Day 14: A'loui to P'rao

 “It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times” - Bobby Webster, A Reflection on A Tale of Two Cities; A’loui to P’rao, 2014.

I suppose the thing about life is that it is abundant with opposites. Light and dark, good and evil, up and down. The latter was experienced by H2H 2014 today in a big way. Flying down the side of a mountain at breakneck speed is one of the more enjoyable things that can be achieved with your clothes on. Today we experienced this in full force; albeit after paying a mighty price.

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 The day was without a doubt one of the most grueling, exhausting and mentally straining suffered on the ride so far. Not to mention it being hot enough to bake Banh Mi, which is ironic considering how not a single one was seen, let alone eaten, all day.  Despite this we powered though and our reward was some absolutely phenomenal views from the mountain tops as well as terrifying and exhilarating descents; rather dangerously punctuated by crowds of cow shaped obstacles.

 The ride from A’loui to P’rao took us through 105 km of Vietnamese mountain region close to the Laos border. The day included two major climbs both averaging around 1400 feet, meaning the team climbed almost 3000 feet in total. No easy feat for a ragtag bunch of teachers turned riding aficionados. The main highlight of the day, finishing the damn thing. For other highlights, see previous comments on riding fast downhill and looking at some views.

 Words and pictures by Danny McCance