Day 62 - Segments, Sickness and Solo Kilometres

Woke up with a very sore back this morning. I’d been tossing and turning for the last few hours, half wondering if I was getting sick, but it became pretty clear it was just the after-effects of all the bike riding yesterday. The bike I was on wasn’t very comfortable, and my back definitely paid for it overnight.

Kia was still feeling pretty rough. Maddie looked a bit brighter, and Emmett was edging closer to feeling better, but it was still early. To try and loosen myself up, I strapped on the shoes and headed out for a run. Nothing fancy, just a change of movement. I cruised out of town and knocked out a relaxed 4km before heading back for a shower and breakfast.

Breakfast was just the kids and me. Kia stayed in the room, completely wiped out with body aches and a sore throat. I took some food back up for her, but she wasn’t hungry. I made her a drip coffee in the room and did what I could to make her comfortable.

The kids weren’t up for heading out, and I didn’t really want to sit in the room all day with sickness hanging around, so I set them up on their tablets and went for another bike ride. I grabbed the good bike this time, the only one that actually fits me properly, and headed out of town into the hills.

I ended up riding around 25 to 26km before pulling up near the river for a coffee and a break. Boats were constantly coming and going, ferrying people out to the limestone mountains. I sat there scrolling through Strava and realised I’d taken a few segments pretty easy and still wasn’t far off some decent leaderboard times. That was enough motivation.

After a bit more rest, I headed back out and gave them a proper crack. The legs were already pretty cooked, but I managed to snag one segment, grab second fastest on another, and land a top ten on one I didn’t even know existed. Not bad considering how tired everything felt. Might rest up tonight and see if I can have another go tomorrow.

After riding, I headed back into town and stopped at a shop selling outdoor and adventure gear. I’d spotted a smaller backpack there earlier that would work much better as carry-on, plus a hat and a rain jacket that were way better priced than anything I’d seen in Hoi An. Ended up buying all three.

For lunch, I checked in with Kia and the kids. Kia wasn’t hungry. Emmett wanted fruit, and Maddie was keen on beef noodles, so I found a spot, grabbed noodles for myself and takeaway for Maddie, and sat down with a beer. While I was there, I spent some time setting up the bones of my own personal Substack. I like the idea of separating my own thoughts and reflections from the family travel stories. Still a bit to do, but it felt good starting it.

Kia messaged asking me to grab a few things from the pharmacy. That turned into a couple of trips, vitamin C, zinc, paracetamol, cough lollies. The woman there spoke great English, which made it easy to get exactly what we needed.

Back at the room, the weather had stayed miserable all day. Cold, rainy, on and off drizzle. The kids were starting to perk up again, so I took them out to give Kia a break. We rode into town and found a pub with a pool table. A few games of pool, iced teas for the kids, a couple of beers for me, and a nice way to kill time out of the rain.

After that, we found a crepe place. Nutella and strawberry for the kids, Biscoff for me. Emmett may have pushed his luck with too much chocolate and started feeling off again, so between that, runny noses, and the cold weather, we called it and headed back for showers and an early night.

A pretty tough day with everyone still not 100 percent. We don’t have many days left here in Tam Coc, so fingers crossed tomorrow everyone wakes up feeling better. If Kia’s still down, I’ll try and get the kids out for something gentle, maybe a bike ride or a cave visit. Hoping for a healthier, more active family day tomorrow.