Hanoi-Hoa Binh

Total Distance:74.27km
Total Time:4h26m22s
Average Speed:16.7km/h
Maximum Speed:38.0km/h
Total Distance So Far:6270.23km

Comradery amoung cyclists, you gotta love it! I sprent four days wondering around Hanoi, trying to scrounge up what I needed for Fred. It was no easy task. Vietnamese bike shops are lacking in quality parts, to say the least. I managed to get a triple crank set. It took some time and some work, but I got it done. The most difficult thing to find was tubes. You would think it would be the easiest, but it wasn't. I didn't manage to find any. Fred's front gears weren't shifting properly, which only started happening once I let a Vietnamese bike tech. mess around with him, so I was a little hesitant to take him to any bike shops in Hanoi. It was starting to look like I would have to take a bus to Laos! As luck would have it, when I was walking around, in the depths of despair, ready to cave in to the backpacker express, a small miracle happened. I happened to run across three cyclists from Holland just ending a tour through China. My three heros. They fixed my bike, loaded me up with spares parts, even took me out to dinner. I can't stress enough how greatful I am to have met them. They saved me the heartache of having to get on a bus... Thanks guys!
I ended up spending five days in Hanoi. It was a little longer than I had anticipated. Hanoi was yet another big city. Far more crime than the others I've visited. I was pick pocketed within five minutes of stepping out of my hotel. Luckily I noticed in time to chase the guy down and get my wallet back. Someone stole the pump I had strapped to the side of my bike. It was my own stupid fault. I should have taken it off. I guess I just didn't think about it. Other than that Hanoi was not all that bad. I had a chance to take in some sights between bike part searching, met some good people, and loaded up on crappy western-style food.
Todays ride was the shortest I've had since... Thailand I think. I got started at a half decent time, leaving around 7:30. Traffic, as I'm sure you can imagine, was insane. It took me a good hour to get out of the city limits, which wasn't that far of a distance. Hence the low average speed. I haven't been feeling great the past few days. I'll spare you the details. Lets just say things are staying down, but not in. God bless whoever invented Imodium. Still, cycling with a winky stomache is never pleasant.
So, now I'm in Hoa Binh. I figure it should take me a day or two (probably two) to get to Laos. I'm more than ready to move on. Vietnam has been an experience, although I'm not sure that I would say it was a great one. TIme for a new chapter in the Adventures of Gred the Bike!