Bike Aways

HANOI EAT RIDE LOVE CYCLE +KOTO DREAM RIDE

Thursday 12th –15th September 2015 

A Hanoi weekender to help raise money for the KOTO training centre.

The KOTO dream ride is  Sunday morning (7 till 12) so plenty of time to get flights back home for work on Monday.

To make it worth your while Bike Aways has put together a three day Hanoi and the Red River explorer package, starting from Thursday 12th -14th which includes accommodation, bikes and two extra days riding through Hanoi and out to the countryside along the famous Red River.

Or just come for the Dream Ride.

Itinerary:

Thursday: Arrive, check in and begin eating.

Friday: Hanoi Old Quarter Urban Cycle and Food Exploratory (think Pho Bo, Bun Cha, Kem Trang, Tien Ice Cream, Catherine Deneuve’s favourite old quarter yoghurteria, and of course a meal at KOTO).
Saturday: Red River Countryside Ride.
Sun 15th Kotos Dream ride – Cycle to Chua Thay Pagoda and back – finishes at midday (plenty of time for flights back home and work on Monday morning).

Price: USD 588
(includes KOTO dream ride registration and contribution)

About Bike Aways

Bike Aways believe travel by bike is the best way to authentically experience a place and escape the tourism jam.
Rides are specifically designed for NON hardcore riders. We use bicycles to access remote places, be one with the landscape, and go where others don’t.

ECO is our Philosophy.

No flags, no mega phones, off the beaten track, heritage destinations and forgotten villages where we can spread our business, are some of the criteria in designing our trips. We stay in accommodation with personality – traditional or family run where possible.

Food is always an important part of the experience.

Join Bike Aways on our first Hanoi weekender and support a great cause.

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Hanoi’s Old Quarter

A maze of at least 36 guild streets between Hanoi’s famed Hoan Kiem Lake, the Red River and former Hanoi citadel make up the 1000 year plus Old Quarter.
Streets specialising in silks, silver,  bamboo wares, paper goods, lacquer wares,  are also home to pagodas, communal guild houses and tall narrow tube houses (avoiding  street frontage taxes.)

More importantly this  chaotic maze dating back to the retreat of the Mongols, is home to many of the worlds best street foods ( Bun Cha, Pho Bo, Cha Ga) –  easier got on bike.

French colonial townhouses converted into elegant restaurants; Parisian influenced cafes; street markets, wandering hawkers, fresh  street side beer hoi and snake-wine bars make all make for an adventurous foodie get away.

Join us as we cycle eat cycle coffee cycle snack cycle drink through the old quarter on route to  Hanois must see sites: Ho chi Minh’s mausoleum, temple of literature, KOTO restaurant, Hoa Binh prison, Hoan Kiem Lake, the lake with the drowned fighter plane and more.

Long_Bien_Bridge_Sunset

Red River to Co Loa Citadel

Broad and muddy – the Red river is a famed trade link between Yunnan in Southern China and Hanoi all the way to the Port of Haiphong on Halong Bay.
Discover the old village ways along the river as we  cycle the dikes and cross the river by Ferry to discover  Hanoi’s first citadel at Co Loa.

Rice paddies fertalised by the silt from the Red River, get you  up close to the familes who have employed  wet rice cultivation as the basis of their culture  since the Duong Vuong dynasty, two thousand years ago.
Cross the historic Long Bien cantilever bridge, still scarred from bombs in the American War (as the Vietnamese  calle the Vietnam War) and very emotionally memoralised for its defence.

Chua Thay Pagoda and The KOTO Dream Ride

The 11th Century Pagoda of the Heavenly Blessing – Chua Thay is the destination for our Dream Ride. This is the love part of the ride, as by participating you are turning  the dreams of  Vietnamese youth into reality in the form of culinary talent.

KOTO is a 15 year old street kids social enterprise, that now trains up disadvantaged youth  to 5 star hospitality levels. And you get to ride with a bunch of them in a group  with local Hanoians and expatriates who  are obviously also awesome for joining the ride.

 

16 cyclists is our maximum group size.

 

Included: All meals from Friday morning, twin-share accommodation (single supplement available for USD 60 per night), mountain bike, helmet, two days supported cycling with guide  bike, entry on the KOTO dreamride and  vehicle transfers.

Not included: Your onward travel, Visa, water (which you can buy or refill along the way – refillable bottles recommended to bring along.)

Departing from Hong Kong

Dragon Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines all fly to Hanoi.
Hong Kong Airlines is often the cheapest and syncs well with this itinerary.

Departing Shanghai
1 flight dialy 3:50 pm→6:10 pm
pastedGraphic_1.pngVietnam 531 PVG-HAN

Departing Beijing
3:30 pm→6:25 pmpastedGraphic_1.pngVietnam 513 PEK-HAN

Return options: the trip finishes back in Hanoi around 1pm.  Leave 1 hour to get to the airport.

Full payment required by November 5th

Contact bruce@bikeaways.com to reserve your place.

 

KOTO DREAM RIDE 2015 – INFORMATION PACKAGE

About KOTO Dream Ride 2015

KOTO Dream Ride is an annual fundraising event where all proceeds will be used to support the continued work of providing hopes and brighter future of KOTO. Growing from 30 riders to over 100 riders mainly through word of mouth, since 2002 when KOTO held its first ride, the Dream Ride has raised US$250,000.

 

2015 marks the 14th KOTO Dream Ride has been organized. This year, KOTO Dream Ride bikers will venture a loop ride from United Nations International School (UNIS) to Chua Thay, to join hands and raise money to support at at-risk and disadvantaged youth through the KOTO not-for-profit vocational training program. The fun ride will take cyclists through the most beautiful countryside, lakes, pagodas and rice fields.

 

We aim to attract 200 hundred bikers to help us fundraise, to bring awareness and attention to the wonderful work that is being carried out at our training center. We hope to raise US $50,000, which will be used specifically to cover the annual rental cost of training centers and housing for 200 trainees.

 

Program Detail

Date: Sunday, 15th November, 2015

Start/Finish Point: UNIS, G9 Ciputra, Lac Long Quan, Tay Ho, Hanoi

 

On the Day Agenda:

07:00Cylists Meeting & Registration

08:00 Start the Dream Ride

09:00Break & Snack

10:00Chua Thay: Entertainment & Snack

10:30Start from Chua Thay back to UNIS

11:30 Break & Snack

12:30Finish Dream Ride 2015

 

How to join KOTO Dream Ride 2015 

To join our event, please visit:

Koto.com.au/dreamride2015

 

For online registration, please visit: koto.com.au/dreamride2015

 

Registration fee:

  • General Biker: VND 2,000,000 / person
  • Group of 6: VND 10,000,000
  • Family Package (2 adults, 2 kids under 17): VND 5,000,000
  • Bike Rental: VND 200,000 / bike

 

Registration before 11:59PM Oct 26, 2015 will receive 10% discount on total fee.

 

Contact Information

Mr Nick Ippel

Marketing Manager, KOTO Hanoi

nick.ippel@koto.com.au 

+841265180498

About KOTO

KOTO (Know One, Teach One), the not-for-profit hospitality training organisation Jimmy Pham founded and is now Executive Chairman of, has trained in excess of 500 street and disadvantaged Vietnamese youth in its Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) training centres. Its 24-month program includes front-of-house and kitchen, as well as English and life skills training and provides trainees with accommodation, food and medical care, all free of charge. It has two restaurants in Hanoi and HCMC where trainees work to get practical experience and all profits are invested back into the program.