Vietnam to Cambodia Day 1

Distance 31.50 mi | Time 2:54:55 | Speed 10.8 mph | Elevation 180 ft

Vietnam to Cambodia Day 1

Well its the first day of our charity bike ride in Vietnam and it was a wet one. We started out late around 13:00 after lunch but were only doing 30 miles so it shouldn’t take long to do. It was dark by the time we got to the hotel around 18:45 but I did bring my bike lights. As you can see it’s a flat ride so not a difficult ride. Tomorrow is our first full day of cycling so this should be a longer day in the saddle.

Vietnam to Cambodia day 2

Vietnam to Cambodia day 2

Day 2 of the ride and it was a wet one, very wet and very muddy! Started out at 07:00 again but this would be a full days ride rather than a half day. We would be cycling along single track paths, 3 ferries, some busy main road and some mud paths, with me falling in the mud at one point but I got off lucky as some poor guy fell in a stream twice within 5 mins. It was a good day though and thank god the hotel had hot showers I was very mucky

Vietnam to Cambodia day 3

Vietnam to Cambodia day 3

So we got our first day of sunshine today so much so I got a little sun burnt but not enough to stop me riding. We started out by taking a boat to the floating market on the river, then headed out on our bikes. A fairly easy day with 45 miles to do and a quick stop at the bird sanctuary at the end of the ride. Tomorrow is our last day in Vietnam before heading over the border and into Cambodia, lets hope the sun keeps shining

Vietnam to Cambodia day 4

Vietnam to Cambodia day 4

Well its day 4 and it was a good one, 60 miles clocked up over a varying surface conditions. We started out on roads and then onto dirt tracks which lead to single paths in the middle of no where then back onto roads for the hill finish. I suffered another puncture again but not a big deal as I was able to ride fast to catch the group up :-). On the dirt tracks we were riding single file over some rough stuff and I decided to ride in the middle of the track where the sand got very deep to the point is stopped me dead in my tracks resulting in me falling in it as I couldn’t get out of the cleats quick enough, but no big deal as it was a soft landing :-D. For the end of the day we had a small hill climb where we were able to race up it against the crew, I didn’t beat them but I did come first in our group to the top ;-). Tomorrow we cross the boarder into Cambodia, my favourite country so looking forward to that and some more great cycling.

Vietnam to Cambodia day 5

Vietnam to Cambodia day 5

Well yesterday was a mixed bag for me and Marcus McDougall, the cycling was good as we got to cycle more at our own pace which was nice. We crossed the Cambodia border and did our first day in Cambodia, it was nice to be back I’ve always like Cambodia :-). It was a short day of cycling only 30 miles but we were scheduled to visit the killing fields. Unfortunately it ended bad for me that day as I was violently ill on reaching our hotel, puking my guts out and getting very light headed to the point it scared the Doctor who is travelling with us. Blood pressure and temp check showed I was ok but apparently I was very white more than usual Anyway I had a good meal this evening where I had pizza and strawberry milkshakes

Vietnam to Cambodia Day 6

Vietnam to Cambodia Day 6

Well today Marcus McDougall and I would be visiting District 21 before our ride but after yesterdays fiasco of me being sick I still wasn’t 100% so thankfully I would have the morning at District 21 to recover a bit. District 21 is the detention centre where Pol Pots regime sent the people to be tortured and killed once questioned. Its a harrowing place and at times quite disturbing as it has pictures of all the victims they killed including the photos of the dead people put up on the walls for everyone to see. Anyway once we got to our bikes and on the road I started to fill a bit better. We would be riding along the red dust tracks today so it was basically off road biking at least until it rained and then it became muddy riding. We only had to do 47 miles today but again we were allowed to ride at our own paces Tonight’s hotel is a bit more basic but a hot shower was waiting and absolutely necessary considering how much shite I had accumulated on me and the bike, just hope they clean the bikes as well tonight

Vietnam to Cambodia day 7

Vietnam to Cambodia day 7

Well today was another day with us starting the day with a 5 hour boat trip and it was quite a fast boat It would be a short days ride to Siem Reap, thankfully it didn’t rain much so the ride was quick. The route we would be taking was a mixed bag of off road and on road but nothing too difficult. The hotel we would be staying at will be for 2 days and is quite nice with a pool to swim in

Vietnam to Cambodia day 8

Vietnam to Cambodia day 8

Well it’s our last day in the saddle and a good ride at that around Angkor Wat. We would visit some of the temples and riding along the jungle paths which made the riding quite fun It’s been a quick week culminating with tonight’s celebration meal but it’s been worth doing this ride again it’s always a beautiful place to come to Angkor Wat.