Central Highland Introduction, VT

(Please note: I'm changing the format of the blog a little)

2/13/09
Kom Tum to Plieku
Day: 62.13 km
Cume: 2132.0 km
Avg: 15.4 kph
Max: 49.5 kph
Time: 4h2m
Highs: The sweet smell of coffee blossoms in the wind, coffee orchards as far as the eye can see, oceans of pepper corns drying in the sun along the roadside
Lows: Really uninteresting terrain, deceivingly challenging day, not huge terrain but lots of brief 8-10% grades in and out of small towns, INSANE traffic on a terribly narrow road, crusty road quality, malicious honkers


I decided on advice received from a fellow cyclist to skip the long, steep, hot uphill from DaNang into the Central Highlands and take the bus to KomTum. Talk about lack of safety: my twelve passenger vehicle had two extra seats shoved in the walkways, walkways were mostly full of cargo, so I'd trip as I moved about the vehicle. Fortunately, I took Dramamine and had a terrible night sleep the night before and slept on and off the majority of the trip. I understand i missed some pretty nice scenary, from talking to a couple of Vietnamese citizens. Ah well. Better than road sickness in a cramped, hot van. Fortunately, the man was willing to load my bike on the roof and bring it along (for a price) and he didn't charge me for two tickets (like a former driver in Laos).

This ride sucked. I wouldn't do it again and I wouldn't suggest anyone do it. It was hot, uninteresting, almost too busy to enjoy---I spent the majority of my time concentrating on traffic ahead and goings on in my rear view mirror, which was necessary for safety. Surprising was the incredible artistry of local spray paint artists who painted the cuted little outlines of motor bikes every few km on the road way...wait a second...there were numbers, errr, measurements, too, and something that looked like an impact and a staggered line leading over to the little motor bike (or bicycle)...oh, those silly police officers! [Read ahead for my body count on the cycle day from Eadrang to Buan Na Thuot]

The only redeaming quality was seeing coffee for the first time and being pleasantly surprised how lovely the coffee plant is in full flower! I promise photos, again when I find comupters here that can hand JPGs. Well, the other thing was that I made this ride after noon. The bus dropped me off after noon and I made the ride in the late afternoon to get out of Kom Tum, hot and dusty. I might consider revisiting Pleiku, as I didn't make time to see the sites and understand there are some interesting ones in the countryside. There was also a massive pagoda I could see from km away and which dominated the city skyline. The next morning, I was determined to hurry out of there to ride in the cool morning.