Category: Vietnam 🇻🇳 Jan 2025

Daily Stats

Distance 80kms

Time 3hours 55 mins

Speed 20.4kph

Elvation 322meters

Accumulative distance 80kms

Daily Disasters

1. Forgot gloves left at home
2. Price too low for a hotel worth sleeping in
3. I left my bag with money/passport/insta 360 in the resturant
4. The video I want to upload is taking sooooo long I stopped it and may upload later

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Of course I’m suffering a bit of jet lag. I had minimum sleep while flying.  Luckily I fell to sleep fast but woke at 5am. I packed. Then just waited till breakfast at 8.45

And I was in the lobby ready to go at 9.15. Because I was in a different hotel than I originally booked it was cheaper, happy days.

I thought I had packed everything. But much to my anger and surprise I forgot my gloves. 1st day my hands are already sore. Grrrrrrrrrr.

You never know what you are going to get not only by Komoot, but also this region what are called roads sometimes turn out not to be. But I have gravel tyres so am prepared to cope with anything.

My hotel was way on the northern outskirts of Ha Noi and luckily I am going north. The air around Ha Noi is full of dust making breathing a bit unpleasant and stunting any views. My route is meandering close to a motorway. Going repeatedly along small tracks that sort of connect roads, these are sometimes gravel sometimes concrete and often singletrack. This keeps me away from traffic which is very welcome.

I bought some cake type things last night for the journey. They turned out delicious and sustained me throughout the day.

I thought I was being clever and finding the hotel on my own. The hotel I was searching for didn’t have particularly good reviews, but I was tired and wanted to stop. I asked a local they pointed to here, so I just went in and stayed. It seems infinitely worse than the one on Bookings.com. Dirty, no sheets, crappy shower/toilet.  Luckily I brought my silk sleeping bag liner. I’m already exploring my lower limit to pay for a hotel, this one is £6.50. Next time I won’t go below £10 possibly £13.

I did go for a pleasant walk in the town and discovered the actual hotel I was looking for.

Out for dinner at a out 6pm opposite the hotel I saw the hotel owner so popped into that street restaurant.  4 eggs and some rice and stuff later. I’m full and happy. I go back to the hotel completely forgetting my bag. 5 mins later there is a knock on the door and the hotel man with my bag in his hand. Phew.

Don’t forget to follow my daily every 10 minute dots. https://share.garmin.com/acoupleofdaysrideoutta Sometimes it takes a bit of time for the dots to appear, patience.

Just under a week with my sister, Kate, and brother, Simon, at my sisters house in Huddersfield.

I forgot my wallet with bank card and other cards left in Glasgow. I was in a bit of panic for the time away but luckily found when back in Glasgow. 

I packed my bike and have weighed it and 20.75kgs doesn’t sound too bad. But there is a chance I will drop that by a bit just to get it below 20kgs, dry weight.

I got a sim at the airport about £13 for 2 weeks unlimited data, he said he would extend it for 4 weeks at the same price but i doubt he has done this. I’ll probably be stranded close to the border with Laos and no data. 😬

I messaged the hotel to be picked up. As I waited sat column 11 they sent me a message saying there was very loud karaoke at the hotel so they were taking me to another one. I booked the hotel to stay in a room like this

Unfortunately I got this

I presume its a con but they compensated with free transport and free breakfast.

I spent a good few days in Ha Noi a couple of years ago so I don’t really have a burning desire to go back into town. Maybe just a quiet meal tonight close to the hotel.

I always go out with terrible trepidation to search out my first meal.  But today I walked up the street and was waved into the restaurant  y the owner, he pointed out the buffet. I was sold immediately. 

I was contemplating staying another night, I think not, exploring is the name of the game.

I thought I’d go as light as I could so I watched a travel/pack list video by the awe-inspiring  Sofiane Sehili a rider of such enviable strength and stamina, the man is beyond belief. He was doing a pack video for his 2 month trip to Thailand and Vietnam. So I thought I would see what he was taking, just to get a bit of pack inspiration. I sat with amazement at the minimalism 😲. Please watch for yourself and see if you could drop to that sparseness. He did have the advantage of going with his partner which does help,  but even so.

I took some inspiration but overall I was pretty low anyway. The Bike, I had decided to take my Open Up it’s about 8kgs. And stuff, 6 bags (saddle pack/frame bag/ top tube bag/2 stem bags and a handlebar bag when full about 10kgs. I’ll give it all a final weigh as I pack the day before I leave.

I have a handle bar bag but when strapped to the bars (of this bike) it touches the wheel. I do have 2 other bags but they are in Greece. So I bought an Apidura bag it’s their race version unfortunately much to my surprise it doesn’t attach to my race aero bars so I sent it back, gutted as it was the perfect size and shape. I did offer my services as a product tester. I’m presuming none of their testers of their race products have race handlebars. I pointed this out in my email. Of course my slightly sarcastic tone may not have gone down well. So, much to my disgruntleness I had to buy a Rapha bag, slightly smaller but fits perfectly on the bars, I did cut off their crap straps and put on some Voile straps.

I have been having problems with my saddle slipping in the rails so I had to purchase a new Thompson seatpost, that’ll be solid (yes know it’s silver and doesn’t look great but there is a long term plan to be divulged way into next year) Saddle wise I have reverted back to my Brookes C15. But seeing as I have not ridden this bike for a month or so I’ll probably be adjusting it every day. And hope my saddle/bum issues do not return. Please let me be able to ride more than 100kms and sti feel good st the end of the ride.

Of course I am using my absolutely spectacular 65th birthday present to myself Stayer All Road Wheels. (Industry 9 hubs, Stayer 45/55 deep rims.) Usually I take a dynamo front wheel but I’m staying in hotels so should have electricity every night. Oh so excited to be riding with these wheels. And they seriously look lit 🔥

I will be using the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H version.  There is always a chance of some off road bits so good to be prepared.

Thanks lots to the guys at the GGCC for putting up with my constant complaining about the weather and general inane jibber jabber. And for giving me an incentive to get up at least once a week and rip me out of my negative apathy.

My schedule until I leave on 1/1/25

1. Xmas meal with niece in Glasgow
2. Xmas meal with my brother in Glasgow
3. Xmas meal with my sister in Huddersfield
4. Return from Huddersfield on 30/12/25
5. Pack
6. Get to the Airport 😬