Day 5: To Buon Ma Thuot and a Rest Day

Today, our pedaling fellowship made one last push to the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot to finish out the first week of cycling from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang.  We've thus far pedaled nearly 300 miles through some tough terrain, climbing to 3000 feet elevation, cutting through brisk headwinds, and sweating in 90-degree temps.  But please don't feel sorry for us.  We are living a dream.

Our ride today was eventful for the heavy traffic on a narrow road that we encountered riding into Buon Ma Thuot--a city of about 1,000,000 citizens.  Each of us, at one time or another, have been forced to move completely off the road when trucks pass each other, leaving no pavement.  Unlike in the USA, honking horns are nearly constant in traffic flow.  Instead of being used to say "get out of the way!", honking a horn here means "I want you to know I am coming up behind you. Share the road." Or, at least that's how we've come to interpret it.  You usually know the size and speed of the vehicle as it approaches from behind by the kind of horn it sounds, along with the rumble of its wheels on the pavement.  Please know that we are wearing florescent yellow vests with reflective stripes on them not as a fashion statement (seriously?), but to be readily seen (as well as to see one another when we get separated or strung out along the roadway).

We are deep into coffee country.  Buon Ma Thuot is considered the coffee capital of Vietnam and we are anxious to sample what it has to offer.  We have biked past hundreds, if not thousands, of homes with coffee beans drying in the front yards. If you live in this part of the country, instead of growing a grass front lawn, you roll out canvass and dry coffee beans.

We are looking forward to a day of rest on Saturday.  Actually, we will spend part of it visiting the Yak Dom National Park.  We anticipate seeing lots of native animal species.  Bob Yardy and Bob Burtch are anxious to hear and see lots of birds, as they are both amateur ornithologists.  We are also scheduled to take a 1-2 hour elephant ride.  THAT should be interesting.  We can pedal a bike, but can we ride an elephant?  Check tomorrow's blog post for photos and a full report.