Cycling over a Jungle Mountain….Twice

In packing for the 2011 China/Laos trip, I briefly considered including some bike kit, but declined, certain there would be no opportunity to cycle. What better way to guarantee that there would be. The ubiquitous yellow 4th rate construction hat/bike helmet is good evidence. This flimsy theoretical “protection” is offered, if anything, to passengers of motorcycle taxis.

The first cycling opportunity was in the subtropical idyllic Chinese city of Cing Hong on the Mekong River. Unlike Laos, roads in Cing Hong are designed with bike and scooter lanes separated by boulevards from larger vehicles.

The trick is understanding the local driving culture, which has an element of obeying laws and traffic lights, combined with pragmatism. My son, Bret, and I cycled for 25 km. out into surrounding villages. The rental bike was in surprisingly good shape with gears and brakes working as they should.

I thought this would be the end of it, but northern Laos provided extraordinarily good rural roads with surprisingly considerate motorcyclists and motorists. Contrasting this with the large vehicle bullying of Africa, these people, although now heavily into motorized vehicles, seemed cognizant of their roots in a cycling and walking society. Most of the motorized vehicles are sub 125 cc motorcycles which makes things less congested and fast.