One of the kitties, Mila, came with a nasty case of what was probably a coccidian infection.  She lost a ton of weight, but has since recovered and is doing splendidly.  You can see her in the Flickr set; she’s an odd mix of pot belly and bones right now.  The mom is actually pretty slight herself.  She has a great temperament and should have no problem being adopted after she’s back at AZHS.

The other kitty, Jasmine, really loves to jump.  She’ll randomly jump as high as she can against the wall, or over another cat, but what she really loves to do is jump for toys.  Observe:

In other updates, work is going really well! Flashbang is up to six people full-time and an intern. Jetpack Brontosaurus is still the company’s focus, but we’re also managing two active contract jobs, supporting the recent launch of another, maintaining our affiliate website, preparing the design of our upcoming portal, and pushing paperwork to develop on two new platforms. I’m also writing a Unity tutorial, an article about Unity for a prominent software development magazine, the far-too-occasional review for Fun-Motion, and gearing up for the 11th annual IGF.

I spend my free time working my through The Wire with Crystal, actually playing video games (finished GTA IV!), and hanging out at Dan and Beth’s amazing pool. I’ve unicycled three times since Vietnam, sadly. Must get out and exercise more!

Well, time to sleep. It’s 10:35pm, perilously close to our bedtime.

Photos

I had a point-and-shoot camera with me, and took a pile of photos. 170 photos are posted here in my Flickr account. Some favorites:

Posts

I had wireless nearly every night, and posted about my journey while it was happening:

• Leaving for Vietnam (Packing list)
• It’s Travelin’ Time
• Flights are Long (Some thoughts on purpose of the trip)
• 24 Hours of Travel (On arrival in Vietnam)
• I Made It! (On arrival in Hanoi)
• 60 Seconds in Hanoi (Video taken at night)
• Sleepover in Halong Bay
• My First Riding Day (Rant about country’s reaction to unicycles)
• It’s Distance Time (We start the tour proper)
• Day 2 Complete
• Riding Continues
• Best Day Yet (And Nich’s crash)
• The Long Day: Complete
• Vietnam Panorama
• Hanging Out in Saigon (Final days)
• Vietnam Conclusion (Back in the states)

You can also just search Wordpress for posts tagged with Uninam.

GPS

I had my Garmin GPS unit with me, which I used to keep track of mileage. It also spews a bunch of stats:

• Day 0 (Circular trip around Hue)
• Day 1 (Hue to Lang Co)
• Day 2 (Lang Co to Hoi An) [Note: GPS battery died]
• Day 3 (Hoi An to Quang Nhai)
• Day 4 (Quang Nhai to Quy Non)
• Day 5 (Quy Non to Tuy Hoa)
• Day 6 (Tuy Hoa to Nha Trang)

The Trip Itself

The short version is that the Vietnam unicycling trip was absolutely amazing. I’m glad I went. To be honest, I was a little worried in the run-up to leaving: Had I trained enough? Could I really do this? I really started to enjoy myself after the first few days of riding when I realized, yes, of course I can ride 300 miles across Vietnam.

The longer version is more multifaceted. The trip, at some point, was the the most fun I’ve had in a long while, the easiest thing I’ve ever done, the hardest thing I’ve ever done, the most un/comfortable thing, and so on. You get the idea. Sometimes these feelings were even simultaneous. When saddle soreness was its worst, you could still look around at the beautiful landscape and still smile when children come running up to say hello. Even when things were hard, I could still find myself right in the middle of the Vietnamese countryside.

The People

One of the great things about the trip was the people who went on it. It turns out that the kind of person who puts their life on hold for three weeks in order to unicycle across Vietnam is the kind of person who is also awesome. Everyone was different, but there was a certain mindset that we all seemed to share. It’s like we all managed to experience the world on our own terms, not the world’s. After all, simply accepting how things are “supposed” to be in life is not very conducive to unicycling.

So Why Do It?

I made an in-flight post, leaving America, where I wondered about the purpose of the trip. There are the obvious reasons for going–seeing sights, learning more about the world, etc–but what’s the point of the whole thing? I didn’t really have an answer then, but I’ve thought about it quite a bit since.

I think we choose to do hard things because it makes other things easier. “Hardness” is relative, of course, but that’s exactly the point. This tour was very hard for some people, but quite easy for others. For instance, the multi-mile uphills killed me, because I haven’t done anything like that before, but compared to something like Alps Unitour the hills were actually very minor.

If you boil everything in life down to a single easy->hard scale, doing something on the hard side of things will make everything below it seem easier later. Compared to unicycling across an entire country, other things–starting a business, finishing a project, saying hello to the girl across the bar–are going to seem less daunting. I noticed this same sort of effect years ago when external pressures appeared in my life. After it passed, suddenly other things didn’t seem so worrying (most readers probably know what I’m referring to).

Adjusting to America

I didn’t actually put any thought into adjusting to American life. Obviously I was thinking about adjusting to Vietnamese life on my way there–food, attitude, culture, etc. But for some reason I didn’t consider the adjustment period in coming back.

The first thing that happened was actually a traffic incident at LAX. I was about to cross from the shuttle stop to the terminal, which was across three lanes of traffic. Cars were stopped at the curb in the one lane, another lane was completely empty, and there was a single car beginning to pull out from the curb in the other lane. A totally benign situation. So I started crossing, eager to get to the terminal. If the one moving car hurried up, there might be a conflict, but of course I’m completely visible with my gigantic unicycle bag.

What I didn’t account for was the traffic cop, whistle in mouth, vividly gesturing for cars to keep passing through. He freaked out when he saw me step into the road, practically running towards me, white gloved hands extended, palms outward, with a desperate “Sir, stay back!“. I thought to myself, “Oh yeah, I’m back in America. We’re totally retarded here.” After waiting just long enough for me to get the message, he began gesturing my way and let me pass.

(I missed my connection anyway, as my Taipei flight was late, and stayed in the night in an overpriced LAX hotel so I could shower and eat. It was lame.)

The other thing that struck me, over the next few days, was just how damned lazy Americans are. It’s like we gave up. Maybe the country wasn’t actually this way, but in school they paint the picture of the mid-20th century as a time of action. Americans were eager to prove themselves to the world as a dominant force: militarily, ethically, and intellectually.

Now, though, I feel like the majority gave up. Today Americans seem eager to watch the next American Idol and get fat.

What’s Next?

I haven’t been riding much since I’ve been back–although mostly because I’ve been moving in with Crystal–but I am eager to hit the 36″ before it warms up. My legs are itching for some action, and I feel like I could do a nice multi-hour ride with minimal soreness at this point. Looking forward to it!

I put down a deposit on the Africa unicycle tour happening next June. The adventure continues…

I’ll post some updates soon:  A Vietnam wrap-up, pictures of the new house (moved in with Crystal last week), and more!

Touristy Things

With so much time, I could easily accommodate both individual exploration and group tourist activities. Many of the tour riders were sticking around through the weekend, so 11 of us got together and rented a bus to head out to the tunnels. The Viet Cong built a gigantic series of tunnels, initially to fight the French, and then expanded them in the war against America. They’re pretty wild.

The tunnels they take you through have been expanded, thanks to fatty tourists, although one section is supposedly original size. Some of us went through short sections of the tunnels. It’s definitely not the place for anyone with claustrophobia. They have them lit, of course, but it still gets awfully dark, hot, and cramped in parts. We emerged sweaty and grimy. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like scampering through those tunnels in the midst of summer with the chaos and death of war around you.

Saigon, Daytime

I also went around the city’s various sights by myself, spending a few hours each day just walking. I saw the Reunification Palace (bombed by a VC spy in the war, who reportedly works for Vietnam Airlines today), the War Remnants museum, went to the big markets, and generally experienced much of the city. Everything is much more expensive than the rest of Vietnam, but you can still have noodles from a street vendor for 10,000 dong a bowl, or about $0.66. One night we went to a nice Indian place with a group of ten, which was 2,000,000 VND, including plenty of beer. It’s much more than a dinner elsewhere in the country, but of course still less than the states.

Saigon, Nighttime!

I had a new roommate for the last two nights—Geoff, from Australia—and we were both getting tired of the tourist routine. Of course, we still had time to kill, so what better way than to set off into the city for a random night of drinking and shenanigans? I think we left the hotel at 5pm and returned at 3am. Our night included:

• Steak dinner, only marginally delicious
• Drinks at the top of each big hotel
• Congratulating a just-married bride and groom (including a kiss on the cheek, hah)
• 232,000 VND glasses of cognac
• Dancing at a jam-packed club named Apocalypse Now
• Zipping around town on motorbike taxis
• Spurring our last two bikes into a race (“no, no more money—losers don’t get extra money”)

It definitely accomplished our goal of killing time until we had to leave, especially because the next morning was shot. Without much sleep, and strained livers, it was all we could do to pack, wash our unicycles, and get some food. I left the city at 2pm; I’m actually writing this in an airplane, some 32 hours later, but that’s a sob story for the final Vietnam post…

Made with the amazing Autostitch.

Ride, Ride, Ride

I spent 6 hours and 15 minutes pedaling today. Total time, including the short breaks and lunch, was 10 hours. The riding was nice, with some great scenery and mild traffic for much of the day. I took some more photos to give you an idea of how the terrain is changing. By the way, nearly all of the photos are actually taken while riding. It’s gorgeous out here!

Saddle soreness was a big issue for me today, especially before lunch. I stood up and pedaled, played music, and shifted my weight as best I could, but old man gravity just wouldn’t let up. This probably comes as no surprise, but unicycling vast distances is very, very uncomfortable. You may think you can imagine it, but believe me: You can’t. It’s something you need to experience firsthand.

The Heat

It seems like the heat was the major problem for many of the other riders. I made out alright, thanks to my acclimation to Phoenix, but it was still a lot of time in the sun. I’m developing a delightful tan line of my riding shorts/shirt. Most of the time we had a breeze of some kind—even a headwind was welcome—but there were stretches without wind that were just brutal. All told, I think I drank 6L of water today. Everyone has salt cravings come lunch time.

One More Day!

The beach is right across the street from our hotel, so everyone jumped in for a swim to cool down. Next we’re off to our group dinner, before cashing in for an early night. Tomorrow is the last day of riding! Our daily distances have changed from the initial plan, but I think tomorrow is still a measly 60km. It’s not a hard distance, and combined with the light at the end of the tunnel it should be a fantastic day.

We spend the night in Nah Trong tomorrow, and then head to Saigon the following day. Initially we were supposed to take a fancy 12-hour train to get there, but unfortunately the train schedule changed to overnight. There’s not much point in staring at blackness for hours on end, so now we’re flying instead. There’s a night in Saigon included on the tour, and then it’s officially over on Friday morning. I’m hanging around two extra nights to wander the city, and then I return! It’s been a wonderful trip, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting ack to my life too…

Stronger, Faster

The pace today was definitely faster. I’m also adapting to the riding–it seems like my body is used to the notion of a stressful workout for several hours in a row. It’s a great feeling to zoom through an off-road section, pedaling quickly and dodging potholes and rough terrain. I did a have a bit of a crash myself, though, although it wasn’t much. I ended up going over a drop on a downhill section with my brake engaged. I didn’t notice it until I was too close to disengage the brake, so my only hope was to hold it perfectly steady on landing to avoid being thrown. No luck!

Nich’s Crash

The youngest rider on the tour, Nich (13), had a pretty wicked crash today. It was on a downhill section and he rides without a brake. I wasn’t near enough to see him fall, but I was the second person to quickly come across him. He was in a lot of pain and didn’t have t move his arm–at first the group was worried it may have been a broken collarbone, but the final diagnosis was a nasty cash a road rash and a possible sprain. The tour organizer, Ken, is actually a practicing doctor and was there on the scene within a few minutes. Tomorrow is a rest day, so hopefully he’ll be back riding after that!

Rest Time!

We’re here for another day–the beach is right across the street–so it’ll be nice to hang out and go for a swim. There are only two riding days left in the tour. I feel great and am looking forward to tackling them head on!

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.