Service life at least 10,000 km
N 11°32'00.6'' E 107°49'43.1''
Date:
09.03.2017
Day: 618
Country:
Vietnam
Province:
Lâm Đồng
Location:
Bảo Lộc
Latitude N:
11°32’00.6”
Longitude E:
107°49’43.1”
Daily kilometers:
112 km
Total kilometers:
22,599 km
As the crow flies:
80 km
Average speed:
24.4 km
Maximum speed:
51.9 km/h
Travel time:
4:34 hrs.
Soil condition:
Asphalt
Maximum height:
1.500 m
Total altitude meters:
68.335 m
Altitude meters for the day:
806 m
Sunrise:
05:59 pm
Sunset:
5:59 pm
Temperature day max:
31°C
Total plate tires:
15
Plate front tire:
3
Flat rear tire:
10
Plate trailer tire:
1
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
12 days after the drawbar broke, we received a brand new heavy-duty drawbar from Weber. I happily received the parcel and opened it immediately. “The hammer,” I said, stretching the massive-looking part upwards. I immediately hurried down the stairs from the fifth floor of our accommodation to the first floor to our bikes to put them in Tanja’s trailer. “Fits perfectly,” I said happily when Tanja came to me and asked if everything was okay. “We’ll continue tomorrow,” she cheered.
We let the bikes, with new drawbars and in top technical condition, glide down from a height of over 1,500 meters. Every meter of altitude we have climbed up to Da Lat we can now cheer in the best weather during the long descent. “Don’t drive so fast,” Tanja admonishes me as she often does. “Sure!” I call back. It’s a fantastic feeling to sit on our sturdy bikes and enjoy the beautiful landscape without any effort on the descent. Every now and then I have to pull the brakes because of a few water buffaloes plodding along. Otherwise, everything runs smoothly. Because of the unplanned one and a half week waiting time in Da Lat, not many unforeseen things should happen on the next 700 km. However, we have a whole three weeks to get to the Cambodian border. Everything is fine, I say reassuringly as I think I notice a slight wobble on the rear tire. Must be the uneven road surface, I think, and let my bike roll on. Over the next few meters, the spongy feeling becomes more and more pronounced. I apply the brakes and stop. A look at the rear tire shows the flat tire. “What’s going on?” asks Tanja after she comes to a halt behind me. “Plates,” I reply dryly. “Oh no.” “What the hell. The tire’s been on since the Mongolian border. That’s about 10,000 kilometers. Never thought they’d last that long.” “The tread still looks pretty good. Do you want to change it?” asks Tanja. “I think so. We still have six new spare tires and there are maybe another 4,000 km to the end of this trip. There’s no point in continuing with the coat,” I reply as we unload the luggage. 20 minutes later I find the culprit. It’s another piece of carcass wire from a truck. Exactly the same nasty things that caused us big problems in Mongolia over a year ago and were ultimately the reason for equipping our bikes with a different type of jacket that was better suited to these roads.
After an hour, the casing is replaced, a new tube filled with Doc Blue (tire sealant) and pulled in, inflated and the bike loaded again. We reach the lowlands. It’s suddenly hot as hell. The pleasant temperatures of Da Lat are a thing of the past. We pass green coffee plantations. After 112 kilometers we reach a simple little motel on the outskirts of the town of Bảo Lộc where a double room costs 200,000 Dong (8.18 €)…
If you would like to find out more about our adventures, you can find our books under this link.
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