Laos – Exploration notes

A word, a simple expression, which feels like a religion. Didier had warned me about the Lao culture, the country he fell in love with, 5 years ago as he was exploring every single jungle roads and trails on a typical Chinese motorbike.

Even though the words of a trustworthy friend have special meanings, you can’t really define what Laos can bring as an exploration destination and as a cycling potential country before heading there and figuring out by yourself. Still relatively unexplored, it offers a mix of super welcoming people, spectacular landscapes and a rare feeling of unexplored territory as soon as you hit the bike and meet people on the roads. Read on.

I had read several articles about the northern part of the country which hides the Annamite and Luang Prabang mountain ranges. I read stories about elephants, about the ethnic people leaving in the country and the “country of the million smiles” but I wasn’t close from what we were about to experience accompanied by Nicolas (finisher of IncaDivide 2018), David (extreme photographer and drone filmmaker) and Didier (legendary driver of millions of kilometers on all kinds of vehicules).

Landing in Luang Prabang city dived us immediately into the warmth atmosphere of the country. As the plane was descending on the crest of the mountains surrounding the UNESCO cultural capital city of the country, we were already blessed by a special light mirrored by the green jungle landscapes. Heat and humidity enveloped us instantly after the plane door had opened. The lightly dressed Lao, mixed with the uniforms of the Boudhist monks walking on the roads, make it obvious for cyclists, don’t bring leg and arm warmers here! The heat is sometimes so high that you lust for a pouring torrential rain which unfortunately never last. The clothes dry instantly and you’re back into that special feeling of exploring the South-Eastern Pearl of Asia…

The race course we selected is focus on a “warmup” leg, starting from the human-size city of Luang Prabang which feels like an historical oasis for people willing to explore Laos: great hotels, good food and moments to remember where you can be having the best breakfast of your life by the Mekong river and witnessing at the same time the early bird Lao citylife. The smiles and the eyes are here, enveloping you as you leave the city towards Pakbeng village. Rolling hills along the Mekong river and an early bird start of the race will make it “easy” to reach Pakbeng checkpoint hosted by the spectacular Sanctuary Hotel. 327 km of small hills, rice fields, jungle views, on an overall very good tarmac makes the ride an enjoyable first objective to reach. Hitting CP1 at daylight will be quite a challenge as daylight is relatively short in Laos (12hours). The fastest riders will enjoy the elephants bath in the Mekong by the window of the hotel as they will enjoy a typical “Khao pat” (fried rice), one of the best carbohydrates meal you can have all along the race course!

The Mekong river was definitely something on my mind since our first investigations of building an event in Laos. Riding along one of the longest river in the world, always brings this rare feeling of exploration you have when you witness the strength and beauty of Nature from your handlebar. Being born with a Vietnamese grandmother surely increased the call of the wild I had when we were planning to head to Laos.

The leg 2 from Pakbeng to Kasi climb (1,800 meters) was definitely a lifechanging experience. As we were exploring with Nicolas the bumpy tarmac with mixed muddy terrain on some sections (the country’s nature makes it impossible to maintain an impeccable road network), we took to the next level the gravel experience of literally exploring the jungle. For those of you who rode in Taiwan, “the jungle section” is an “appetizer” compared to what can be experienced in Laos. Meeting elephants, wild buffalos and jungle wildlife surely helped to boost our endorphins to the paroxysm and bring to life that raw feeling of exploration. The wooden houses built on the side of the road, the rural lifestyle of Lao people met on the road and the idea you could have about South-East Asia is gone forever.

My heart was pumping blood and soaking all that experience. Having cycled in super remote areas around the world, Laos definitely brings something intensely unique, if you dare to ride the less traveled roads and come to discover the typical rural lifestyle of the country. If you dare to explore, the rewards are as warm as the thermometer of your GPS which sometimes hit  +40°C. Smiling and screaming kids high fiving your right hand as you ride across every village, warm faces of these unknown people greeting you with one single magic word “Sabaidee” (Hello in Lao) feel like you are the first to ride a bicycle to these regions. The very few cars met on the road are stopping to ask about your destination, motorbikes are laughing to see you wearing a cycling kit and being in the aerobars focused on speed. Overall, we didn’t meet any single Lao who wasn’t astonished to see us riding in these areas.

All that natural kindheartedness met on the road is a must-have to tackle BikingMan Laos though. God, what a challenge! Laos feels like an unlimited hill which can bless your soul with the most spectacular downhill on the crest of a mountain, mind-blowing views on rice-fields, “sugarloaf” style mountains and at the same time it can curse you with the steepest and treacherous small climbs I had ever experienced on my bicycle. If you search for a flat course, stay in the Netherlands! We decided with Didier and David to put Checkpoint 2 on one of the highest pass of Laos peaking at 1,800 meters. The “Kasi climb” as we named it (Kasi is the city at the bottom of the ascent) will put all your biggest climbs to the closet. Picture this: a 9km stretch of 13% gradient average and not a single flat section to recover, either you go all-in or you will walk! The good news is, our volunteers will be waiting for you on top, day and night! As every climb we put in all BikingMan events, the view on top is otherworldly and worth the effort…

The last leg from CP2 to Luang Prabang took us on an old crest road which summed up the BIkingMan spirit in a stretch of only 180km: Explore Endure Empower. You literally go on all these stages several time in a row during the day. Reaching Luang Prabang will feel like a splendid relief for the athletes with the peaceful Mekong river and the numerous temples you will see before the finishline…

Welcome to the jungle, with a smile . You will be a maximum of 50 athletes on the starting line in May 2019, don’t wait up to get your slot.