Day 4: Meet the Cyclists

Cycling wise, today was the hardest day of our trip. Waking up in Phan Tiet we started out the morning with another delicious Vietnamese style breakfast including noodles, rice, an assortment of meats and stews and the only thing familiar to me-the omelette station! Battling whether to try everything and fill up for the ride or eat in moderation, I went with Steve’s mantra of “time for another plate” and enjoyed 2!

Ready for our longest cycling day!

 Biking started out exactly how it finished yesterday; right outside of the hotel. Everyone hopped on their bikes and cycled out of the gates to begin over 6 hours on the roads. The middle of the day from about 11:30-2:00 is extremely hot so our goal was to accomplish about 80 kilometers in the morning, before the heat set in. Along with guides who ride in the front and back, a routine has been established; for the first 20 minutes, we ride as a pack with everyone going about the same pace. Soon Steve, the aptly nicknamed, “the mayor”  (for not only his physical stature but also his tendency to wave to everyone he sees in the villages we pass) breaks away from the pack and pedaling at half the speed as everyone else, still manages to double our pace. Following behind is you'll find:

Super-athlete Shireen who humbly states that she’s not that fit because the triathlon she did was in November and since then, she’s ONLY done a 50 mile run. No, not 50 miles total, 50 miles ALL AT ONCE.

Group leader Jen who claims she is out of shape or "not as young anymore" but will come out of nowhere and lead the pack for miles.

Our portable computer technician John who consistently plugs along, always near the front.

Narelle AKA “Lance” who you won’t see for miles until a massive hill comes along and all of a sudden while you are giving all your energy just to keep pedaling, she will blow by you as if she’s on a flat surface and smile while at it.

I’m usually somewhere in this group pretending I belong. Rounding up the group are: 

Determind Natasha, our youngest team member who even after suffering from the heat, jumped back into it and never loses her smile.

My personal hero Betsy who although one of the older team members, is always willing to go and give it a shot, never complaining and even mastering some serious hills!

Event attired Joy who has been in enough running and cycling events that every day she has on another example of how awesomely involved and sporty she is and an explanation of how she supported one cause or another through her efforts.

Barbie professor Andrea, who not only loves to coordinate her outfits and have a great tan but also has to think about which of the 6 tops schools she wants to go to for her MBA all while going through an intense physical challenge. Oh, and she dances and sings while biking too. This girl does everything!

Following the group in one of the support vans is Kate, a former GVN Vietnam volunteer and nurse from Australia who not only cheers and supports us for every kilometer but also brought her med kit, drugs (the legal ones) and an amazing assortment of trail mix, gummies and muesli bars to keep us going. All cyclists should be so lucky to have themselves a Kate. We are a very fortunate group!

The routine includes 1-2 hours of biking followed by a short break including a fill-up on water bottles and snacks before heading out again. Mastering 80 kilometers in 35 degree heat, we hopped in the van for lunch on the go and headed to the afternoon portion of cycling. 

Appearances are deceiving. At this point I was exhausted!

The afternoon involved us having to make some tough decisions: while we wanted to push ourselves and ride as long as possible, we were also aware that we had a limited time before it became dark and cycling became more dangerous in the cities. For the mayor, this was not a problem. This former professional rugby player could have been (and probably still has some potential) to become a professional cyclist. Determined to ride until we dragged him in or he reached the next hotel, we dropped him off early. Another group, including myself, ventured out at the next drop-off point to cycle another 45 km until reaching Nha Trang and the third group went to the 25 km mark. All groups (and Steve) managed to make it back to the hotel before it got too dark and to be honest, I think we were all pretty impressed with ourselves and proud we had toughed out a very challenging day!

Steve and Shireen, ready for any challenge!

Caitie Goddard

GVN Foundation

Program Development Coordinator

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