est and Chris is ready for some riding, so we get up at a decent hour and slowly get started. We are taking today easy, with only sixty kilometers on the agenda.We have been informed of a brand new road out of Nha Trang south to the new airport that later joins Highway 1. A few kilometers south of town, we get on the new road. Besides the occasional bus or truck, the road is mostly empty - I call it Cyclists' Delight. After passing a couple of new housing developments in the suburbs of Nha Trang with what looks like villas for the upper class that wants to escape the city, we ride on the billiards-table smooth blacktop out of the city proper. The road hugs the coast for a while and goes up a gentle hill, giving an expansive view of Nha Trang and its outlying islands surrounded 
by turquoise water. For the next thirty kilometers, the quiet road snakes through a couple of hills and small sandy areas before straightening out into a broad boulevard heading toward the new airport. The whole way, there isn't one drink stall or vendor. Perhaps this is due to the road going through uninhabited areas, or it could be that the road is so new, people haven't yet had a chance to set up their stands on the side of the road.
by turquoise water. For the next thirty kilometers, the quiet road snakes through a couple of hills and small sandy areas before straightening out into a broad boulevard heading toward the new airport. The whole way, there isn't one drink stall or vendor. Perhaps this is due to the road going through uninhabited areas, or it could be that the road is so new, people haven't yet had a chance to set up their stands on the side of the road.After a long strech without seeing any place for food or drinks, we finally spot a restaurant over a large pond by a river. Hungry and thirsty, we stop for lunch. Walking past groups of men in business attires eating expensive-looking dishes, we sit down at a table. I see a waitress grilling what looks like squid on a little charcoal grill. I ask how much it is for a plate of rice with the squid. "Twenty thousand dong," she said. That sounds good, so we each order a plate. After a
while, two plates of fried rice with white strips on top come out. We take a closer look - the white strips are tubular, looking more like worms than squid. The waitstaff, not speaking a word of English, can only tell us the strips are called "xa sung." I take a bite, it's chewy. After a lot of hand-waving and pointing to the pond by the waitstaff and a customer at the next table, we can only gather that it is something that lives in the mud at the bottom of the pond. Also, it is supposed to be "one of the five foods that are very good for you," according to the customer at the next table. I don't want to ask what the other four are. Well, we ordered it, and it doesn't taste bad, might as well eat it. I start to eat while Chris picks around the worms. Whatever "xa sung" is, it had better not give me some kind of parasite.
while, two plates of fried rice with white strips on top come out. We take a closer look - the white strips are tubular, looking more like worms than squid. The waitstaff, not speaking a word of English, can only tell us the strips are called "xa sung." I take a bite, it's chewy. After a lot of hand-waving and pointing to the pond by the waitstaff and a customer at the next table, we can only gather that it is something that lives in the mud at the bottom of the pond. Also, it is supposed to be "one of the five foods that are very good for you," according to the customer at the next table. I don't want to ask what the other four are. Well, we ordered it, and it doesn't taste bad, might as well eat it. I start to eat while Chris picks around the worms. Whatever "xa sung" is, it had better not give me some kind of parasite.
With that bit of drama over, we cross the bridge next to the restaurant and come to a drink stand with coconuts on the ground and hammocks strung up on poles. Here I introduce Chris to the pleasure of enjoying coconut juice while swinging on a hammock - perfect antidote for a hot day like this.
Just for a perfect ending for the first day of riding together with Chris, a nice tailwind makes the second half of the ride effortless. We reach our destination of Ba Ngoi just before the sun sets.
Stats:
Distance: 58.5 km
Time: 2h 49m
Average speed: 20.8 km/h
Maximum speed: 58.5 km/h
Odometer: 1222.6 km
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