Field trip: The bicycles of Vietnam

A Black woman wearing a denim shirt is carrying a bicycle down a set of stairs in an urban environment. The bicycle has a green paint job and honey leather wrapped handlebars.

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A woman bicycling on a bright summer day over a green lawn wearing suede fringe cowgirl boots and with a 6-pack of Anchor Steam beer connected to the top tube of her bicycle with a honey leather 6-pack frame cinch

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A dark brown leather round, barrel-shaped saddle bag with cedar wood sides mounted to the back of a brown leather Brooks saddle on a cream-and-brown painted bicycle

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Two sets of travel dice on a dark brown leather table surface. Both sets show six dice coming out of a square brass tube. The dice are 7mm, smaller than standard. One has white dice and the other has black dice.

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Two people playing dominoes using small, domino-sized playing cards on a walnut wood table with snacks and drinks. The domino cards are double 12 with different colors for each number and hand-drawn.

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Close-up of a folding leather travel backgammon board mid-play on a weathered wood surface. A hand is reaching in and moving four game pieces (which are brass nails) between triangles, which are laser-engraved in the honey dyed leather. Accessories are visible, dice and doubling cube and peg storage

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A variety of handcrafted leather and wood handles on a sample board as seen from above and an angle

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A white chest of drawers in a white and lilac baby nursery with three colors of leather Morrison bin pull handles, in Honey, Dark Brown, and Black

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A white kitchen drawer under a gray countertop that has a natural tan colored leather handle with nickel hardware and an engraved label that says 'Silverware'

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Two cabinet doors swinging open towards each other with matching leather Lovejoy loop handles. The leather touches so the cabinets don't crash into each other, a solution for problem corners in kitchen design planning

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Valerie and Geoff Franklin of Walnut Studiolo standing behind their bicycles on a grassy green lawn. Geoff is doffing his hat to Valerie and she is smiling, as a gesture of service.

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by admin
March 03, 2014
2 min read

Valerie just got back from Vietnam, where she was on a two-week foodie trip. Over there, in Saigon, Hoi An, Hue, and Hanoi, she caught sight of a lot of very cool, workaday bicycles in Vietnam, especially for commerce. Here are some of her favorite bike pics from Vietnam.

My favorite bike store of all, a bicycle sweet shop making bo bia ngot, seen in Hanoi. Bo bia ngot is a rice crepe wrapped up with sugar cane, coconut, and toasted black sesame.

A complete bicycle soup kitchen, with a fired-up coal-burning stove on back. Seen in Hanoi.

Bicycle carrying cargo, seen in Saigon.

Bicycle carrying cargo, seen in Hoi An.

A complete store on wheels, seen in Hanoi. One of the hazards of modernization, engined vehicles now outnumber pedal power in the cities. This is a huge change for Vietnam just in the past decade. Mopeds and motorcycles have squeezed out bicycles to become the dominant form of transportation, with the number of cars quickly rising despite stiff import taxes. There are still plenty of bicycles carrying immense cargo loads, bicycle businesses, and bicycle commuters, as well as pedestrians carrying yoked cargo. All three together were a common scene in the smaller and mid-sized towns. Cyclists come in all ages and styles. Youngsters can't get a license to ride a moped/motorcycle until 18 but they can get a license to ride certain low-speed mopeds and engined bikes at 16. Anyone can ride a bicycle, of course, young and old alike.

Cyclists wear masks in Vietnam for the pollution and to protect their skin.

A gentleman cyclist in front of French-Vietnamese architecture

3 forms of transportation, in Hue, Vietnam

Three forms of transportation in one picture in Hue, Vietnam Classic cycles and early mopeds at CÃ PhÃª Xe Cá»•, a coffee shop with an antiquities collection, in downtown Hanoi: