March 10 - Of Mountains and People
The first thing in the morning was to try to find a possible fix to the brake issue. Now despite all of my biking in remote areas, I am unfortunately not very apt in solving mechanical problems. Through the years, I either was able to find a shop or, as luck would have it, someone would walk up to me to help. I recall a case in the Italian Alps: the bike frame broke (made of steel) on a Sunday. I was devastated. Two guys were walking there and when they saw me almost crying, they inquired what the issue was. When I told them, one says, "don't worry, I have a welding shop right here" and 20 minutes later, I was on my way...This time, however, no such help came, so I removed the wheel and studied the adjustor knob of the brake. It took a while, but then, to my surprise, found a solution: this was to insert a small piece of cardboard paper behind the pad, thus pushing it closer to the rotor. Yes! I felt like I could embrace the entire world.
At least in the first part of the day, there was not much use of the brake: another long climb followed. The town I started at, Tinh Tuc, had a large tin mine built by the French, above this the road passed. Just outside town, there was a golden statue of Uncle Ho, Ho Chi Minh.
Tinh Tuc, with the mountains that surround it
The tin mine - if you look carefully, far in the distance you can see the road weaving up the mountain
Uncle Ho
This day was no disappointment, either, was the panoramic views are concerned. I was busy taking one snapshot after the other - the peaks were quite different to the ones at home. Add to this the rice fields at the bottom, quite a pretty mix.
More peaks
It took some time to reach a summit, after which it was downhill: a test for my bike mechanic skills. I think I'd gotten an E- were I being graded in a school. The cardboard held for a while, but then it got squeezed, not pushing the pads close enough to the rotor. So I had to keep replacing it every few miles - which was quite painstaking, but at least it worked.
Next to the beautiful scenery, I was impressed seeing the people living there. Below is a small sample - I had to narrow the selection quite a bit, I don't think inserting dozens of photos would interest anyone...
Folks in the mountains
I wasn't the only tourist enjoying this mountain road - driving in the other directions, was a fleet of old-timer cars, many with their roofs open, maneuvering the bends. Judging from their license plates, they were from England.
An old-timer car - one of about twenty
I reached the town of Bao Lac in the afternoon and decided to call it a day. I "produced" some 75 kilometers, rode up 1,700 meters and 2,400 were downhill. I checked in to a nice (and rather inexpensive) motel, then went for dinner, it was some sort of a very thick broth with rice - not sure what it was called, but I liked it a lot.
Dinner's served!