I was justifiably concerned about today and it turned out to be one of the most brutal physical days I’ve ever had. It’s up there with the dust storms and gale force winds for the 100kms into Leongatha a few years ago, and worse than anything from triathlon or marathon training or racing.
Riding aside, it was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful rides I’ve ever done, and full of happy encouraging locals all the way. It was a privilege to be out there but I was relieved to finish.
After 16kms, I’d completed two major and steep climbs. I think I’d climbed more than 850m in that time and was proud of the fact that I hadn’t had to get off and push at all, even up the long 10-18% climbs. I thought I had it licked.
The locals were encouraging me every inch of the way with plenty of motorbike riders giving me the usual – hello hello, very good, or very strong, but today there were more smirks of ‘you idiot’ than ever. I now understand why 😁
A number of people stopped to talk and ask what the hell I was doing !
Then at 20kms my vision became blurry which usually indicates the need for sugar and some more water. I’ve been there before many times. So, I backed right off, walked the steepest bits (above 10%) and tried to take it easy.
Unfortunately, these roads didn’t allow any relaxing – nothing was flat. The descents and climbs were extremely steep and the road was rubbish, so going up was nearly as slow as going down.
I went through quite a few villages, most of which were quite underprivileged and similar to the village I stayed in while trekking near Chiang Rai. There were no food or accommodation options en route save for a few stores at 25, 50, 55 and 58kms. They didn’t have much that I could use other than fizzy drinks and water. Anything was welcome at that stage though. 😁
There were also some interesting attitudes to a middle aged white guy riding through their village. Some people were happy and smiling, while some were the opposite. In one store, the lady put on mask as soon as she saw me walk in.
After the climbs, there was a long, long descent into a very deep valley that was beautiful with a soil laden river at its base. The road followed the valley for many kilometres but there were frequent uphills of 15%, usually with mud and potholes at the base, so you couldn’t carry any momentum forward.
I’d had enough by this stage but continued because of the wild beauty of the place. I knew that, if necessary, I could always hitch a lift with one of the utes that came by every 5-10 minutes.
Finally the valley widened and the steep gradients became less frequent and more villages appeared. Unfortunately, so too did the heavy rain and I spent half an hour under a roadside tree waiting for the worst of it to pass.
It still seemed like there was always another hill ahead, until finally, I crested the last small one as the sun set and then had a cruisy run towards the town of Xayaboury.
By this stage it was dark and the town is really spread out. I stopped to check directions and there was a nice hotel opposite me, so my decision was made for me. I really didn’t want to turn those cranks anymore today.
2 nights please. There’s no way I’m riding tomorrow !
Dinner was down the road at an uncomfortably loud restaurant that turned into a live music venue as I finished my meal.
I’m at the Outhoumphone Hotel which is a splurge at 200k kip but it was right there in front of me and it is perfect.
The past three days have been stunning, but they’ve also been exhausting. Perhaps I’d advise the younger brigade to do this route but I think people of my vintage will find it as tough as I have.