The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Hanoi. Now they're shooting us with smiles. As Ramos, Smith and their graying comrades glide over miles of unexpectedly smooth blacktop often deep inside what had been enemy territory they discover that, like love, Vietnam is much better the second time around. My, how pretty those trees look without snipers in them. My, how friendly the people are.
Families line the roadsides, flashing gap-tooth grins as bike after bike blows by.
Curious children and curious adults caress riders' arms during rest stops, amazed that foreigners can grow such bumper crops of body hair. Must be all that Coca-Cola they drink. Two years ago WTS pulled together a small group of able-bodied and disabled cyclists who pedaled around the world. For the Vietnam Challenge that formula was given a new twist by adding the element of middle-aged soldiers on a sentimental journey to the past. Curiously, cycling has become WTS's preferred vehicle of expression.