Cramp. Already before lunch. Today was a stop-start affair – stopping to wait for the cramp to subside and then starting. Nafal (my warmshower host from Bogor) and I are at the top of the pass at Puncak in the nice, cool air, sleeping in the prayer room at the tourist information.
Me and Nafal
Three weeks of air-conditioned malls in Jakarta have taken their toll. My first hilly day in Sumatra was the same after a week of feeding in Singapore. Cramp. It’s very frustrating. I feel fine, and want to continue, but I know if I move it will hit, and when it does, I buckle over in agony. The heat, the bright sun and the steep road did it – I sweated all the salt out of my body.
Today I felt like a chain-smoker. The road heading up out of Bogor was bathed in car fumes and noise. Climbing a pass isn’t meant to be stopping and starting waiting for a free space on the road while struggling up a hill. At the first chance, we left the main road and took the alternative route – one that was steeper but with much less traffic.
Mountain view
We find ourselves perched on the top of the pass with a beautiful view out over the valley, with dark clouds and the flickering of lightening, and a beautiful, bright rainbow.
Rainbow
arctic-cycler.com 
Do you have to increase your salt intake to get rid of the cramps?
Love that last photo!
I ate lots of salt and drank lots of water. My body just needs a few days to get used to cycling again.. 🙂
A fine-tuned athletic machine! 😉