A few days ago, we rode motorcycles north from Phou Khoun to Luang Prabang. The mountainous north/south highway we took is also on our cycling route. Tomorrow, we'll be retracing some of our steps, as we head south on the same road towards Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.
Thanks to the track we logged on our GPS, we know the exact elevation profile for the first part of our ride. We had a hunch this would be a tough day of pedaling, and we were right. The graph in MapSource shows a full 2,000 meters of climbing (approximately 6,600 feet). *gulp*
The guest-houses between Luang Prabang and Phou Koun are inconveniently located at the 25 and 70 kilometer marks. So, it looks like we'll be doing both ascents in one go. This will be the most climbing we've ever done in one day—we didn't even climb this much when we crossed the Swiss Alps!
Besides spending the day mentally preparing, we're cleaning the bikes, changing brake pads and stocking up on snacks. We've also begun scouring the web for possible flights back to the US. We'll be embarking on new adventures a little closer to home very soon!