1 Lap around West Lake Hanoi, starting and ending around the Sheraton Hanoi Westlake -- this circuit is full of cars, scooters, people, commerce and many other things (dogs!, crushed rats, etc). I rode it on 23mm tyres, solo time trial style, amidst the traffic and consternation. It was an educational experience, but I learned that this circuit is:
A) Not for the faint of heart
B) Really not practical, although I saw many effective joggers making their way using the various off-road areas.
Overall, the area is over-used on the weekend by visitors and locals alike and just too narrow to be "safe". However, I did find a good bicycle shop to rent an Argon 18 for 100,000 VND/day ~ $4.00. The Argon had a number of issues, so I worked with the proprietor to install a better chain, trued front/rear brakes about the skinny Bontrager wheels and generally worked on it for the better part of 1.5 hours on and off.
Traffic has a certain flow -- good not to go against the flow, although if to you go too much with the flow that is also bad -- you can be caught out in a traffic eddy with few places to safely go. Use hand signals and expect some chaos. The weather today was clear in the morning, cloudy/smoggy in the late morning and now it is around Noon. I will seek a good place for food and go again in the afternoon. I have a lock, helmet, flat kit but no safety lights. Need to find a good shop to purchase these.
