Stage 4 / Ha Giang Loop / Spring 2026
104km. 2380m of climbing. 2360m of descending.
Another day in the north of Vietnam, another day where the landscape somehow managed to outdo itself.
We rolled out of Cao Bằng early, the air already warm, the roads still quiet. Ahead lay 104 kilometres to Bảo Lạc and a pass deemed to be the most dangrous in Vietnam: the Khau Cốc Chà Pass.
A 14km climb began the hard work after 40km of false flat up, winding upwards through the hills under a sun that was already making itself felt. It was close to 10 degrees hotter than normal, but the group rode well - heads down when needed, spirits high throughout. Everyone kept turning the pedals.
Two more 'little' peaks took some fun out of the descent, then we had a clear wide and scintillating smash down through the karsts and into a valley before... another climb... and what next? Oh yeah, another climb! Then onto KCC!
Khau Cốc Chà is often called the most dangerous pass in Vietnam, and in a car it must be a hair-raising ride, as the corners are almost folded upon themselves and the banks of each is curved like a velodrome track. But, for us on bikes, nimble, lithe (!) - it felt like freedom.
From the summit the road simply disappears, dropping away in 14 arse-cheek tight switchbacks that look less like a road and more like a series of goat tracks etched into the mountainside. Looking down from above, with the karst peaks stacked all around us, it doesn't quite look real.
One of our riders, a Frenchman now living in America who has travelled and ridden all over the world, stood there quietly for a moment and then said, “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Welcome to KOJO, Benoit!
There were more climbs to come, because well of course there were - this is northern Vietnam after all. But then came another gift: a 15km descent, flowing down the side of the mountains with views stretching on forever. You could see every bend in the road and not a single vehicle in the distance, every corner just beckoning you to take the sweetest line.
The karst mountains rose high on either side of us, deep valley below, gravel tracks all over. Horses grazed by the roadside.
Epic.
All day children sprinted out from homes, laughing and reaching out for high fives. Adults waved from doorways and fields. We stopped for great local food, sat together like old friends, this love of adventure on two wheels being our shared history.
This is KOJO.
The big climbs. The rather absurd landscapes. The shared effort. The feeling of being very small in a very big place. Being defined not by comfort, but by passion.
Sleep is next.
Tomorrow we ride to Đồng Văn via the mighty Mã Pí Lèng Pass.
To ride, to elevate, to affect.
All images above by Mark Stocker.
Hung out to dry… Image by Steven Turner.