I chalked up another 50+ kilometers on my bike this morning with Team Dai. We rode out of the city center and then turned on to the smoothest paved road I’ve seen in Laos. It was built for the Southeast Asian Games (which took place in Vientiane in December) and led to one of the stadiums. Now that the games are over, big concrete blocks prevent cars from accessing the road, and work is under way to extend the road all the way to the Friendship Bridge that links Laos and Thailand across the Mekong River.

We wriggled our bikes through the barrier and enjoyed a comfy, flat, scenic, traffic-free ride for a few kilometers. Once we passed the turn-off to the stadium, though, the road turned to dirt. Still, it was relatively smooth dirt. Soon we encountered the road workers and their heavy equipment, which kicked up lots of dust, but the riding was easy and the views were spectacular. In this photo, I’m posing in front of an expansive rice paddy where a farmer was “herding” hundreds of ducks.

Eventually, the dirt road intersected with the main artery leading past the Friendship Bridge and back into town. Although one rider argued for staying on asphalt, she was outvoted by others who wanted to pedal along the canal. I had never done the canal ride, so I just kept my mouth shut. I quickly realized why she had lobbied for the paved road. The canals were lined with farms, trees and friendly locals, but the path was a series of packed-earth craters. At one point, I shouted out, “Are we riding on the moon?”

These rides have brought so much bliss to my weekends.
Exhaustion, a sore bum, ears full of dirt, and bugs in my teeth, as well, … but mostly bliss!
Why am I doing it? See my other posts about Team Dai.

Now that I’m back in Vientiane, it’s time to get back in the cycling groove. Team Dai is training for a 3-day, 400-kilometer ride to Phonsavan in March. I’m excited that they changed the destination from Luang Prabang (only because now I’ve BEEN to Luang Prabang – see my posts from last week, but I haven’t been to Phonsavan).

My sister Megan is visiting, so I proposed that we join Team Dai’s Saturday training ride. She agreed – with the disclaimer that she’s a runner not a cyclist, and I would have to promise to turn back whenever she got tired. “Sure,” I said. “No problem!”

We lowered the seat on Tony’s bike, and I generously gave up my gel seat cover for Megan’s tender bottom. And off we went. We met the team at the Patuxai Monument at 7 a.m. The route started on a paved road, but really “paved” is such a relative word. In many parts of the world, “paved” means smooth flat asphalt, which is a very nice surface for riding a bike. On this particular road, “paved” meant a hilly path with pockets of tar, pockets of rocks, and pockets of dirt. I can’t believe we didn’t (a) get a flat, or (b) lose any teeth.

About 30 minutes into the ride, Megan said, “I think I’m gonna want to turn back soon.” I ignored her the first few times. Then the team stopped for a pee break, and she said it more forcefully, “I think it’s time to TURN BACK.” So I had to ‘fess up. “Meg, I have no idea how to get home from here,” I said. She was not pleased. My sisterly vibe was sensing a major undercurrent of hate. But she put on a happy face and soldiered on. She’s such a trooper.

Our next rest stop was at a little waterfall. We ate bananas and chatted with the team. The ride organizer, Paul, explained that the hilly part of the ride was over. Then we rode out of the park, turned left and saw a small mountain. Later, Paul said, “Sorry, I forgot about that one!”

Eventually, we reached the Mekong River and followed it back to town. That’s when the pretense of pavement ended. No more pockets of tar; just pockets of rocks and dirt. When we dared to pull our eyes away from the obstacle course of a path, the scenery was gorgeous – rice fields, forests, villages, and all the usual goings on you see in river communities. Every time we rode through a village, children stopped playing to yell out “Sabaidee!” or just stare at the wacky group of “falang” with their fancy bikes and silly helmets.

Eventually, after 3 ½ hours and about 37 miles, we emerged in the middle of Vientiane and headed straight to a café for breakfast. I can’t even describe how much dirt coated our bodies. Meg had a little mud mustache from the sweat mixed with reddish dust, and I looked like I’d just spent a lot of money on bronzing powder. Later, we dragged our battered bodies to Manee Spa (across the street from my house) for a massage, but they were fully booked. We almost cried. Instead, we bought iced coffees from my favorite streetside coffee lady, Saeng, and watched Kung Fu Panda on TV.

For more on this fascinating topic, check out my earlier post on Team Dai and/or the team’s own website.

Megan rarin’ to go at the Patuxai Monument in Vientiane.

Megan feeling a little less enthusiastic at the waterfall break stop.