A little diversion.

Or how quickly a lot of little errors turn into a big one.

Having rested for a day and a bit I felt well enough to move on. The weather was good and I was up early with a plan.

It was still jumper and coat to start with but the sun was warming, the roads were dry and visibility was fantastic. The first 40km took me to the turning for Bac Yen a further 60km but hopefully worth it. I would need fuel at some stage. I still hadn’t found anywhere open to get phone credit.

Those 40km went by quickly and a decission was made. I’m going back to Dinosaur Backbone. The views were so much better this time and I was beginning to warm up.

Just before Bac Yen a petrol station, but no need I know there is one next to the place I stayed near the start of the trail. I rode up past where I got the great cloud photos and onto the little village at the top, pulling into the petrol station, it was closed. Well ok I’m not on reserve yet so I’ll carry on.

You can ride down this bit. I did and had a lovely time chatting with people and having my photo taken with them. The coat and hoody now stashed away.

I set up the 360 camera and rode back up. It was a bit of a test for the little bike and required clutch slipping at some points as it was quite steep. At the road I stopped to get some water and check the camera was still mounted properly. It was loose and wasn’t flashing to say it had recorded. I turned it on to find the SD card was not pushed in correctly. so no video of that bit. That resolved and working I got on the bike and headed off down the paved part of the trail.

Oh bugger I didn’t get any water, I’m sure there will be more places further along. The paving turned to gravel, to mud. Hard packed mud so no big issue. Within 20 minutes it was single track mud and dust on the side of the mountain.

The scenery was great and the riding more and more challenging. The little Honda was fully loaded with me and luggage, the hills sapped her power and there were several drops that made me think we’ll not get back up that we’re committed to this now.

There were places wide enough to stop, especially where the trail split into two. There are no maps or directions, my navigation had long ago given up showing any path. I chose the path that looked most used.

Pinning my hopes on a petrol station at the end of the trail. A trail I had been warned became very difficult near the end, when I said I was planning to ride it on a group on the Internet.

The thought of turning round was not good I had committed to several drops that would be beyond the bikes ability, but now I was on a path just wider than the bike. Either side was a sharp drop or incline and that was no longer rock but dusty earth offering no grip.

I could see a guy walking towards me. I switched off the engine and reached for some water. I only had 500ml from the hotel as I’d not purchased any when I had the chance.

The chap stopped and I asked if a bike could get through. No! He made it quite clear I needed to go back. How the hell do I turn round now?

The bike was easy enough to unload and I got rid of my riding gear and backpack.

The guy looked on as I pushed it backwards to a slightly wider part, man it was hot. In my youth as a trials rider I would have popped the front wheel in the air and spun it round on one foot. Here, I wasn’t sure Lilly had the power to loft the wheel high enough or me the skills to get it round. If anything went wrong, we would both be off down the mountain. So the only option was to drop the front wheel down the slope and try to turn it before we went too far down. The dust was deep and offered no purchase, by now the guy had grabbed the rack preventing the rear of the bike from sliding round which it needed to do if I was ever getting back up. Every time I pulled the front up the slope it slid back down. The bike now facing straight down the slope.

At this point, out of nowhere, a group of lads appeared and came to help. Between us, in about 20 minutes the bike was back on the track facing the correct way. I was shattered, Lilly had put on weight for sure. It must have been the dust, heat and angle of the slope that made it such hard work.

We all high fived and laughed at the lunacy of the crazy Brit, but now I had to get back and I wasn’t sure I had enough fuel. I definitely didn’t have enough water.

Waving goodbye, carefully I started back the way I had come. I had already thanked my Dad, a few times, for encouraging me to ride trials competitions. Now I needed to put those years of experience into practice proper. ‘Man it’s hot!’

A few little climbs over rocks, the very ones I had said to myself ‘thank god your going this way’, less than an hour before. Paddling to help Lilly climb was draining me, I was overheating. I stopped, removing my crash helmet I downed what was left of the water. Then tunnel vision came and I quickly sat down, I was passing out. Laying down with my knees up I waited for it to pass. Why is this happening? Oh wait you’ve been ill for three days and haven’t eaten for at least 36 hours. How stupid can one person be? Oh, stupid enough to be here alone with no phone credit and no safety beacon. “IDIOT”

I was up the first climb but there were at least three more I could remember and some dodgy bridges. I couldn’t put my helmet back on it made me feel ill. Great, I’m on the verge of passing out and my primary safety feature is now bungeed to the saddle. It worked well.

Next was a climb with two hairpin turns. I considered removing all the luggage, but I wasn’t up for the walk back to collect it all. I braced myself and fired Lilly at it in first gear. By the first corner I was feet down and pushing but it wasn’t enough and despite trying to slip the clutch to build engine revs, it was too much and she cut out. I could barely hold her upright. I waited for about a minute before trying again. Somehow we made it but again I was shattered and had to rest. I laid down for a few minutes before trying again but it was too soon, so back down I went.

Luckily I seemed to be picking the right path. It levelled off but I was acutely aware that I was struggling to lean into the upside of the mountain. That made me wobble lots and man I ached. 

Another climb and another stop. This time because a bungee had come undone and wrapped round the wheel, eventually breaking. The bike had stalled. My crash helmet was being dragged along the ground on the remaining bungee. I started to sort that out by untangling the bungee wrapped round the chain and sprocket, at which point I unclipped my crash helmet and it slipped from my grip, rolling off down the mountain. Luckily it got caught on a rock some 20m away.

Once back on the trail it was wider and less treacherous. I could feel all the strength in my arms had gone and I just sat on the bike slowly heading back. At the first roadside stop, the onecwhere I didnt buy water, I stopped and dragged myself off the bike. There were several little stores and one guy called me over. “Come, come, sit down, you need water”. It wasn’t a question he literally knew. I sat on the chair he provided and he came over with a bottle of water. He then said “You need energy I have food, wait I’ll get some, no charge”. Maybe this is a ploy he uses or his English makes it sound like he could see I wasn’t 100%. Anyway I chose egg, rice and hot dog sausage. It was delicious. I was busy scoffing when he appeared again with a bag and promptly covered what was left with a black shredded substance that tasted of oily fish. It was awful, so I picked around it. I had another water and a Coke. Within thirty minutes I was back on form although I ached.

What followed was my only smart move of the day. I parked outside the lodge I had stayed in a few days before on my first visit, jumped on their WiFi and booked a hotel in Bac Yen.

The rest of the day was good. I found a great guy who helped put credit on my phone, I ate delicious fried rice and slept really well.

Many little things came together to make the day what it was, but I ignored them until it was stupidly late. I count myself lucky to have got through it unscathed. However until that moment the path dried up I was loving it, testing myself and the bike on an incredibly beautiful trail.

I pride myself on knowing my limits both solo and in a group. Staying safe is a priority, but somehow, I let all that slip for the chance to ride a trail denied me the first time. Lesson learnt. No one got injured and I continue unscathed but a little wiser.