Great Giri

Hi, let me start this off by saying that I'm an idiot. I haven't been on a bike since I was 15, yet I agreed over a few beers a year ago to cycle the length of Vietnam. At the time I thought, it's so far away and something will happen to prevent it from going ahed, but alas it hasn't. It's now June and the trip is supposed to happen in November so I think the trip is actually going to take place.

As I said I haven't been on a bike since I was 15, and even then I was pretty awful at it. I'm relatively fit, I can run till the cows come home, but for some reason cycling never suited me.

I'm from Europe, but at the moment I'm living in Georgia (US) until August at which point I will leave to live in Hong Kong (long story). Since I will only be here for two/three more months, I went out and bought a bike from craigslist, I think it's a 1980's Fuji, (again this sums up my lack of intelligence). Only two of the gears work, it wobbles a bit and the brakes screech like a horny fox searching for a shag. Yeah it's rubbish, but it's going in the bin in 2 months. I've been out for three days in a row now and, apart from the fact that afterwards I sound like a chronic asthmatic, my ass hurts like virgin rodeo rider and I got sunburnt, I actually enjoyed it. Anyway, my questions are, How should I prepare for the hills in Vietnam in Georgia, there isn't a hill in sight? How many miles should I cycle every day? (I have to work 9 to 5 also) Is it safe to cycle on any roads in the States? I've been sticking to ones with hard shoulders on the side, but that makes it very limited. Is there a program online I can stick to get me up to speed? the trip in Vietnam is around a thousand miles. How much will it cost to get the bike fixed up at a shop? or should I just burn it now.

Any help and advice is very much appreciated.

rms13

$50-75 at a shop should get it tuned up to be rideable as long as there are no broken parts that need replacing. I'd be more concerned about riding in highly populated parts of Vietnam than riding the roads in Georgia. I've been to Thailand and I'd be very nervous riding there compared to Los Angeles where I ride every day

Allen

You must be in South Georgia, I'm going to guess Savannah.

Homebrew01

Who is going with you ?
How are you handling food, clothes, sleeping arrangements ?

Or you could say "I sobered up & changed my mind" and do something else.

kv501

Troll.

Great Giri

Thanks guys, the person I'm going with is a good friend from the UK, he has done several trips through sprain and France so won't have an issue with it. The research I've done indicates that Vietnam has plenty of hostels/ B and B s along the way and food is fairly easily picked up. I could try and back out of it but my friend has made big plans for it and to be honest I think I'd actually like to give it a go. Savannah was a good guess, the only hill I found here was the ramp going over I95 . I'm going to do 20 miles today and try and work that up over the next month to 40-50, my friend suggest doing bursts of speed fast/slow to mimic hills etc but not sure if if will be enough to prepare me. Apparently the first part of the Vietnam trip is quiet flat then I you hit the mountains.

Homebrew01

You could try posting in the "Touring" forum. Those members are more familiar with long distance, multi-day rides.

https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/

Or perhaps a moderator will move this thread.

Machka 

Co-incidentally, there are two posts about cycling Vietnam in the Touring forum already ... different poster names than this one, but just bumped today.

rms13

Touring SE Asia is much different than Europe. Did you read this story of the British couple that were killed in Thailand on their world bicycle tour
British couple killed in Thailand during round-the-world bicycle trek * - NY Daily News

I spent two weeks in Thailand and I'm not lying when I say I saw at least one accident every day. People on bikes and scooters are very volunerable. That was in a small beach town not even the city. They don't seem to have to same rules of the road that first world countries have, their is very little traffic enforcement and little respect for cyclists

06SpiceRed

I grew up living in Hong Kong and I recommend going and riding out in Lantau island ( Where Hong Kong International Airport/Disney Land) and aclimate yourself to riding in the hills and the humidity when you get over there. Depending on where you live out there, Hong Kong island its self has a number of places to ride that will be very beneficial to riding in Vietnam. Ive ridden in vietnam, and while it is very hustle and bustle with lots of traffic, getting used to the congestion early on will help prepare yourself for what you may experience. Saddle time, saddle time, and more saddle time!

Allen

Moved from Road

Great Giri

Thanks . I have done some hiking on Lantau and yes it seem like a good place to practice. Actually our original plan was to cycle from HK to Hanoi, but cycling through industrial chinese cities didn't appeal much.

Great Giri

I have heard that it's dangerous, but we're prepared to give it a go, if it gets too much we can just call it quits. Time will tell.

Thanks guys, going to have a look at those other vietnam discussions now.

axolotl

If you're really going to cycle in Vietnam, spend some time researching a route. Everything I have heard about cycling the main north-south road in Vietnam makes it sound hellish. Endless traffic and noise, apparently. I biked with someone in Laos who had toured in Vietnam, and he liked biking in the Mekong delta, but not elsewhere in the country.

As for Thailand, I've biked there twice and found it excellent. I was mainly in northern Thailand (the north has great touring weather from December to February, as does northern Laos). I did NOT find touring in Thailand particularly dangerous. I picked my route carefully, of course. On those occasions when I had to be on a major road, it typically had a decent paved shoulder.

Northern Laos is fantastic, in part, because many of the roads have very little traffic.

fietsbob

South Georgia is Islands off Antarctica , populated by Seals and Penguins more than people ..

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Great Giri

Fietsbob, Haha. Yes that is exactly where I am, it's tough training here with all those damn penguins trying to knock me off my bike. Icy roads too.

Axoloti; thanks for the reply. I m meeting up with my mate next month and we're going to have a long hard talk about it. Maybe Laos is a good bet. we're looking for a route that's less than 1000m with great scenery, 'kind of' safe roads (as much as can be expected), and good people (which I know all those countries have). Did you find it hard to find nightly accommodation in Laos? Also, would it be ok if I contacted you at some point to get the route you did in thailand?

bikebark

I toured the southern part of Vietnam several years ago. Much of the time we were on Highway 1, the main north-south highway. Traffic is not that bad outside of the cites other that near Ho Chi Minh City. Small motorcycles are the primary source of transportation, and they are not a problem. There are very few cars on the highways. Buses were the only problem that we had on the highways. You have to get out of the way of buses because they will not stop for anything. We were once forced off the road by an oncoming bus coming around a curve on the steep downhill near Da Lat. There was bad traffic for many miles leaving Ho Chi Minh City, although there was a full shoulder for motorcycles and bicycles to ride leaving Ho Chi Minh City. The traffic was backed up for over 50 kilometers. We could ride on the should much faster than the other vehicles were moving. One thing that you have to get used to is the honking. Almost everyone will use their horn when the pass you. It took us awhile to figure out how people drove in Vietnam, which is much different than how they drive in the U.S.A. Once we figured that out we had a much easier time. We discovered that we had to ride aggressively and pull out into traffic, otherwise the other vehicles will not let you out. There are some nice secondary roads with little traffic, but much of the time we rode on Highway One because it was either the only through road in the area or we were uncertain of the condition of other roads.

axolotl

I always found a guesthouse for the night in Laos, but in some rural areas, it was pretty rustic. One area was off the electric grid but there were still simple huts available. The route from Vientiane to Luang Prabang is very safe and gorgeous (esp. from Vang Vieng northward) but it is very difficult. It had very little traffic when I was there about 5 or 6 years ago.

Overall, I have a slight preference for Thailand, though it's more developed and has more traffic than Laos. There are almost always excellent but inexpensive accommodations available, and great food as well. Sure, you can contact me about the route I did. Roughly, it was a loop beginning and ending in Chiang Mai. I began by going northward along the Burmese border, then east to the "Golden Triangle", then south along the Mekong a bit, then as far east as Nan, then westward back to Chiang Mai. There were some interesting and diverse places I visited. The riding was easier than the Laos route from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. I took buses to get a bit in and out of Chiang Mai simply to avoid some heavy traffic. The traffic levels were OK almost everywhere else.

LuckySailor

Why don't you just head up to North East Georgia for the weekend and ride, and camp- like Gainesville, to Helen. It's all hills and some pretty good ones too. I used to live in Gainesville. Helen is a well known quaint little German/Austrian town.

Northwestrider

The best prep for hills is just to ride, hills, or flats, what ever is available. Enjoy your trip .

Great Giri

Thanks Guys.
Bikebark, really good info. Highway 1 in vietnam was what we were considering. A couple of people have put youtube videos up online, which match what you've described. It's certainly going to be a shock! But as you said, hopefully we'll get used to it. Not to keen on what you said about the busses over there, death by bus doesn't sound appealing, .

Axoloti ; Thanks again. I'm going to have a look at those routes you did, a few people have actually said that the scenery in Vietnam wasn't actually that great (for the most part). I've been to Thailand and heard much about Laos, the scenery is said to be great, but then again great scenery usually means lots of mountains and climbing. Was it a challenge there to bring your bike on the buses there?

Speaking of mountains; luckysailor ; I was planning on heading up there (NE georgia) for a weekend, so really glad you suggested a place and route. I looked on Google maps/streetview and it seems I would take highway '129' all the way, (although I noticed there is no shoulder on the road, a little nervous of that at my early stage, but may try it). Could you recommend a campsite up there? somewhere peaceful would be good. That route looks to be about 32 miles, which would help me get to my 60 mile target, maybe over two days etc.

Northwestrider , you'll be glad to hear I'm currently riding like the wind, albeit a very slow one and with a sore ass. (god, does that damn butt pain ever go away?). But broke the 30 mile barrier today, 40 is next!

SparkyGA

Southeast Asia is fantastic for touring! Most of it is pretty easy riding and you shouldn't worry about the terrain and traffic. You will learn to deal with them as you go.

Ignore the few negative comments about how bad the traffic is or how dangerous it is. It's really not that bad, minus Ho Chi Min City as others have said, and even then, you can just catch a taxi/tuk yuk/bus/whatever and bypass the city if you really want. The worst part about SEA is dealing with how fast your beer gets warm!

November BTW is an amazing season to ride SEA. End of the rainy season, everything is super green after the rain and there is practically no tourists anywhere. Bliss

Oh, I'm typing this from Cambodia right now Will be riding up through Vietnam around the Laos border region in about 3 weeks.

axolotl

I took a minibus in Laos and they put my bike on the roof, along with lots of other stuff up there.

Great Giri

Thanks axoloti and Sparkyga. ill certainly puts my mind at ease, I will definetly be contacting you on here closer to my dept date, if that's alright.

wheelinthai

Highly recommended. Do it either way, but I prefer taking bus to Mae Sariang and start from there. At Mae Malai, you'll find plenty of transportation back to ChiangMai. November would be a very good moth to begin your tour in SEA. Cheap and available good accommodation and food mean you can leave your camp (tent etc.) and kitchen back home. Bring along sleeping bag liner, if you worry about hygiene. If you need further information, I'll be happy to help. I live in Thailand, and have biked this route.
Mae Hong Son Loop - Complete Video in HD - Asian Motorcycle Tours - Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam Motorcycle Tours