Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang..the BIG climb(s)

The riding from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang was awesome! It was some of the most scenic and interesting riding we have had on our trip and one of the three days was our most difficult. This was a great challenge for Meg and I and I like to think that Pam and Dave also really enjoyed it, despite Pam nearly falling over dead after finally arriving at the guest house and Dave spending allot of the day in tears (just kidding, Dave is training for a half-iron so he is ready for anything) . The trip went down like this...

Dave and his hog.

Meg and Pam looking "same same, but different". Dave and I are jealous that we don't have matching jerseys.

Having decided to forgo the drinking and merriment of Vang Vieng due to the poor weather (and to be frank (ha ha) the girls' poorer attitudes) we hopped on our bikes the day after arriving in the city. The elevation profile of the ride up to Luang Prabang was sufficiently alarming that we decided to break the ~235km into three days. Our map indicated that the nearest city of any substance was about 90km away but we were aiming for an umarked spot just 75km north. Dave had done a bit of reading on the internet and had found another cyclist who had done the same trip as us and had stayed at that km marking. As we approached closer and closer though it seemed that something had gone awry. Within even one kilometer of 75km there was no sign of human habitation, not a good sign for finding a town big enough to have a guesthouse. Then we turned a corner to see a series of small bungaloes in the distance with a bunch of trucks parked on the side of the road. We had reached the Nam Kene Hotsprings Resort! This fairly poorly advertised resort was not so much a resort nor were the springs particularly hot, but it was a relief to find accommodation for the night and it was nice to have a warm communal bath.

Pam loving the warm springs. In the background the bungalows that were our first indicator that we would have a place to stay for the night.

The beautiful view from the restaurant at the hot springs. Not a bad place to have dinner after a long ride.

After some surpisingly good food and a pleasant nights rest we were back on the road ready for the hills. Or at least we thought we were ready. The profile indicated that we would be climbing from about 600m to 1500m in one long hill (~25km long) followed by "rollers" of a few hundred meters of elevation change the rest of the day. It ended up being even harder than we thought. The first big climb was actually pretty easy, if time consuming, but the subsequent shorter climbs drained our legs of their energy till the last 3km stretch of fairly steep climbing had all our knees shaking. Through all of the riding we were fortunate to have beautiful, if somewhat foggy/smoky, views from the sides of mountains and wonderful winding roads. The girls also received a bit of an ovation after reaching the top of our first big climb (they are immortalized in one Thai womens digital photo collection) and a couple kids pushed me for awhile up one hill, so we had some help along the way. As a reward for such a challenging day we decided to stay at the best guest house in town and eat at only the best restaurant. As we were in a town with no redeeming qualities to attract tourists other than being at a nice distance for cyclists, the guest house was a little unpleasant and the restaurant food was the standard fried rice/noodle/vegetable combination. Without that town though we would have had to hail a bus or sleep on the side of the road, so I am still happy it was there for us.

It appears to be trees and hills.

Meg and I, serious as hell about climbing hills. Also, we were copying some Thai tourists who were posing before us. We also have a picture of us flexing our muscles.

Pam and Dave, apparently missing the memo about being serious. Or maybe they are just too in love to stop smiling. Can you imagine travelling with these people?

After such a tough day, our next day was pretty anticlimactic. We had two crazily long descents that lasted for probably 45 minutes each (imagine riding downhill for 45 minutes, it's a good time) and one fairly steady climb that we basically ate for breakfast. Before we knew it (4pm) we were in Luang Prabang ready for a few days rest.

Trees and hills, again.

Meg, chilling out and rubbing her sore wrists after riding the brakes down one of the long descents.