I recommend spending as little time here as I am prepared to spend writing about it. Another 80km to get here. There's a roof top bar. That is all. The photo is of the only interesting thing that happened whilst we were there. The main street was closed for lots of uniformed people. Why? Because of the weekly requirement for the police to run 5km down the main street with an AK47 shipped over one shoulder to prove they are sufficiently fit and strong for thei...

Thursday Day Four Apologies for not posting for a while folks. It turns out that the iPhone's accepted range of operating temperatures does not include the normal air temperature in South Vietnam! 105 Kilometres today coming out of Da Lat and down to Nha Trang, split 20 20 30 15 15. Yes I know that doesn't add up. Pedant. The jewel of the day is that block of 30km, which is an unbroken rapid descent, almost without hairpins coming down off the mountain top. ...

Wednesday Day three - up to Da Lat Da Lat is a funny place, and very likeable. This was where the colonial french used to have their summer holidays because it was colder here. That's solely down to the altitude, but it allowed my heat battered body to recover a bit while wearing jeans and a long sleeved top!!!! I can't tell you what a joy that was. Plus, my room mate Tristan, a chinese-canadian and serious mountain biker, Michael, a belgian primary school tea...

Tuesday We are going to Mui Ne - The big seaside resort north of Saigon. This is the first proper experience of touring as a group. It's immediately clear that the group has a wide spread of ability, in which I roughly sit in the middle. There are those who might go for a run on our rest days, and there are those who will be taking a bit of a break in the support vehicles if it's a tad hilly. Even if I end up crawling up the inclines in little granny cog, I'm p...

Monday Day One of the big ride, and I don't mind admitting to being a bit fretted. It's only the test day, so it won't be too arduous, but still, I have no idea whether this country of charming oompah loompahs is really going to have a big enough bike. I'm also praying that the ironmongery I have grumblingly humped all round Asia (cycling shoes with cleats, my own pedals and a giant stem extension) is going to fit their kit. I needn't have worried. Well not abo...