17/02 Day 5, Nguyên Bình

Despite me liking the place where I stayed last night very much, I woke up this morning at around six and tried to imagine what I could be doing there for the entire day. The conclusion was short: not much. So after having some fried noodles as breakfast (which I still find very strange) I left, hoping for the best.

Yesterday’s ride has more or less put a dent in my confidence. The elevation profile doesn’t look that shocking and it was only a 87km ride, but I’ve been riding for almost 7 hours yesterday (actual time on the bike, without breaks). So I was really hoping that I would make it through today, preferably with a little less pain then yesterday. And I’m very happy to tell that I did. Today’s distance was a little longer (107km) and the elevation gain was a little less (1240m) and it took me about 6,5 hours, meaning that I was a lot faster then I was yesterday. Luckily the ascents were a lot less steep and the roads were in good conditions. My 350meter climb actually went pretty easy. This made the cycling a lot more fun and every climb was rewarded with a speedy descent. My brakes were happy they didn’t have to work so hard today!

I ended the ride in a little village. I’m in a hotel again and just had dinner with the family of the hotel owner (himself, his wife and his kids) which actually was a lot of fun. Tomorrow I will start the day with a 850m climb, after which I will gradually descent towards Ba Be lake. Looking at the elevation profile I don’t think the ascent will be as easy as today’s, but I also think that it will not be as hard as yesterday’s.

After reaching Ba Be lake I will really take a day off 🙂

I really like the place where I was staying yesterday!