Today we cross into Laos and say goodbye to Thao. Thao had been riding around in a raggedy pair of biking shorts the whole time. I guess it was his only pair. I decided he needed a better pair of bike shorts, so at the hotel I thanked him for such a wonderful trip and gave him a pair of my nice Funkier shorts. I think this meant a lot because I can’t imagine how much they most cost here and I probably have 12 pairs or so. It’s one of those little gifts that can really help someone out.

We had to get an early start because it was quite a drive from Dien Bien Phu to the Lao border crossing. It was a very windy, narrow road with tons of trucks. The views into the mountains were lovely as they were covered with misty clouds.

After a while the road turned to absolute “schite” as Roland would say. Dirt, rutted and dusty. It was slow going because of the number of trucks. As we found out, there is a massive quarry near the top, hence all the trucks.

Out of nowhere, Thao informs Anne and Roland that there was a mix-up and they didn’t have any e-bikes on Laos side. This news, needless to say, didn’t sit well. Some back and forth, another phone call, and then more news. Not only did they not have any e-bikes, they didn’t have enough bikes for everyone. It seems to go this way in Asia when there is bad news; it comes out in dribs and drabs. Again, this news sat exceptionally poorly. More phone calls and conversations.

Roland was amazing. I would have totally lost my shit, but I think he assessed that there was not much to do; the complaints would be filed later. Finally, a “plan” was hatched where the new guide Xue would not ride and Anne and Roland would be on regular bikes.

---

Ride 7: 68.8 km and 1123 m Ascent

We got to the border control, which turned out to actually just be the exit point from Vietnam and not the entry point for Laos. There was some shuffling and confusion as to where my bike needed to go. It exited through a different gate than me. Not sure why, but it did. We met Xue on the other side and started sorting out the bikes.

After a lot of trial and error, we were ready for our first ride in Laos, sans a guide. Xue was clearly nervous about the whole state of affairs and stressed “be careful.”

We caught up with a big truck and kept looking for a place to get around it. Finally, we had a chance and sprinted around it. I took no pictures on the descent, but I will assure you, it was beautiful. I thought that trying to shoot a photo at 40 mph was not an advisable activity.

Xue told us that we would have lunch at 30 km because that was our only option. I, as usual, got there a first and stopped just in front of a little store and waited for everyone. A woman was sitting there and I waved and smiled at her. She waved back. After a bit, she grabbed a chair and motioned for me to come a sit inside out of the sun. How sweet.

After lunch, we would hit the last big, sustained climb of the tour. I decided to ride it pretty fast, so I put a pretty big lead on everyone. We were supposed to stop at the first little village about half way up the climb.

I got to the top and pulled into a spot in the shade. It was quite hot and the sections that were out in the open on the climb were scorching. There was a bunch of kids there all very cautiously staring at me. I tried to get them to come closer so I could take a picture with them, but they panicked a ran off. Although one of them was pretty curious as I was shooting a selfie.

After abut 20 minutes everyone showed up and we had the usual snacks and drinks from the van. We headed out again and I felt like riding hard up the last section. Right at the top, the van caught me and I followed it down on the descent. It was another long, steep, windy downhill that was great fun.

We stopped at a store that was at the bottom of the descent. As the van pulled in, it ran over a bowl full of peppers the woman was drying. She was not amused. He apologized and all seemed forgiven.

The last bit of riding was a pretty easy run into Muang Khoua. The town sits on the banks of the Nam Ou river. We pulled into the guest house and unloaded our stuff. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was perfectly comfortable.

We met for some beers and then headed down to dinner where I got to have my first Lao curry. It was quite yummy. The food in Laos is quite different than in Vietnam is far more similar to Thai food.

Tomorrow is a rest day, which is good because my legs are tired. Seven days in a row of riding is quite a bit, but so far it has been great fun … if not hard.