've propably got the salient points.
I look forward to all comments of encouragement on the pod.
 
Love
Janice
 

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We did climb a long way	evening view	End of the day	Top of the first climb
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