North Vietnam - Lao Cai, Bac HA, hanoi, etc

Please note that this track can be used as a reference but it's far from clear. All the wrong roads, etc have not been removed.
bike: honda xr 250

-night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. The rental company loads the bike to the train.
1st day:
trip: Lao Cai to Tan Quang. Lunch in Bac Ha.
good fun but it was way too much. About 10 hours ride approx (we made some off - offroad).
Bac Ha was probably the last town where we saw westerners. The next two days, we saw 3-4 western people, which is around 0.0000001% of the total population if hens, cows and pigs are included.
The hotel where we stayed is not a Hilton. You better find a different town to stay at night. The landscape, amazing. The track is around 60% offroad (5% of which is not too technical but a bit exhausting). The remaining 40% is on pavement, but don't expect Autobahn style.
gps track unfinished (run out of batteries)
2nd day: Tan Quang (unforgettable due to the noise of a kind of crickets)to Ha Giang.
Short trip. As you can see we took the wrong direction. Advice: when asking for directions, re-confirm a few times. it's one of the funniest things of the trip.
the road is in good condition. Nice accommodation, Lê Tân, tel 02193 811 102
3rd day: Ha Giang to Cho Ra (near Ba Be).
tough ride. we got lost, still don't know where... the landscapes were great and it paid off but that day we ended up totally wrecked. Most of the track was on pavement but around 5% of it waas under construction and it was not possible to do more than 10 kms/h. That was quite tough! We also had to cross a river. There was no way to go back so the choice was pretty easy.
4th day: Cho Ra - Ba be National park - hanoi.
some of the roads, still in the north, are just great. Then, from Bac Kan to Hanoi it can be dangerous, quite a lot of cars and trucks (remember trucks don't brake; they expect you to get out of their way).
the experience was fascinating. The only 'con' is that we rode too many hours per day. the same route in 5 nights/6 days would be even better.

I rank it as difficult but it might be very difficult for those that are not used to ride offroad and for those that get easily tired. The second day was relaxed, the rest we rode for many hours - Up to 10h!