Dalat - Lang Bian Mountain

I rented a mountain bike to ride to Lang Bian mountain. It was a very old volcano and had great views from the top. I rode 13km to the base of the mountain. The road was in good shape and slightly hilly for the first bit. Then it went downhill for a while. I picked up a lot of speed and it was really fun though I knew it would hell coming back up! I reached the mountain and parked my bike.
Although they allowed locals to ride their motorbikes or drive to the top, foreigners could only walk or hire a vehicle to travel the 5km to the top. I ran into a couple I met in Cat Tien here. They were waiting for more people to split the cost of the jeep to the top. I had always planned on walking to the top and stuck to my plan. The road was pretty steep at times and the whole mountain was covered in pine trees. It reminded my a lot of Algonquin provincial park back home. My guidebook said it took 3-4 hours to reach the top. I made it in one hour! At the top there was a restaurant and some stalls selling stuff. It was wasn't busy and there was no hassle. The views were great though it was a little hazy. Lower down on one side of the mountain, the forest was burning. The smoke reached to the top and was annoying when I had to walk through it on the way down. I spent an hour on the top before walking back down.
Going up the long uphill wasn't as bad as I though going back. Once I got to more level ground, I was able to put the bike into the hardest gear. I was pedaling my heart out and going really fast. I was even passing motorcycles! Once I got closer to Dalat, the traffic got more hectic and I had to slow down.