An Khe - Quy Nhon Finish Line! (78km, 400m climbing)
We made it! 5 days, 370km, an impressive 4600m climbing (the highlands are well named!), 30% off-road; a glorious, sweaty, challenging and beautiful H2H 2021 ride.
Different scenery today as we descended to sea level and were surrounded by traditional agriculture. We cycled through/around lots of crops drying on the road (rice, chillies, hay - see the chilli challenge video below!) and passed lots of rice paddies, coffee, tea and fruit (papaya, banana, sugar cane etc). Communities were busy in the fields with lots of smiles and waves to help us along.
Mr Biker have chosen some excellent and really varied daily routes away from the traffic that would be hard to find on your own and it's been a real treat for cycling, as well as a physical challenge! Today, we visited some huge Cham Towers (nearly 40 metres tall) built in the 12th - 13th Century that were a Hindu place of worship during the Cham Kingdom. The 3 remaining towers represent the Hindu Deity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and had some ornate sculptures within them with Khmer influences also. An important religious and cultural centre of its time and important to preserve today. Further on, we crossed a dry season bamboo bridge (video below!) that was surprisingly bouncy but stable! It sounds like the bamboo is replaced after wet season each year - quite an achievement for such a long bridge.
Finally, we wound our way into Quy Nhon and arrived at the finish line on the central beach in the afternoon sun. Compared to the usual sensory shock of arriving back in Saigon, gliding into the beach and then soaking our legs in the sea was a delightful way to finish off a brilliant ride!
Medals, photos and some family members greeted us on the beach and after a swim we headed out for a celebration dinner and fond farewells after a a job well done. Blessed by the dry and sunny weather throughout, incident-free cycling and only 5 punctures in 5 days (all the same bike - sorry Robin!). Mot, hai, ba, YO!
Massive THANK YOU's to:
Riders: The awesome team were a pleasure to ride with - Emma, Karla, Davide (3rd H2H ride), Georges (2nd H2H ride), Juergen, Robin, Horacio and Chris (3rd ride). Great job team!
Supporters: Everyone who kindly donated and supported the team on their journey - we ride for the kids and your donations make it all worthwhile. Thank you!
Mr Biker Saigon: This year, in order to keep the ride and the fundraising going in these uncertain times, we went for a shorter ride and partnered with adventure cycle tour specialists Mr Biker. They find amazing cycle-friendly routes and the organisation of all the ride details is top class. Thanks to Thai, Trong, Viet, Long, Eric and all the team for your fantastic service and looking after us so well. Mr Biker comes highly recommended!
Charities: Thanks to lead partner Saigon Children for managing our media, fundraising and logistical support e.g. the team banner / promotional posters (especially Ngan and Quynh). Thanks to all our 4 partners including Blue Dragon, Live & Give and ILA Community Network for supporting essential educational and community projects throughout Vietnam. We are proud to ride for you!
Sponsors: Thanks to our 6 corporate sponsors this year: DHL, DYMAX, AEG, Pasteur Street Brewing Company, Mr Biker Saigon and Nutrition Depot. Your partnership and generous support makes a massive difference to both the charities and the team.
Fundraising continues until the end of May and we've a couple of fundraising events in Saigon lined up before then. We'll be back again for a final blog post in June when we have a final total to announce!
Until then, thanks for following our journey, keep cycling and keep spreading the love 💜
Here are some photos and videos of Day 5:
The Bouncy Bridge:
The Cham Towers:
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