The Cat Ba Tridem

In spring of 2018, My sister and her boyfriend finished their respective stints as Ski instructor and patroller in Summit County with plans to visit my wife and I in Malaysia for our April break, and follow us back to Vietnam for another week of exploring the natural landscapes of the far Eastern lands.   

They boarded a plane bound for Malaysian Borneo only to step off the tarmac to a near 80 degree F temperature shift and a blazing equatorial sun.  Again our goal was to embrace the coastline, the mountains, and the wildlife of this massive island.  We motorbiked in tank tops through monsoon downpours to majestic white sand beaches.  We climbed Mt Kinabalu, Malaysias highest peak at 4k meters that shoots out of the jungle into a granite massif, which looks as if the rock had gravity-dependent runnels, resembling the snow in North American peaks as it succumbs to the unmistakable pattern of late spring rain.  We hitchhiked at night across the tip of the island in the fastest, narrowest, bumpiest, most swervy, scariest rides of our lives.  Back in Vietnam we explored caves of limestone karsts, swam in waterfallls with locals, .  Finally, to finish their Asian Adventure, we all rode a fairy over to Cat Ba Island for a final exploration of Lan Ha Bay, which is a shallow blue/green bay sprinkled with thousands of 80m limestone karsts, all capped with subtropical greenery.  We went deep water soloing and Kayaking through the cliffs, and marveled at the contrast of sea and land.  In Cat Ba, people slowly scoot around in limo-length golf carts, scooters, bicycles, and finally, tandom bikes.  These are the activities we intentionally planned, in an attempt to recreate in the Asian natural landscapes, much as we do in our North American recreational culture.  One adventure we didn't plan was a triple ride on a tandom bicycle, now called the Cat Ba Tridem.

Before I explain the tridem ride, I have to give a quick briefing on Vietnamese bicycles.  Having lived in Vietnam for years, I have noticed how bicycles play an important role in the culture of personal businesses and mobility around cities, towns, and villages.  In Hanoi, the capital city and major urban hub, 3 hours from Cat Ba, middle aged to elderly ladies push their rickety, yet functional crusier-style cycles all over the city, pedaling fresh fruits, baked goods, veggies, clothing, trinkets, even Karoake machines blasting traditional Viet tunes.  In the neighborhoods, young people, often students and of all ages, pedal single speed full-sized bicycles as their primary commuting vehicle.  All bikes look like they have been ridden for generations.   One major feature of these young commuter bikes is a makeshift seat over the back tire for a second rider.  These seats are often just a metal rack, just as you'd see on a traditional bike-touring rig.  The back seat rider either casually dangles their feet on either side of the wheel or delicately places them in the chain stays.  Kids give each other rides to and from school; in villages this can a hilly, 5 km one way commute.

Back to Cat Ba Island:  After a raucous traditional Vietnamese dinner of sautéed greens, BBQ's chicken, and a baked fish from the bay, all washed down with too much strong rice wine, we opted to find our way home via a roadside rented tandem bicycle, paid for with a one hundred thousand Vietnamese Dong (5 bucks bucks).  This tandem bicycle, much like the aforementioned traditional bicycles, had a back seat rack over the tire. There were three of us.  There was only one answer. I had never seen ride 3 grown adults to a tandem in Vietnam.  We debated back and forth as to the safety and feasibility of successfully riding a Cat Ba Tridem.  The excitement of the unknown overrode our sense of safety and comfort, and we mounted the tridem.  The local vendor was highly encouraging of our upcoming tridem attempt.  Matt, the least experienced rider, took the helm, Megan in the middle, and myself in the back.  We swerved enough to scrape the pedals on the pavement, and had multiple near misses as we coasted down our first hill.  We whooped and hollered like we hadn't during our entire trip.  Megan was in tears of mutual enjoyment and terror having no exit plan in the middle of the tridem and no control over the breaks, rolling speedily down the street.  Pedestrians, both local and travelers, pointed and laughed with us as we began to manage the balance on the bike.  Our ride ended at family run beer hall, yet another staple of Northern Vietnam.  Our faces were red with joy and bellies were aching from laughter.  An unexpected mode of travel left us marveling at the possibility of three on a bike. 

Collectively we spent thousands of dollars on this 15- day trip.  Dozens of emails, wire transfers, sunburns, planned excursions, and hours of planning made this trip possible.  Yet, one of our favorite memories and shared experiences was the curbside decision to mount a Cat Ba Tridem and coast into the night, not aware of the outcome.  The risk wasn't great, as some fly-by-night outdoor pursuits can be, but more importantly making time in these long international travel excursions for daily doses of spontaneity can make memories for a lifetime.  Every time we see riders on a tandem, we are reminded of the joy of riding our Cat Ba Tridem, and time spent traveling, adventuring, and leaving time for unexpected happenings with my family and friends.