This is the result of my need to write about my trip, a 1,200 mile bicycle ride from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, on Highways 1 and 20, with a group of 55 other cycling tourists from North America (and two from Europe) and 11 hosts from VietnamTourism. Organized by a very capable gentleman from Portland, Oregon, Cycle Vietnam was the first such group to do this ride and had the full support and cooperation of the Vietnamese government. We were in-country from January 8-27, 1994 and biked 14 of those days.

The trip was a great thing to do, and I would do it again. It took me a while to come down from the sensory overload that is Vietnam. Others were able to speak eloquently about the experience, I simply babbled to anyone who appeared to be listening.

Many people have asked me about the Communists in power in Vietnam. To me, the country seemed like a democracy, although questions about the government received blank looks or an unrelated answer (from those few who could speak English). It seemed, at times, that our VietnamTourism guides had been instructed in correct politic-speak. There was a party line.

I was never threatened, nor did I ever feel at risk. Some in the group reported isolated incidents; as such the villages were very safe, the cities perhaps less so, as cities go. One person lost a wallet in Da Nang, which contained roughly one year's salary for a Vietnamese adult. Five days later the wallet, with all contents intact, caught up with the owner.

...on to Page 2! (or to Pages 3, 4, 5).