Luang Prabang to Kiewkacham; Kiewkacham to Phoukoun: Up into the Mountains

Ruth: Even if we had wifi or cell yesterday, which we didn't, I had no leftover energy to blog a single word. We have set a new personal record for vertical climbing in a single day: 1900 meters! Fortunately the road was well graded and stunning. By the time I rolled into the guesthouse at Kiewkacham, stuffed my face with noodles and soup I could barely stumble back to the room. I slept like the dead and was pleasantly surprised to find that in the morning I had mostly recovered.  

At each Hmong village that we passed we were once again greeted by every single child under the age of 10 yelling "Sabaidee" and waving. I am no longer playing the high-five game, as some of those lads wind up and hit hard. Many want to try out their English words on us as well. I had several wish me a good morning and two 15 year old boys said they love me! 

Our second day had some climbs, but nothing like our first day. We have seen four other cyclists in the last two days, including an Austrian cyclist staying at the same guesthouse tonight. Yesterday we met a Spanish guy who had lost his front and back brakes and was trying to brake by pushing his fender onto his tire.  We met him at the top of a 12 km downhill grade - I sure hope he made it safely down to Luang Prabang.

Our record breaking profile.