Xe Dap - Quan 7

Vietnamese Cycling Club:  District 7

You know you are 'in', when you are the only foreign girl, white at that (okay.... it that NOT PC to say?  well, when you are the only one with pink hues to your skin, I am white... I am not offending anyone by saying it, am I) well, whatever, that said... I am really different in their crowd.

I got invited to 'the party'.

A REAL local party!

It was an HONOR!  Can't even begin to explain.  The majority of guys don't speak one word of English.  It was over one month of me trying to keep up with them that they finally talked to me.  They allowed another foreigner into the group, Alex.  For months they couldn't figure out if I was American, French, Australian, or whatever...  Tuan did ask me for my phone number incase we get together.

I made homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies to share

Alex's wife Claudia and their son Jasper

Announcements and KTV

Gj came after his ride.  It was scorching HOT but he have a few 'iced' beers.  He was quite a hit! 

Tuan and his little girl, he was the first of the locals to speak to me!  Alex in the green with his girl Faber.

Auughh the beer girls... keeping all the beer cold.  Best to keep the glass full when you are finished.  You are never allowed an empty glass.

checking out the club's announcement board.  No clue what it says... 

Gained a few pounds over the summer.  Thinking we are getting to the bottom of whatever it is that's buggin me.  Hope to be back on my bike more 'full time' and my body returns to normal....and the weight will come off.  It isn't my choice... 

The beautiful people of Vietnam.  Its a happy time, times are good, propserity is in the air, the country has recovered from years of war, people are happy!

The Veitnamese are happy people.  You know, when I am riding around on my bike, its scary, the traffic is terrible, but everyone is smiling...  I think to myself, "why are we so hung up on being pissed all the time?"...  If there is anything I learned from living in Vietnam is that, "happiness, its a choice!"

Dude's blog

I always refer to my son as, "dude".  Don't know why... anyhow... they keep blogs as a school project.  They are learning how to be responsible internet users.

He wants a lot of hits...

Click here:  especially friends not from Vietnam!!  Its also on my blog list:  I'm awesome and you know it!

http://blog.ssis.edu.vn/ehaugbro17/

Thanks....

Tour de Bintan - Training Week #1

and a painful one at that!  So, this Bintan thing....  hmph...  I debated, debated, debated... do I go, do I not.  If I go, can I endure the crappy training here in Ho Chi Minh City?  So, then Rachel came along...  there's another Canadian couple, Shannon and Claude.  There's Kristof, and Mike, and I think there are actually other guys that ride road bikes in this City that are not just out for the morning sprint! 

After 13 months of riding alone (bascially) knowing every bump and pot hole on the Nguyen Van Linh intimately.  Being brushed by stuff being hauled off on motorcycles and lets not forget, the yelling, whistles, occasional harassments...  I decide, "Yes, I will go to Bintan".

Anza Cycling:  http://www.anzacycling.com/ will have about 14 women.  The last time I saw 14 women on a bicycle was November 14th, 2009 at the last race I did in Taiwan.  Not even teh Tour of Friendship as many of the registered women did not come (due to the violent political situation in Thailand at the time).  How can I possibly NOT go?

Sunday:  rest

Monday:  60km w/ Rachel, one NVL loop followed by 3 Industrial Laps.

Tuesday:  45km, one bridge lap then out with the boys.  Dropped fairly quickly.

Wednesday:  Tried to fly to Singapore... flight cancelled.

Thurday: rest

Friday:  70km, one bridge lap then out with boys followed with another lap.  Boys actually rode only 35 - 42kph and we actually behaved like a team of cyclists.  They were the District 7 guys and they were actually quite patient with me... 

Saturday:  103km - one bridge lap, three NVL.  Met up w/ Rachel at some point, met a new guy Mike who is a teacher at ISHCMC (ish-mic), and rode a bit with Alex (when he was done humilating me wiht his stupidly fast speed!)

so, total for the week:  278km.  None on a trainer or roller, so... happy about that!

next week will be tougher to get that mileage in as I am soooo busy with PTA.  But, I am hopeful Wednesday can be a triple digit day and I can build the endurance I need.

Where is the love?

Other then a cool 'Black-eye'd Peas' song...  I got a special invitation to join my Singaporean/Malaysian girlfriends helping a shelter for unwed moms.  Oh...  it was raining harder then I have seen without a typhoon in years....  Eirik and I made our way to Christine's house and were totally drenched!  It was only 2 blocks away and we had umbrellas.  The streets were completely flooded with water as the thunder and lightening was all around us.  But, we had a date:  4:00pm!

me, Jane (Malaysian friend), Linda (Singaporean friend).... our little dudes....

Jane with some of the young mothers getting ready to have their babies.  These girls were shamed by their families and had no where to turn.  The shelter helps them mend the relationships between the girls and their parents so that he babies can have a healthy environment. 

Sadly, some of the babies are simply abandoned.

Many of the babies become toddlers.... and are still in the shelters.

Fortunately, many of the moms are able to visit their children in the shelter and things are moving in the right direction.

Fortunately, many women have stepped up to 'foster' care for the babies (some of the foster moms are above).

106km today

You know, the movie Cast Away comes to mind....  the main character Chuck Nolan unexpectantly ends up on a desserted island.  After many tries of getting off the island, he realizes that this IS his life!

Then, one day...  the wind brings him the 1/2 shell of a portable bathroom.  He realizes that he can use this as a sail and get over the reef that had caused abandonment of all previous attempts off the island....

Well, today, life brought me 1/2 shell of a portable bathroom!

Like Chuck, the simple things that I took for grantid...  I really appreciate now.

When I moved to Vietnam, my cycling life felt lonely and like I was on a desserted island.  Over the months, I came to accept this.  Like Chuck, no choice.... you just have to make the most of what you have.  Cyclign in a group as the rest of the world knows it does NOT exist here for me!  There's the mad dash... scarey ride that I have written endlessly about...  and there's me... alone... riding... and that's what the majority of my cycling life has been.

Alex has been a good friend.  His ability is so much higher then mine, so when we join scarey ride,  he leads the crazy pack, eventually I fall out and that's kinda it...  I don't join for coffee very often.  Typically, I am trying to get home to get the kids off to school, or if it is a Saturday, I want triple digits and not willing to give up my time on the bike for coffee. 

Cycling is not a social activity for me at all.  It has taken pure determination and a tough mind to stay on my bike!  I have difused a LOT of crashes...gotten brushed by stuff on motorcycles, and if I got upset everytime some one made a lude gesture to me... I'd never stop crying.

I train so I can race.

Racing is NOT what it was for me in Taiwan.  Now, racing are oraginzed really cool rides.  It is rediculous to think I can acheive the results of Taiwan elsewhere when the training is as sucky as it is... but I go to the race to have an amazing ride (FAST - 36kph over 94km when ANZA controlled the peloton... a bit more then a ride), but it's okay.

I have adapted.

I have accepted my environment.

Like Chuck, my change in situation was 100% completely out of my control.  Of course, I could leave my husband and move back to the US, but cycling doesn't define me, my family does.  We were given and ultimatum...  vietnam or unemployment...  of course, I asked abuot the severence package.  and then.... guess what... you gotta go in 5 weeks.

blah, blah, blah,... if you kept up with my other blog:  www.wretch.cc/blog/bikermom you read it all to tears...

FINALLY, a new woman moved in the neighborhood!  FINALLY.  She rides a bike.... fast!  She's a very seasoned cyclist who used to ride...  She can hold her own with the boys.

I waited 14 months....

We went to the Industrial Park yesterday and I was talking 1000 words per second.  I told her, "Talking, English, Woman, Cycling"... do you know the last time I used those four words in a sentence, "I am speaking English with a woman on a bike!"????  Well, in Thailand.. yes... 

today, we tried to hook up, but things got all jumbled up, but eventually we finished the last 15km together.  I invited her over... Gj was so thrilled I have a girlfriend on a bike! 

anyhow... like Chuck, I feel unexpectantly, something has come my way that will get me out of this 'acceptable' situation! 

It's good.
I am happy.

NEKO - USA

Riding back in the USA with my Ghetto Bike!  It really is a Ghetto bike, it's very heavy, heavy wheels, wide road tires, not quite 'cross', but not racing tires....  and... the front derailer doesn't work.  If I can't manage the hill on the big chain ring... well... too bad! 

We have a cabin on the Puget Sound in Washington.  We split our time between there and Oregon.  All of our friends, doctors, etc is in Oregon so this year we spent two weeks camping out at our friends house, I had one week in San Francisco working, and the remaining at our cabin, only a 2 minute walk from my mom's house.

Most of my riding was in Washington.  If I was lucky, I rode 2 or 3 times a week.  With the heavy travel, those week, only 1 time but tried to walk a lot. 

This park was a 40km loop for me.  It is the most southern point of the Hood Canal (the part of the Puget Sound we live).  The roads are moderately dangerous with the narrow blind corners, however, given the crap I ride in in HCMC....  its amazing.

The weather on the water is cold.  This year, unseasonably cold.  Above was one of the warmest days for me.  Usually, I wore my 3/4 pants, wool socks, undershirt, jersey, fleece jacket, then my pink riding jacket.  I also wore a fleece hat under my helmet.  And... still cold.  But, the riding was so good, I just had to 'deal'... 

State Park, Potlatch Washington

Back in Vietnam

One very busy and too short summer break!  The kids got out of school on the 11th of June and begin in only two days!  They had exactly 2 months off.  Not quite the 2 1/2 we are used to in Taiwan and the US.  But, that is because they have a few more days off during the school year.

Riding wasn't what I hoped and I did absolutely no racing.  Health concerns kept me off my bike for a week, and running kids back and forth also kept me busy.  I worked for a week in San Fransico then was loaded with work there after!  But, good thing.... we bought a house and steady work means stead income! 

I hope to ride tomorrow, but it will be on the roller followed by trainer.  The rains is fairly unpredictable and with PTA President duties tomorrow... I best keep it at home.  I need to rebuild my nerve to ride in the chaos of HCMC scooter pelotons as well.  Today, on my market bike, I saw two accidents and that was in Phu My Hung, in the quiet suburb.... not even on the road!

... more later...