November 5, 2016
to Bao Lac: on more hill and we will both cry
We are having trouble today with our sim-card and cannot access the internet to check the profile of today's ride. Patrick remembers it as one serious uphill, then stairstepping downhill to our destination. It is not so. We go down a 10% hill and right back up a 10% hill. It never ends and we tell each other we will cry on the next one.
The day starts off very nice though, there are blue skies, the sun is rising and fog has settled in the low valleys to our north. Beyond it rise beautiful shaped karst mountains. We are about six kilometers from Tihn Tuc, it looks okay, but the town is spread out along about three kilometers of the highway without a discernible center. We see a Nhga Ngi sign on the east side of town, but probably picked the better place to stay just outside town. On the west side of town we reach the lowest point, there a long climb starts. We are rewarded with some awesome views of rice fields and karst mountains. Other hills are covered in bamboo forests that is selectively being harvested for its nice long bamboo poles.
When we reach the high point we expect a long downhill, instead the up and down rollercoaster begins. The views are nice though, jungle forest, rice paddies, small villages. Women walk around in puffy black pants, colorful shirts and a machete in the small of their back. Small children are bundled-up in their winter clothes, after all this is the cold season here.
Just as we start to despair internet comes back. We check CGOAB and see the profile for the last 20 km eases up a bit. We ride into Bao Lac at about three and find a very nice hotel. Our room has a picture window overlooking main street, there is AC and is a "CNN partnership hotel". Even an elevator and a garage off the back for our bikes.
There are surprisingly many "muzungu's" (westerners) in town, but no nice restaurants are apparent. Tomorrow a restday to regroup before the next big hill.
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Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 24,318 km (15,101 miles)
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