Day 5: Tan Ky to Pho Chau

Day five found us waking in the town of Tan Ky. Our hotel is a couple of kilometers from any suitable breakfast and coffee locations so we agreed to an earlier start time than usual. 7:30 was chosen rather than 8:00. We wanted an earlier start but aren't gluttons for punishment and we still demand a decent night’s sleep. The 7:30 deadline would allow for us to load the van and stretch before breakfast. Then we could head into town, eat, and carry on with our day.

Tan Ky marks the official start of the historic Ho Chi Minh Trail. We left the hotel as a group and rode two kilometers to the monument that labels kilometer zero. Of course, a photo was merited.

The amazing Loc at kilometer zero of the Ho Chi Minh Trail

I have made it a habit of strapping a bag of baguettes to my rear fender and was able to eat a couple peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast in my room before loading up the van. Fully satiated, stretched, and raring to go, I had little interest in riding two kilometers only to stop and watch my fellow riders eat food and drink coffee. When they pulled over in town, I kept going. I’m not the fastest rider in the group. Not by a long shot. I was fully prepared for someone to catch up after they got back on the road.

A well stocked bike with extra water and baguettes

Pho Chau was our destination. We were excited! Just 90 kilometers ahead of us was a four star resort with soft, thick, comfortable mattresses; a pool with water slides; and a laundry service. After four nights on hard mattresses in less than glamorous accommodations we were prepared for a little luxury. All we had to do was pedal 90 kilometers.

Getting closer...

The ride was beautiful. The terrain consisted of rolling hills and the pedaling up and soaring down provided a wonderful rhythm to the day. Water buffalo were numerous and have become a common sight. Goats grazing on the sides of the road have been a regular obstacle to steer around. The country is a vibrant green. Below forested hills rice paddies dominate much of the landscape. Tea plantations are plentiful in this part of the country and the regular rows of crops stretching over hills is a magnificent sight.

So much beautiful scenery

The baby goats are always a joy to see

As we ride past homes children shout, “Hello!” and run to the road to greet us. We wave and shout back. It’s humbling to see all of these children so excited. Their faces, their smiles and their enthusiasm remind us all why we are doing this ride. The children we see are no different than those that benefit from our charity partners. Any child in Vietnam could be the victim of a trafficker and organizations like Blue Dragon work tirelessly to rescue and reunite them with their families. So many children lack access to education so ILA’s Community Network and Saigon Children's Charity continue to build schools and sponsor children that are unable to afford it. These children could be without families and Live and Give runs orphanages to provide homes and opportunities for them. Someday KOTO may empower these very children by providing life skills and practical training in hospitality. These organizations do so much amazing work in this country and it is remarkable to witness the difference they make. It's easy to lose sight of that as we traverse this land on our silly little bike ride. It feels wonderful to be reminded of the part we play.

Made some friends on the road

I kept pedaling. 30km...40km...50km. No one had caught up. I didn't see anywhere in particular that I wanted to stop for food. I ended up pulling over in the shade and eating the dates and nuts that I packed. As the resident vegan I can have difficulty finding food at all stops. Rice and veggies is always an option, but can be a little boring without some tofu. So I pack my own food. At any point on the ride I have enough calories to get me through the day. I also carry three liters of water on my bike so I'm not completely dependent on our support vans. That being said, the drivers we have are incredible and have been doing an amazing job. This ride would not be possible without them.

After eating and refilling my water bottles from my reserves, I set back off. 60km...70km...80km. I was so close. I started to realize that I might be first on a 90km day. I didn’t expect to be first any day. I'm not sure of it counts as cheating since everyone else stopped for breakfast and lunch while I didn't. But cheating or not I would definitely be pleased to finish first on just one long day.  Even if there would be an asterisk next to my accomplishment. “*He’s not faster than us. He just kept going.”

Almost there

Ugh...

At the 90km mark there was one final climb and a rewarding descent that offered a view of the resort, complete with pools, that ended at the parking lot. I pulled in and waited for others. One of our team leaders, Zak, and his father, Dennis, were about 25 minutes behind me. We settled in for drinks and then unloaded the DHL van when it arrived.

The rooms were a stark contrast to the hotels we’d been staying in. The beds were plush and the rooms offered a view of the pools. It was a welcome change.

These beds were amazing!

This was the pool before dozens of Vietnamese children appeared

More of our hotels should have water slides

Everyone trickled in at their own pace and we all showered and turned in clothes to the laundry service. It was quite remarkable watching the ladies take out every piece of clothing and write a description on a piece of paper. It was incredibly tedious work.

Our evening consisted of fun in the pool. We were not the only ones there. The pools were overrun with local children so we had plenty of competition for the water slides. Music was blasted on Andy’s Bluetooth speaker and a great time was had by all. Dinner was provided by the hotel restaurant and I consumed my weight in tofu. I have no regrets.

Evening hi-jinks abounded at the pool. I'm not sure exactly what took place. I'm certain it involved plenty of Huda beer and merriment. I'm told at one point it began to rain and shelter was sought beneath the water slides. I was in bed. I took full advantage of that comfortable mattress and the promise of an 11 o'clock departure time. We were planning a lie in. It would be a good night indeed.

*Thoughts from the ride:

We are fortunate enough to have several experienced riders on this year’s team. We have two, Andy and Kacey, returning from last year. Our team leaders, Zak and Andrea, are both third timers. Justine was a member of the original team and has returned for the tenth anniversary to show us how to ride like an OG. It would be foolish to ignore any advice they can offer and not listen to what they can tell us about the ride ahead. However, that is exactly what I am doing.

Over the last week we’ve been hearing a lot about the mountains after Hue:

“These climbs are nothing. Just wait till after Hue. It'll be twenty times worse.”

“That wasn't a climb. Those were just rolling hills. Wait until Hue.”

“The day after Hue is nothing but climbing. You climb. You climb. You climb some more. Than you reach a plateau. There's not even a rewarding descent. It's horrible.”

I've developed a theory: there aren't any mountains after Hue. I think the hardest days of the ride are the first few and it only gets easier after that. I'm 90% certain that after Hue it's nothing but flat plains until Ho Chi Minh City. I'm also certain that every H2H rider is sworn to secrecy after seeing the truth. They are compelled to maintain the lie and convince new riders that the worst is yet to come. “Don't worry about this hill. It's nothing. Much worse is to come.”

These first five days have been challenging. But nothing worse is to come. It only gets easier from here.

At least that's what I'm going to tell myself.

-Patrick