THE NUMBERS

It’s been already 2 weeks since Peter ended his bike trip safely and I still didn’t found the time to share the arrival and other details with you. Shame on me!

So they arrived that Sunday exactly on time in An Phu. The last ride had been extremely hot, crossing the flat treeless Mekong Delta landscapes, totally deprived from the smallest bit of shade. A few kms before the finish, in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, pouring rain welcomed them home and kick starting the rainy season here.
Not only rain but a bunch of good friends showed up at the arrival venue La Plancha to cheer and make it a memorable event. Thank you all for coming over!

And now it’s time for the numbers.
We calculated Peter rode about 1100 km. (including the wrong turns and excluding 2 transfers by car and bus to get out of the city centre of Bangkok and Phnom Penh).

As of today you all donated 3964 USD !
This being almost enough to help 5 children have a live saving surgery.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Unfortunately I got a lot of messages from people who wanted to donate via the VCF website, but their credit card bounced back. Apologies for this inconvenience and let it not be a reason not to donate!
There is still an opportunity to donate until the end of this week, after that we give the money to Heartbeat and I will keep you posted how it is spend.

For the those living in Europe, you can transfer to our account :
ING

IBAN: BE35 3200 4433 5437

Begunstigde : ARTS-PIRA Peter & Hedwig

For those living in Vietnam, you can use our account below:
HSBC    The Metropolitan, 235, Dong Khoi Street, Dist.1 HCMC

Swift : HSBCVNVX

Account: Hedwig R.J.T. PIRA   090-069659-001 (VND) or 090-069659-141 (USD)

                                       

MANY STRONG STORIES ;)

TOMORROW : ARRIVAL IN SAIGON !

 Last call for those living in Saigon :

JOIN THE ARRIVAL OF movingARTS tomorrow @ LA PLANCHA  - EXPECTED 4 PM
Tran Ngoc Dien, No. 25, An Phu

So what happened after the frites mayonnaise?
Peter had a nice sleep over in a civilized boutique hotel.
Friday morning he had a meeting with one of our customers (imagine, again in his biking cloths :), a belgian architect who uses our tiles for his project “the Governor’s House”  Apparently very beautiful and your next stop in Phnom Penh !
After that he took the bus to get out of the city center (50 km) to the ferry where he found a hotel across the river. He went to bed early to wake up Saturday early at 4 AM. Distance to go to the Cam-VNese border : 120 km

FLAT & HOT


The arrival in VN was a bit of a bummer. The hotel we booked in Binh Hiep was a rendez-vous hotel ++, no place to meet with your friends, so Peter spent his whole afternoon looking for a better place.  This costed him an extra 40 km + a sunburn.
(I do hope you will all sponsor these extra km double!!)

To the border of Binh Hiep!

FLAT & HOT & ALMOST THERE

Peter Arrived in Phnom Penh this evening

Yes you read it well.  This evening after 5 1/2 days biking and a ride of 180 km today Peter arrived in Phnom Penh, 1 full day before schedule.

Wow, Peter!
When he called he was enjoying AC and wifi and a steak frites mayonnaise at a chique restaurant in his biking cloths.

The last 2 days he crossed such remote areas he was finally only connected to nature itself.

All his IT gadgets couldn’t show him the way. Nowhere wifi or internet and even no power in the places he stayed over, so no batteries to charge and no GPS. Hahaha!

He is “obliged” now to take it easy tomorrow, act as a tourist in Phnom Penh, because it wouldn’t be convenient if he arrived 1 day early in Saigon.

The status after day 6 : 808 km done
                                269 km to go
Further plan :
Fri & Sat : a ride of 158 km from PPH to the Vietnamese border at Binh Hiep
Saturday afternoon Simon, Erik & Steven drive to Binh Hiep to join Peter.
Sunday they bike all together the last ride of 110 km to Saigon/An Phu.

To the citizens of An Phu & Saigon :
If you’re around please be welcome to join the cheering upon arrival of the "movingArts charity ride BKK-SG” @ La Plancha, Tran Ngoc Dien 25, An Phu. Arrival expected Sunday around 4 pm.

magnificent dawn

Thai border

 Cambodia !

simple breakfast today

unexpected lunch

                                                         The challenge 

                                                         The progress

The National Park Cafe

Last chance to buy water

I’m really alone! (without shade)

No off road anymore !

                                                                                        

Road block

Possible  road block

Beware !

THE KILOMETERS UP TILL NOW

Peter finished yesterday the 4th day (1 May).  He is in good form, enjoying every bit of the route Simon designed for him.
In the morning he leaves quite early when it is still dark to bike 2 hours before having breakfast, then he continues as long as possible before the heat catches up with him. The rainy season is starting, so he had already a few showers on the way, welcome indeed, but when there is no shelter at all, he must take care his equipment doesn’t get soaked, and his muscles don’t cool down too quickly.

Then in the afternoon he would bike eventually a bit more.
Problem is, he needs to stick quite strict to the schedule as he trespasses areas where there is completely nothing, no villages and certainly no hotels or even locals to stay over for the night. So as you can imagine, when he reaches the destination of the day and decides to continue because he still feels fit...? Simon and I shout “No!!" in the phone during one of the very few communications we have, because the only option would be to continue to de destination of the next day.
Waiting however is a very difficult one for Peter ... ! :))
After day 2 he entered the mountains and ever since it has only been mountains. Magnificent, he told me, so beautiful and energizing that he was able to continue, despite the fact it was only up and up and up.

Yesterday we received a phone call at 1 PM, he was already in Mairood, the stop of day 4. We tried to persuade him to enjoy a nice rest...We failed.  Yesterday evening he called again, saying he reached the destination of day 5 (Ta Tai), crossed the Cambodian border already. He was just in time to find the little boat that would bring him to the hotel before dawn, otherwise he would never have found it he said.

So the status after day 4 : 537 km done (100 km by car)
                                     539 km to go

Tomorrow there are even higher mountains on the menu...

For those who wants to follow the route in detail go to http://connect.garmin.com/
sign in : arts.of.flying   password : heartbeat   go to : courses

Leaving before dusk

continuous climbing




Don’t they have a downhill here?

Thank you Simon !

 

breakfast  & lunch

 

no shelter

 

off road

FINALLY !

flowers and pineapple everywhere!

Is this on the menu tomorrow?