Familiar but strange curves
When I was a child, when I didn't know what "phượt" was, in my imagination, Tam Dao was a remote land located halfway between clouds and mountains. That name evokes a feeling of being both high and cold, and difficult to reach.
Now, Tam Dao is much closer. On weekends, young people drive motorbikes to visit, families drive cars to come and rest. For many people, the road to Tam Dao is probably no longer unfamiliar: winding, many slopes and the higher up, the cooler the air.
But if you talk about cycling to Tam Dao, the story is different. Listeners often widen their eyes: "Going all the way up there?".
For long-distance cyclists like us, it is a familiar challenge. The road to Tam Dao is about 10km long, with an elevation increased by nearly 900m. We have traveled many times to the point of knowing each hairpin turn, knowing which section starts to be steep, which corners have hidden corners, and which sections can take advantage of regaining strength.
The scenery is so familiar that it can be predicted, but the body and spirit each time are different. The achievements of the previous trip become a milestone for the next time to try a little more. Some days healthy, pedaling in one go. Some days tired, having to rest many times. Some days the weather is beautiful, some days the sun is harsh. Therefore, although the route does not change, each conquest is a different story.
Today, we invited each other to play a mini game: Whoever goes to the top first will be rewarded with an ice cream. The reward is not much, but in the middle of summer, an ice cream tree on the top of Tam Dao is enough to make the whole group excited.
Starting at 5:30 am from Song Thiep bridge, but the alarm bell has rang since 4 am. Some people choose to pedal straight to the top and then down to eat breakfast. Some people walk while taking advantage of recharging energy. And we just cling to each other and pedal, occasionally chatting a few sentences to forget the heat that is getting harder and harder.
The total travel distance in a day is 150km.
I still remember the first time I cycled to Tam Dao. Hearing my teammates say there was no water along the way, I volunteered to carry 5 liters for the whole group. When climbing the new slope, each liter of water in the backpack at that time became a burden on my feet.
Another time, because of thirst in the middle of the road, I and a friend had to wave a car on the top of the slope down to ask for water. The people of Tam Dao at that time were still enthusiastic to give us water, some even brought more candies. Such times made a road that was originally only steep and curves more memorable.
8km. Then 5km. There are still 3km... The distance ahead is getting shorter and shorter, the strength is also reduced. Legs are starting to weaken, but the peak is in front of our eyes. We encouraged each other to try harder.
For cyclists, the moment of reaching the peak always has a very unique feeling. After dozens of turns and slopes that seemed to last forever, finally the feet took me to where I needed to go.
Another Tam Dao after each wheel turn
Arriving at the town, we started a familiar exploration round again. Tam Dao today has a much more modern appearance than I imagined when I was little. Homestays are in succession, high-rise hotels are located halfway up the mountain, small crowded streets. Tourists are busy checking in, laughter and voices are interspersed among rows of houses.
Once I went up on the occasion of Tam Dao organizing a music and dance festival. The performances made me stand and watch them for a long time, and when I came back, I felt regret.
After that, we often cycled further to the milestone number 0, where Tam Dao National Park is recorded. A friend in the group once went through the forest and told about the roads in the mountains and forests, beautiful but also a bit mysterious. Just hearing that, I wanted to try it once.
Then we turned down. As hard as it was to get up, as lightly as it was to get down. No need to pedal, just hold the brake and control the speed. If when climbing, each meter of road flows slowly, then when going downhill, the scenery is like being fastened.
Wind glides past. Mountains and forests drift backwards. A song echoes in our ears. There are sections where we almost just sit in the car and enjoy the feeling of being immersed in the slope. Sometimes, we stop to brake to cool down, also to look at the scenery for a little longer.
Tam Dao has its own beauty: A town located in the middle of the mountains and forests, bustling enough to welcome weekend visitors but also close enough for people to come back many times.
After a long journey, a cup of coffee halfway up the mountain or a hot meal also becomes a simple reward. When the body is exhausted, moments of rest, watching the clouds drift through the rows of houses or admiring the flow of people on the streets are enough to make the trip complete.
The mini game finally found the winner. But when the ice cream had been eaten, no one mentioned much about who finished first. What we brought back after 150km of cycling were stories on the road, times of encouraging each other to try a little more and the feeling that our feet could still go further than we thought.
Tam Dao will probably still be on our list of familiar routes. Because for cyclists, a route does not necessarily have to be new to be worth traveling. Just each time I return, I still find a new challenge, a new scene or simply a different version of myself.
