Heroic Charlene

I have sung her praises before.

Already while fighting the gravel and large stones of the Golden Triangle I came to realize that I was in the presence of not just a bike, but a unique work of art – see April 2012 on this blog.

This time she didn't have to contend with overly tough terrain, but rather a lot of mud and water in her dérailleurs and brakes.

Every evening I washed her clean in a river or hosed her down then popped into a motorbike repair shop to oil her up. And every day she started out, purring like a kitten.

Once again, many thanks and much gratitude to Willy of Top Cycle, 47 Don Palan Road in Vientiane who is the only person in the country who realizes how precious she is and knows how to tune her.