First day of the actual cycling proved to be a little challenging for yours truly. Chamois-buttered up, the first leg of the morning was lovely, with a little rice paper factory visit en route, a taste of rice wine, and a cooling ride through a rubber plantation ( a French import to Vietnam).
As mentioned in my previous post, then a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels where, yes, I am afraid to say I did the inevitable fatboy tourist thing and endeavoured to climb down one of the Viet-cong holes that led to 250km-plus of tunnels, some as deep as 10 meters to avoid the ever-increasing ordnance dropping on the area by the Americans.
A wonderful lunch on the River Saigon followed, and then we were off again.
My first incline of the trip of any note and - snap- the chain breaks. One failed repair attempt and I transfer to one of the reserve bikes. A couple of frame sizes smaller and as a result a real challenge for me. A shame, as it made an otherwise lovely run, albeit very hot, rather difficult as I hunched up over the bars.
And then - bang- a sheared saddle bolt and happily I avoided a nasty accident with the saddle pillar as my saddle flew off and ended in the road.
Still, it triggered an immediate stop, and after fresh pineapple and rice crackers and the urgent attention of Hai (our guide) and his team, I was back on Super Sat and thoroughly enjoyed the final leg of our 79km ride.
Let's not consider too closely what would cause a bolt to shear, but it may have been a subtle hint...
PS Super Sat is how I have christened my bike As anyone knows in the office, its really Sat who carries me along and is totally dependable, so it seemed wholly appropriate.
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