2 July 2016

Following a relatively big night of beers, we opt for a later than usual start. Heading down to the restaurant area for a late breakfast in the hotel. We then do our pack up as usual, and whilst Tracey heads to pay for the hotel, I set about some mechanic work on the bikes. Having read various articles earlier in the morning, I am convinced the problem with Traceys bike is more of a problem with the fuel tank breather rather than the throttle. I set about cleaning up and freeing the breather of dust and debris before putting it back in place and then doing a minor bit of work on my bike to re-secure my left hand rear indicator.

After this bike work and our late start, we eventually hit the road at 12.30 p.m. to make our way back towards the coast. We follow a relatively familiar route through town, past the Russian tank on the roundabout and out of town on the QL26 heading east. The road surface is excellent with no potholes and very smooth, however the road itself does have quite a lot of traffic including larger lorries and fast moving buses and minibuses who leave very little room as they overtake.
The fix I performed on Traceys bike seems to be working, with no repeat issues of the intermittent cutting out over the first part of the ride.

There is a noticeable increase in temperature as we start to leave the central highlands and head to the coast. At around the 80km mark we take a stop for a break and a snack at the side of the road. Enjoying apples, crisps and water in the sunshine just off the main road. Then, on checking the map and a recommendation from our mate Jamie, we opt to take a short detour to see a remote airfield. Up an unmarked road on the right hand side just as you enter Mdrak, the road winds its way up the hill towards the air strip. On the way up we encountered a couple of large herds of cows being driven up the road. I made it through cleanly, but Tracey got trapped mid pack and had to wait for the cows to let her move. Moo!

The air strip itself is set in a valley at about 600 metres altitude. Unmarked on the map as an airfield, but quite clearly still maintained. The surface was in perfect condition unlike the small roads leading to it, and there appears to be some radio installations and other infrastructure nearby. The air strip is actually part of the road, which enabled us to ride up it. No visible landing marks on the strip. We were left wondering whether it was a well maintained remnant from the war years, or a more modern addition.

Leaving the air strip, we had to retrace our steps back to the main road, once again passing through the cows on the road. Once back on the QL26 it was a very fast ride through the mountains, on to an amazing mountain pass with fantastic views towards the coast as we descended. Traffic had dropped off a bit in the late afternoon, but there were still the occasional dangerous minibuses flying around the turns.

As we got to the QL1 it was approaching sunset. A beautiful light, and some great views up towards the mountains we’d just come from. The QL1 south towards Nha trang in contrast was a rather ugly and busy road. The coastline here to the immediate north of Nha Trang is not the most picturesque, and the traffic of the QL1 unfortunately adds to this. We take the time to pull over and make sure we can book a hotel for the night before racing along the road to Nha Trang. The views do improve considerably after the turn on to the DT657, with a coast that reminded me of the Californian coast heading up from LA to Carmel.

Finding our hotel proved to be a bit of a mission, with a few passes up and down the Main Street before we spotted it. The not so helpful porter managed to assist in dislodging my rear indicator again, before swiftly disappearing inside once he realised he’d broken it. We carry our bags in to the hotel and then it’s time to ride the bikes down the ludicrously steep entrance ramp to the hotel underground parking. No car would make it in to the ramp, and by bike it was made extra challenging with the lack of run out room at the bottom of the ramp; essentially meaning you had to turn on the ramp to avoid a collision with other parked bikes.

Once up to the room, we shower up and head to a restaurant/beer hall next door that had tiger beer on tap for 15,000VND. A nice meal and a few beers followed by an early ish night after what had been quite a high km day in a very short time.

Full days route here:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1246445328