I received an email from my friend Russ the other day, it’s real inspirational stuff. He’s currently cycling from Thailand to China on his own. He bought himself a one-way ticket, has been learning Thai and Chinese and has a job waiting for him in China teaching english. I don’t really know what else to say but i think you should get to read a bit about his adventure…
“ahoy, hoy.
another update. sorry for the impersonal touch again. something fairly poetic. can’t stop pedalling!
i am in laos. in Luang Prabang. i have been off the internet since i was in Vientianne about 6 days ago. it’s been an amazing ride. there is a mountain range between here and there. i had no idea what it takes to ride up a mountain. now i know. it’s incredibly challenging and incredibly rewarding.
my first ascent was the biggest. that was two days ago. about 15 – 20 km of non-stop uphill. from about 400m to something like 1500m up. luckily it wasn’t too hot that day so i wasn’t getting burned alive. so many times i thought i couldn’t make it. going barely faster than walking pace. just cranking up, up, up… into the sky. it took me hours but i finally made it to Phou Khoun which is a small crossroads, market town and the first stop-over in the mountains from the south. i rewarded my self with noodle soup and coffee and kept on going. tried to realise that what was happening was real.
the greatest thing was realising that i had been in that same town one year ago, on a five minute rest break on the coach from Luang prabang to Vientianne. i remember feeling dazed and tired, not knowing where i was, not really wanting to be there. this time i was so relieved to be there, alert, knowing exactly where i was and what it takes to get there.
the next town with accomodation was Kiu Kacham, 40km further on. it was only 1pm or so and i decided to push on. after some more ups and downs i found a very basic guest house … bucket shower, room with a bed and a table, shared squat toilets… sort of concrete hut out the back of the family restaurant / shop area… i was more than happy to have a place to fall over and wash my face. their kids slept in the room opposite me and we all shared the same facilities. they like to sing in the evening. it’s really sweet.
i think they wondered who the tall, skinny, pale thing was that arrived on a bicycle. a lot of people do look at me funny. i don’t blame them. i’d look at me funny too if i wasn’t so busy being me, being kinda funny.
i crashed out. shattered.
in the morning it was hammering down with rain. big ol’ fat rain. that was when i noticed the ingeniuous network of pipes, gutters and gulleys keeping every one and everything between the huts dry. keeping all the buildings ‘under one roof’.
i sat talking to the owner and tried to wait for it to stop but by around 9:30 i was anxious to get going and cover the 90km to Luang Prabang. i was still in the mountains and had plenty of climbs and falls to come.
i set out in the rain… 20km of non-stop downhill. pelted with rain, blinded by fog, blasted with wind. absolutley incredible. huddling in occasional shelters eating sticky rice and wondering how i got myself into such a situation.
my brake blocks are really worn down. i need more.
then the sun came out and i had to go back up again… another 10 – 15 km straight up to the top of another mountain. on the way up i passed a tourist mini-bus that had hit a logging truck coming up, the other way. nasty stuff, but no one was seriously injured… just standing around looking dazed and wondering how they were gonna get out of the middle of nowhere.
then who’s this cranking slowly round the bend, whistling the titanic theme tune and wearing a silly straw hat?
only me!
don’t mind if i do… sorry, love to stay and chat but bang in the middle of riding my bike up a bloody big hill in the arse-end of nowhere!
got a flat tyre shortly after that… probbaly from the smashed glass. the tyre was full of holes and the had to change both tube and tyre… no shade… blazing sun… sweating away… much to the amusement of the small band of village kids who came to watch the funny big man getting covered in oil (it was the rear wheel). i gave them the old tyre and they were well happy about it. saw them rolling it down hill after i left and chasing after it.
my momentum ruined, i finally got to the top…another huge descent… this time in the sun… glorious. absolutely stunning.
about 10km out side Luang Prabang i ran out of energy, effort, food… the sun was still beating down… i just wanted to stop but i had to find a bed! pressed on… drank a pepsi… a final up hill! of course!! why not?
but i arrived. here i am. croissants, curry, internet and a room with a fan. luxury.
today i had a day off but i am itching to move again. it’s so addictive.
the scenery is nothing short of stunning. the silence of the mountains is immense. overwhelming. i’m cycling the main highway in laos and often there isn’t a vehicle in sight. so many times i just stop and stand there … staring, listening to nothing… being nowhere in particular and being very happy about it.
i’m closer to china now. the next month will be almost entirely mountains. i’m riding across and through range after range in south china… along the border of vietnam. i’m anxious and excited. it’s a big challenge. an entry into a strange, unknown country with an unknown language and set of customs… arriving by bicycle over a relatively remote mountain pass… should be a corker.
i’m well up for it. up for the language challenge too. china’s the big one.
i should be there in five of six days i reckon…
so, mountains: absolute hell at times. painful, endless, breathless ascents with low energy. tiny towns, staring villagers and no energy. sweat. BUT! the rewards! what a great feeling to get to the top. realising you actually just did it and are still alive. feeling better and stronger than ever. adrenaline rushing. being able to explain to people at the top who you are and where you have come from. where you are going and why. meeting the people all along the way, not missing a thing… i feel a bit sorry for the people cramped up in the busses, trying to sleep with their heads bashing against the windows as the bus winds and bumps up and down the mountains.
lunch at the top of a 1500km pass. fresh breeze. sticky rice, mango and bananas. water. and an exhilarating, 20km descent that dries you out, cools you down and makes you glad to be alive.
then start again.
mostly i am happy that i now know it can be done. it is possible. i’m glad about that cuz i don’t seem to have much choice in the matter.
for now,
enjoy some pictures.
-russ!”
