I drove a motorbike for the first time yesterday. It was probably my 5th time on one ever, and driving it was sort of a trial by fire.
I had a false start in Dalat- I planned to rent a semi-automatic bike (gear shifters, right foot brake), but I couldn't get it to go into gear with the directions of our hotelier. In retrospect, I probably wasn't giving it enough gas as I shifted from neutral to first, especially since I was starting it on a hill.
Here in Phu Quoc, renting an automatic bike (no shifters, brakes on the handlebars- a scooter) costs $5.25 a day, paid in cash up front. If you can drive it away from the person renting it out, you can drive it anywhere, so the logic goes.
I acknowledge that riding a scooter isn't the same challenge as a motorcycle. That said, my first 30 yards of riding went up a steep hill, over rocks that almost bottomed out the shocks, and finally up a steep hill with dust and gravel.
The bikes come with the fuel gauge on empty, so I had a low-speed warmup as I cruised around looking for a gas station. Then, with Daria on back, we headed into the hills, bound for Bai Thom beach.
The roads in town are wide and paved. There are stoplights and signs. As you leave town, the paved surface gives way to a red dirt track, but at least the track was smooth.
The road got steadily worse as we went. Most of the road was under construction, so there were dump trucks and steamrollers and various earth movers. While getting around the machinery was nerve-wracking, we went slow, and so did everyone else. Despite the relative lack of traffic laws here, since everyone rides motorcycles, it's probably safer than in the US for bikers.
I tipped the bike once, deep in the hills. The road was worst where there were muddy portions with ruts dug by trucks and construction equipment. I was probably going 5mph down a hill, trying to ride in a rut, when I hit a patch of mud several inches deep and the front tire slid it from under me. Daria was fine. I had a very minor scrape on my knee, and was pretty muddy, but only my pride was really hurt.
I didn't put much gas in when we set out, since I had no clue what I was doing. So up in the hills we were running out of gas. There aren't gas stations in the boonies, but most convenience stores have plasic bottles of gas on a little wooden cart out front. So, after some confusion regarding the price, a kid poured gas through a filters funnel into my tank, holding his dripping popsicle out of the way of the pour.
We eventually made it to Bai Thom beach, we think. We made it to a beach in Bai Thom, at least. We parked the scooter under a palm tree within view of the water, and waded around. It wasn't the most scenic of beaches (we'd picked it more or less at at random), but we had it to ourselves, save for a couple of fishermen.
When we made it back I was a much better motorbike rider. I handled the mud much better in my rematch, and the worst we suffered was sunburns on the tops of our legs and the back of our necks from the ride. There was one confusing spot where a dumptruck working on one side of the mud had blocked off our side with its pile of dirt. I stopped, confused, trying to figure out where to go. The dumptruck driver laughed at us from his cab, and pointed to a less tall pile of dirt. Up and over it we went- doing as the natives do.
I had a false start in Dalat- I planned to rent a semi-automatic bike (gear shifters, right foot brake), but I couldn't get it to go into gear with the directions of our hotelier. In retrospect, I probably wasn't giving it enough gas as I shifted from neutral to first, especially since I was starting it on a hill.
Here in Phu Quoc, renting an automatic bike (no shifters, brakes on the handlebars- a scooter) costs $5.25 a day, paid in cash up front. If you can drive it away from the person renting it out, you can drive it anywhere, so the logic goes.
I acknowledge that riding a scooter isn't the same challenge as a motorcycle. That said, my first 30 yards of riding went up a steep hill, over rocks that almost bottomed out the shocks, and finally up a steep hill with dust and gravel.
The bikes come with the fuel gauge on empty, so I had a low-speed warmup as I cruised around looking for a gas station. Then, with Daria on back, we headed into the hills, bound for Bai Thom beach.
The roads in town are wide and paved. There are stoplights and signs. As you leave town, the paved surface gives way to a red dirt track, but at least the track was smooth.
The road got steadily worse as we went. Most of the road was under construction, so there were dump trucks and steamrollers and various earth movers. While getting around the machinery was nerve-wracking, we went slow, and so did everyone else. Despite the relative lack of traffic laws here, since everyone rides motorcycles, it's probably safer than in the US for bikers.
I tipped the bike once, deep in the hills. The road was worst where there were muddy portions with ruts dug by trucks and construction equipment. I was probably going 5mph down a hill, trying to ride in a rut, when I hit a patch of mud several inches deep and the front tire slid it from under me. Daria was fine. I had a very minor scrape on my knee, and was pretty muddy, but only my pride was really hurt.
I didn't put much gas in when we set out, since I had no clue what I was doing. So up in the hills we were running out of gas. There aren't gas stations in the boonies, but most convenience stores have plasic bottles of gas on a little wooden cart out front. So, after some confusion regarding the price, a kid poured gas through a filters funnel into my tank, holding his dripping popsicle out of the way of the pour.
We eventually made it to Bai Thom beach, we think. We made it to a beach in Bai Thom, at least. We parked the scooter under a palm tree within view of the water, and waded around. It wasn't the most scenic of beaches (we'd picked it more or less at at random), but we had it to ourselves, save for a couple of fishermen.
When we made it back I was a much better motorbike rider. I handled the mud much better in my rematch, and the worst we suffered was sunburns on the tops of our legs and the back of our necks from the ride. There was one confusing spot where a dumptruck working on one side of the mud had blocked off our side with its pile of dirt. I stopped, confused, trying to figure out where to go. The dumptruck driver laughed at us from his cab, and pointed to a less tall pile of dirt. Up and over it we went- doing as the natives do.
This is a good paved road.
This is a good unpaved road. Sadly, we have no pictures of the badly torn up roads- we were too busy riding.
Bai Thom Beach? A beach in Bai Thom.
1 comment:
can't see the pictures here or in "decorating for foreigners"... a little help?
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