Week 86: to Lao Cai: skirting the China border

November 16, 2016

"You want to go to Sapa?" the man asks us. We have stopped at the intersection in front of the Lao Cai train station to look at the tablet for a hotel. "How much?" Patrick asks. He is still not feeling 100% and we had been considering taking a ride up the 1400 meter climb to Sapa. It's tempting to just get to Sapa since it's just around noon.

After some deliberations we decide to stay in Lao Cai tonight and decide what to do tomorrow. We are not purists and have no objections against taking rides, but we are on a bike tour and we don't want to get into a habit of "bailing out" when the going gets a little tougher. There are times when taking a ride makes sense because of time or safety.

The main boulevard leading into the train station is lined with Nha Nghi and hotels along with restaurants that promise food other than noodles and rice. We select a hotel only a few doors down from the Pineapple restaurant we saw recommended in our travel guide. A good choice, we end up having pizza for lunch and a hamburger and steak sandwich for dinner.

The day went quickly, a few good hills. Riding through towns about the time school is out, kids flood the street riding bikes and of course a few have to race us up the hills. It rains a little early on in the ride, but later the sun breaks through and makes it even muggier. Our plan was to take a "short-cut" ride on the white road towards Lao Cai, but the main road we are on has a good surface, not too much traffic and minor hills in the tail end. The last couple of kilometers the road follows a river with China on the other side.

A good ride today, good food and some rest before the big climb tomorrow.

All along the route today are wood veneer factories. Most trees we see processed are smaller then 12", but they are fed into a machine and shaved into 36" x 18" sheets of veneer.

Another foggy morning, but there are some nice valleys we pass through.

Someone built himself a Vietnamese dream house.

The clouds lift a bit and we see pretty karst mountains around us.

Arrived in Lao Cai. The city is on the Chinese border and feels like China.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 24,772 km (15,383 miles)

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