Bicycle Revolution

The past couple of weeks I have been looking into getting a new bike. Part of the urge for a new bike is because I don't really trust my old one for longer rides since, well, it is getting old.  The second reason is because on my runs in the morning over the past couple of months I have noticed a large number of Vietnamese on name brand and higher quality bikes that were probably purchased locally, and that observation has given me an itch.

Last weekend I was walking down Ba Trieu Street and dropped into one of the bike shops. There were several bikes that I was interested in and it may be that I go back to buy one in the next couple of weeks.  I do need to figure out what I am going to do with my old one, though. I think the best plan is to send it to Danang and use it ride in that area when I am there on business (which is fairly often).

It seems it wasn't that long ago that you couldn't buy a decent bike in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi. I had looked on more than one occasion, but couldn't seem to find one that I thought was "real". Over this past year, the market has really picked up and it seems the local population has really taken a shine to riding around West Lake in the mornings. It seems like the majority of the riders are older Vietnamese men, and it could be that bike riding is an acceptable fitness alternative to running - an infinitely more damaging sport on the legs.

While I contemplate my new acquisition, I will enjoy the fall weather that rolled in two days ago on my old bike.

She Left Me

      My wife has gone and left me again.  Not in a good way, she will be back in a couple of days.  She has a project going on in Saigon and has spent more time there than here in Hanoi in the last two months.
      Megan and I have been left to our own devices, which more literally translated means we will be eating pizza and drinking Coke for the next couple of days. Megan drinking Coke is my fault because I pointed out the 47 calories per 100 ml written on the side of the can.  He rmother had her believing that a can of Coke was host to a legion of calories. I truly hope I haven't derailed Megan's diet plans, but I don't think a Coke every week or two is going to make that much difference in her overall caloric intake.
      It has rained every day since I returned from Danang last week.  I don't mind the rain too much, but the dirt and mud mixed with untold bacteria on the streets has put a temporary halt to my morning runs.  Too bad, because I was whipped quite soundly by my co-worker and fellow Alabamian when we ran in Danang.  I find myself still stinging and the only way to right this wrong is to get some road work in.
      I have a couple of big projects coming up and the end of the year is right around the corner. I have Megan thinking aobut what she wants for Christmas already because it may take some time to get whatever she wants back to Vietnam. Of course, I haven't dismissed the possibility of being stateside this Christmas season.

Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

So, as I was reading T. Roosevelt's autobiography, he referenced Pudd'nhead Wilson.  If I remember correctly, Dad used the word Pudd'nhead on more than one occasion - and, regardless, he did seem to find the word pudd'n in general very funny.  I Googled Pudd'nhead and found the word was partially the title of Mark Twain's short novel, "The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson".  In this process, I also found that Amazon offered the book for the Kindle free of charge.  Not apt to pass up the opportunity to read a book with such a title written by such a prolific American satirist, I downloaded it and just finished reading it. In brief, an excellent read, but not very politically correct, and I found myself slogging through the slave syntax quite slowly.

On other points of interest, I am back in Danang seeing the teams off tomorrow and tying up some other loose investigation ends that have been lying around.  Yesterday I went to Hoi An to talk to a bar owner who had some information to follow up on.  He owns the Sleepy Gecko Chillout Bar and runs what appears to be a fairly busy bike tour outfit.  He has an expatriate bartender who looks much like Harry Potter - to the point I almost said in my worst British accent, "Har-ry Pot-ta" when I first saw him. I somehow managed to curb that impulse, very uncharacteristically I might add.

I will return to Hanoi on Thursday, and barring any last minute meetings that I can't avoid, I plan to take Friday off.  Diep and I need some "us" time and I see Friday as a great day to do that.