Tag: bikepacking
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Rainy Season in Vietnam – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 142 – 27 October 2019
– ODO- 17811-17969km – Location- Hanoi – Weather- 22-24 with constant downpours I’ve never seen so much water on the road. I followed the highway on the hard shoulder as the rain come down. I left at 5-30, just before sunrise, to get to Hanoi early to relax and settle in but as I awoke…
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South East Asian Spirit – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 141 – 26 October 2019
– ODO- 17677 – 17811km – Location- Thanh Hóa – Weather- 22-28 Showers in the morning cleaning towards the coast In Laos the spirit was Lao-Lao. A liquid the colour of a thin whisky, proffered to me in re-used orange juice bottles along the highway. Here in Vietnam there is a similar spirit. I’m sitting…
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Ben Around the World Diary – Day 140 – 25 October 2019
– ODO- 17561 – 17677km – Location- Tan Ky – Weather- 28 and cloudy all day A grey day brought good miles as the terrain flattened out and the broken teeth rocks split and flat to a winding river bed with increasing numbers of houses. The day past without issue, feeding myself from biscuits, peanuts…
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Welcome to Vietnam – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 139 – 24 October 2019
– ODO- 17462 – 17561km – Location- Field near the QL7 Highway – Weather- 24-33 descending from cloud, showers in the afternoon I started my ride in a bad mood. As Id left the border town in Lao heading up the final 20km before the border a white truck cut me up with horn blazing…
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Lao – The Most Bombed Country – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 138 – 23 October 2019
– ODO- 17354 – 17462km – Location- Guest House – Phon Sa Van – Weather- 24-30 cloudy until 11 – cooler up on the plains After another morning of climbing, this time in the cool clouds gripping to the edge of the forests I got my dues. A long sweeping descent down out of the…
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A Glimpse of Laos Ben Around the World Diary – Day 137 – 21 October 2019
– ODO- 17281 – 17354km – Location- 10km from Ban Namchat – Weather- 22-27 mist rising from the mountains I ended my second day on the road with my first night in my new tent, up only 80km from Van Vieng. After overdoeing my first day I then hit the mountains. I climbed 1600m in…
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Ben Around the World Diary – Day 136 – 20 October 2019
– ODO- 17213 – 17281km – Location- Chilli field past Nam Khene – Weather- 23-35 cloudy in the morning Yesterday I pushed myself too far. I wanted to make the most of my first day out if Vientiane, being hot but flat, so I set myself blindly on Van Vieng some 100miles (160km) away. I…
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Invincible – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 134 – 20 June 2019
– ODO- 16890 – 17047km – Location- Non Khai, Thailand – Across the River from Vientiane – Weather- 25-38 Vivid streams and flashbacks kept me awake throughout the night. For my final day on the bike I gave myself 165km to travel. I woke before the alarm and lay with a heavy head for several…
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Ben Around the World Diary – Day 133 – 19 June 2019
– ODO- 16786 – 16890km – Location- Nong Bua Lam Phu, Thailand – Weather- 24-38 As I approach the last couple of days on the road on this leg, from Kathmandu to Vientiane, I become pensive. By this point I’ve been cycling solidly for a month. My daily routine. However tough it seems to cycle…
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The Bike After 15,000km – Ben Around the World Diary – Day 132 – 18 June 2019
– ODO- 16684 -16786km – Location-, Thailand – Weather- 24-34 As I approach the 20,000km mark the wear on my bike and is becoming more and more apparent. As my body gets slicker and stronger each component has worn gradually down. My bottom bracket is loose and my pedals move left to right on each…