Innogistic Managing Director Completes Gruelling Vietnam Cycle Challenge

Dave Roberts, Managing Director of Innogistic, has completed his gruelling mountain bike challenge in Vietnam. The trip involved cycling over 750 kilometres in 8 days through mountainous terrain between Hanoi and Sa Pa in North Western Vietnam. The route also included over 10,500m of ascent, the longest hill being 25km in length!

When asked about his reasons for doing the trip he said ”I have wanted to visit Vietnam for quite some time but was conscious of the environmental impact that a long haul flight can have. I had heard about a company who organise cycling trips that can be undertaken on a sponsored basis so I decided to offset the impact of the flight by cycling around Vietnam and getting my friends, family and colleagues to sponsor me for charity”.

Dave undertook the challenge in order to raise money for Friends of the Earth, a charity and organisation he feels very strongly about. “Doing the trip on behalf of Friends of the Earth allowed me a great opportunity to support their cause, something which is very important for me.” His initial fundraising target was £2,600 but thanks to the generosity of his sponsors he has now raised over £3,200 and it is still climbing. Further donations are of course still acceptable and anyone wishing to donate can download the flyer from this link.

Asked if he undertook any special training for the trip, Dave said “I am a keen cyclist anyway and like to go for country rides at weekends. But apart from that, and my regular visits to the Gym, I did not do any special preparation. However, when I arrived in Vietnam and met my 31 fellow travellers it was obvious that there were two types of people on the trip; those who I called ‘aspiring Olympians’ who were obviously very fit and who had spent a lot of time preparing themselves; they undertook each day as a competition to reach the destination first. Then there were the travellers like me who came to see the beauty of the country, meet the people and enjoy the challenge”.

And was the country beautiful? “Oh yes. Vietnam far exceeded my dreams, the scenery was breathtaking and the people were so friendly. Yes, some of the facilities en-route were a little basic but you expect that when you undertake an adventure of this nature.” “The people I met were wonderful; it sums up their attitude when they talked about the wars (French and American) that for a long time ravaged their beautiful country.  They have a saying ‘We forgive but do not forget’; it is a poignant yet beautiful sentiment and truly meant”.

The route taken wound through the mountains of North Western Vietnam and is known to be quite challenging. “The route as a whole was fairly mountainous and going up long steep hills is something that a cyclist must always endure! But you can’t get beautiful scenery like that without the long climbs; and of course you do get the reward of freewheeling down the other side!”

So what was the longest climb in the route? “That would be what I affectionately refer to as “the hill” which was undertaken on the last day of the challenge; it was quite something at 25km in length! It started at 3,000ft, climbed up to 4,500ft, then back down to 2,800ft and then on up to 6,300ft. The whole day involved more than 7,000ft of ascent but then there was the long reward of the final decent into Sa Pa. To say I was totally shot away at the end is an understatement!”

Now that he is back, Dave is very thankful for the support he has received from his friends, family and his colleagues at Innogistic. “I felt very happy about leaving Innogistic in the safe hands of my colleagues. They are a particularly professional team and kept the company ticking over beautifully whilst I was away. I was also delighted by the level of sponsorship support which I received from my colleagues and would like to thank them for their generosity.”

Finally; David was asked if he had any plans for another adventure in the future. “I do not have any plans to undertake another trip, I need a chance to get over the exertions of this one! However, never say never, and there are some other beautiful parts of the world I have not yet been privileged to see”.