Stuart's Vietnam Cycling Tour - Final Summary

On finally arriving in Ho Chi Minh City I was glad we had finished the tour. We had spent 19 days cycling & staying in different accommodation every night with the one planned rest day in Hue. Because we had put extra kilometres in cycling combining various days we also had an extra unscheduled stop off and rest day in Danang, an afternoon & evening stay over in Hoi An, a rest day in Buon Ma Thuot & an additional stop off and rest day in Dalat.

Vietnam is a really diverse country in all aspects, from the lower temperatures and rain in the North to the sun baked beaches on the coasts and the further south you get, to the scenery and how it changed so much every few hundred kilometres. The Vietnamese people despite going through much hardship many years ago I had found to be so friendly, helpful and engaging, especially in rural areas along the HCM trail. I will never forget the children's smiles, waves and Helloooooows. So many experiences and memories I have gained over the last three weeks I will never forget, from the cheeky roadside worker who taxed me of my SIS Gel on day two. My Vietnamese beekeeping experience on day 4. The crazy converted car on day 5. The stunning ride through Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park on day 6. The first time we reached the coast at Dong Hoi and caused a stir with local people and cyclist enthusiasts from the "Cafe Bycyle" and went viral on there Facebook. Day 9 and the Hai Van Pass climb and rest day in Danang with the epic "Dragon Bridge".The tough but enjoyable rides over the mountains during the middle of the tour with spectacular scenery and coffee plantations. The kid with the "Back to the Future" skateboard on day 12, the wedding crashing, roadside singers, and even the scary dog chases and disastrous accommodation in Dam Rong I loved it all. It's three days since we finished the tour and I wanted to give myself a bit of time before I written a final summary of the tour but I can honestly say I would not hesitate to cycle the HCM trail again in the future.

My bike performed well apart from the bottom bracket which needed changing due to wear and tear and luckily we made it to Buon Ma Thuot and sorted it out. I really think for anyone planning this trip cycling down the HCM trail, you would need a bike with 32mm tyres as a minimum as in some places the roads are terrible, but 95% of the way they are decent so a mountain or hard tail bike isn't really necessary, but it's everyone's preference. Anyone who would like information or advice about cycling the HCM trail feel free to mail me - stuart.cooper@silverchic.net

I would like to say a special thanks to Donald & Thao from "The Bikers Rest" cafe who we met on day 2 and who are located just south of Cho Ben on the HCM trail around 85ks out of Hanoi. Although our coffee stop only lasted for an hour Donald kept in regular touch daily wishing us support and advice and tracked our progress throughout the tour. Also to Henry from The Oriental Suites in Hanoi who took good care of us and arranged shipping of our bicycle transport cases to our destination in HCMC. I would also like to thank everyone who kept in touch and wished us support throughout the tour and to all those who donated to our charity - St Catherine's Hospice. We set out to raise £ 2000.00 and so far we have raised in excess of this amount. Once again thanks to everyone who supported us and I really hope you enjoyed our daily blogs.