Matthew Wegner

We were on the road again today after spending an entire day lounging around Hoi An. The day began with a 45-minute boat ride down the river, to a back road that went along the coast.

Music and Dirt

I really enjoyed today’s riding, for two reasons: Most of the trail was unsurfaced off-road, which requires more engagement, and today was the first day I broke out the iPod. The roads were quieter, but I’m also much more used to traffic, so it didn’t seem at all dangerous. The music helped a lot. It’s surprising how far you can go in under an album’s length of tunes. I found myself going much faster in parts, too, as I would accelerate to match the rhythm of a song.

Videos

I took a bunch of videos today. I wanted to capture random parts of riding on the trip, so everyone can get an idea of what it’s actually like for the 90% of the time when we’re actually riding.  I likely won’t be able to upload them once I’m back in the states, so look for those in a bit!

I did take some photos, though, which should be in the Flickr stream by the time you read this.  We’re staying in an absolute dump of a “4-star” hotel.  Cold shower with no curtain, stains on the carpet, electrical wires stapled to the walls to run up to the ceiling lights.  We ate here, too; I haven’t had any digestion problems on the trip, but if I’m going to it’ll definitely be this place.

The ride tomorrow is a little longer, and then we have another rest day.  The last two days of the tour are the big ones:  100 km and 90 km days.  Should be fun, if a little brutal in terms of saddle soreness.

Today started with a 10 km (6.2 mile) climb.  It was fairly shallow, at least as far as mountain passes go.  I rode the whole thing in one slow, methodical go, without any dismounts.

All told today was around 65 or 70 km.  I forgot to fully charge my GPS, though, so it died shortly after the hill.  You can see the stats for today here, and yesterday’s full route here.  The heart rate data is false–I wasn’t wearing it, but it got so humid it started sending a signal anyway.

I only took a few photos today.  Mostly it was because the riding was a little harder–not physically, it’s the saddle soreness that kills everyone–and the sights were pretty much the same as from before.

Tomorrow is a free day in Hoi An, so I’ll do a longer update after that (I’m posting these from a tiny laptop on free wireless, by the way).

Today was the first real riding day. Yesterday our path took us around the city, but we ended up at the same hotel we started at. Today we did some serious mileage: 50 miles, with two big climbs through passes.

Now I’m sitting at our accommodation for the night, a swanky beach resort. After we got back I went and played in the ocean before getting a 4-hands massage on the beach (at the ripoff price of $5, but I was too lazy to bargain).

Random Bits

My brain is reasonably fried, so no long-winded rants from me, but have some juicy tidbits of info instead. In no particular order:

• Number of children I’ve said “hello!” to: 50+
• Number of high fives to kids: 10, unless you count the trains of 10 screaming children all lined up
• (Sometimes they hold on, which is kind of scary)
• Honks I’ve heard: 300+?
• (People here honk to communicate presence, as traffic rules are very loose)
• Rest stops today: 3 (four segments of 20km)
• Times I wondered why the hell I was doing this: 4
• Times I thought it was the best decision ever: 20+
• Different types of food I’ve eaten: 20+?
• (Their food is very, very good)

Dinner Time

I’m off for dinner! Tomorrow we start off with a 10km climb, which I’m a little worried about. My lack of hill training is painfully apparent compared to some of the other riders. Must find longer cranks before tomorrow! I also have some GPS data t upload later. The Flickr set has new pics now, as usual.

Today was the first day on the unicycle. You could tell everyone was eager to stop milling around–as relaxing as that is–and get in some miles. But first, we had to get ourselves out of Hanoi.

Early to Rise

We woke at 3:15am. There are only two flights to Hue, split between morning and evening. The morning flight departs at six, which meant an awfully early morning for everyone on the tour. It wasn’t too bad, thanks to the remainder of the jet lag. I didn’t have any trouble falling asleep early.

Sight-Seeing

After a tasty breakfast, tour orientation, and unicycle assembly, we were off! The riding was very light, and spread out, with the goal of the day to visit the forbidden city and some tombs. While these tours were great, it was also a little bit too serene on a day where we all woke up hours before dawn. It was much nicer to be on the road mingling with traffic. At least that keeps you awake!

Unicycling in Vietnam

So riding around in Vietnam is completely amazing. We’re still in reasonably touristy areas, thanks to the tombs and such, but our route did take us away from that. It was awesome to be in the flow of traffic, pedaling through the city, and watching the reaction of the locals.

I was regularly struck with thoughts on how awesome/bizarre/amazing/exhilarating/mad the whole thing was. It’s a combination of everything: The sights, the people, how they live, the fact that I’m even here, and of course the fact that I’m seeing it all at 13mph on a unicycle.

Existence by Attention

One of the common themes in my thoughts, while riding, was that this stuff exists. It’s not just something I’m seeing while I’m riding by. Tomorrow, those same people will be working the same shops. The kids will again be walking home from school. That cow, or chicken, or dog, or whatever, will still be there, doing what it does.

I think in America we have this worldview that something only exists if people pay attention to it. If the news isn’t talking about an event or person, then it just doesn’t count. By implication, I–and you–need to be experiencing something for it to actually exist. It goes past that people not caring; it’s like they no longer allow a thing to be realized.

That seems different here. For instance, the newer houses in Hanoi have western kitchens. Nobody’s actually using them, though. They still go cook in the street, to talk to their neighbors and be a part of the world. It’s almost the exact opposite–you don’t exist unless you participate in or pay attention to the world, not the other way around.

Persistence and Reactive Reality

I think this points to one of the aspects of unicycling that’s so compelling. For instance, if you come here as a tourist on foot, you don’t make any indentation on the persistence of the city. Everyone’s routine is the same, whether you were there or not. Your day is no different from any other.

But when we unicycle through, we make a fairly wide ripple in reality–the people who live here–and cause quite a disturbance. It combines the two worldviews in this strange way. This stuff exists whether I’m here or not, but what I’m experiencing really is just for me, in a very severe way. When the next bus load of tourists comes after us, they’re back to the off-the-shelf, static experience of the city.

But when we roll through, we get our own experience, crafted specifically for us by our very bizarre circumstances. Kids run alongside just to watch, people come out of their shops, adults stop and stare, and curious motorists slow down for a longer look. The country itself is responding to us and actively contributing to us. It’s not the attention that makes it great; it’s that this experience is totally and uniquely ours and ours alone.