Archive for the ‘Cycling’ Category

Day 390. 128km. Kayangan – Unter Malang

Posted: June 13, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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The guy stopped his motorbike and waved me down. He pulled out his smart phone and showed me some gay porn videos. He suggested we go to the beach for some fun.
‘Do you do this often?’ I asked.
Yes.
‘Foreigners or Indonesians too?’
Both.
Being gay in Indonesia is not easy, I guess.

Arrival on Sumbawa

Arrival on Sumbawa

Last night Clement and I studied the map. Clement’s friends are flying back to France from Bima on Sumbawa on the 21st. I couldn’t get to the East Timor border from there before our visa expires, and so I left Clement and his friends this morning to get some kilometres done. If I have time, I will try to cycle the less visited islands to the east of Flores before taking a boat (if one exists) to Timor. Back to cycling alone.

Sunrise from the boat from Lombok

Sunrise from the boat from Lombok

Saying goodbye to Clement and his friends

Saying goodbye to Clement and his friends

Each island in Indonesia is different, and Sumbawa is no exception. The road started through flat, marshy territory between pointy peaks dotted everywhere. There were lots of horses and carriages too. I even passed a traffic jam of horses and carriages. Super cool.

Sumbawa

Sumbawa

Sumbawa

Sumbawa

Horse and carriage

Horse and carriage

I cycled to dusk and was invited to stay by a lovely family who gave me a delicious meal of fish and rice – a Sumbawa specialty. Tomorrow I have to leave before dawn as they are leaving to go to the Ramadhan pre-dawn prayer in the mosque.

Day 389. 116km. Lembar – Kayangan

Posted: June 12, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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‘Where did the 4 cyclists go? When did they leave?’
Down the steep hill I had just climbed to get to the last coordinates I had for Clement and his friends.
‘Did you see 4 cyclists?’ I asked at the important cross-road.
‘Yes! Yes!’ They pointed empfatically in one direction.
And so I tracked them down. They weren’t expecting me for another 2 days, apparently.

Beach

Beach

They were lazing in a gazebo on the side of the road – very surpised to see me. Clement had met up with 3 friends in Denpasar, and they had slowly been making their way across Bali and Lombok. We slowly went in search of a beach to sleep at – while my feet were itching.

The road to our meeting point was moderately unspectacular – there were a few nice views in the morning light.

Morning light

Morning light

We saw our first locals that, as far as we can see, are actively destroying their environment (people that live there – not big companies that consume and leave). The people were burning coral to make a white powder like cement for construction. They not only collect the loose coral that washes up on the shore, but blow up big chunks with dynamite and bring it to shore. I don’t know how long this process can be sustained.

Don't destroy the coral

Don’t destroy the coral

Tomorrow Sumbawa – alone once again. I will race on and see Clement again in Timor.

Day 388. 87km. Bondalem – Lembar

Posted: June 11, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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John – an animation guy from New Zealand and David – the manager of the hotel – made it hard to get away (in a nice way). John has done some amazing animation projects with Mauri themes, which stimulated the thinking juices for what my next life will be. I was thinking about how close this next life is as I scaled some minor hills to get to the boat to Lombok. The final island hopping has begun in earnest.

John, David and me

John, David and me

My dawdling has to stop. When I roll out the map, I see the many islands to cross and the many hills to climb. And the many boats to take. Today I cycled with a mission – to reach the boat to Lombok, and take the 4 hour trip. The little climb next to the volcano was pretty.

Going over a small pass

Going over a small pass

Volcano

Volcano

I think I’ve been spoiled by the volcanos of East Java. The views were nice, but, the remoteness was lacking. Westeners were zapping around everywhere on their motorbikes and the divers were out in force. I went to look at a beach and saw the divers stumbling forward to shore – like zombies invading the planet.

Tonight I find myself sleeping in the waiting room at the harbour on Lombok. Tomorrow I might catch up with Clement and his friends.

Day 387. 57km. Panca Sari – Bondalem

Posted: June 10, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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Today was a steep trip down the mountain to the coast. My last night of staying in the lap of luxury before steaming on to Lombok and the further flung islands. It was an afternoon of lazing by the pool, and fixing my broken saddle (again) at the bengkel las.

The sea near the resort

The sea near the resort

View of yesterday's camping spot from above

View of yesterday’s camping spot from above

Bengkel las

Bengkel las

Day 386. 62km. Kuta – Panca Sari

Posted: June 9, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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These motorbike/welding stations are very useful. They are every 500m and this time I used one to weld together a metal bar that supports my saddle. It just snapped in two. My stay of several days of rest and recreation in Kuta has come to an end, and what better way to get back into cycling than to climb a mountain?

Bengkel las

Bengkel las

I realised again in Kuta what I already knew. I am not a disco party person. I went with some guys from the hotel to a big 8-in-1 disco/party complex in the main drag in Kuta. Six euro entry got you all you could eat from a buffet and all you could drink for 4 hours. Then the party started in the multiple rooms with stunning walls of screens and lights, thumping music and (becoming) drunk people gyrating to the music. I sat there just admiring the logistics and planning that made this show run like clockwork. The staff had colour-coded shirts depending on their role – green for the ‘clean team’, white for security, red for servers etc. The glasses were removed the second they were empty. The security swooped within seconds of me taking off my shirt. There will be none of that here! I never feel like drinking more that one or two drinks, and I felt no connection to the people on the dance floor (although the friends from the hotel were cool). I caught a motorbike home at 11 and went to bed.

Sky dome

Sky dome

I saw the site of the Bali bombings in 2002 – the monument where all those people (mostly Australians and Indonesians) were killed. Its already 14 years ago, although it feels like only yesterday.

Bali bomb monument

Bali bomb monument

As my trip continues, more niggling little problems pop up. This time it was my dynamo that stopped working. Thanks to the guys at Rodalink in Denpasar who did amazing work fixing it – quite a bit of hammering done.. ☺ Thanks to Yudi for introducing me to the cycling community and for the new cycling jersey, and to everyone for making my time in Kuta memorable!

Today I passed 34000km, and now find myself enjoying the cool air at 1200m camping next to a lake. Tomorrow down to the hot coast again.

34000km

34000km

Camping spot

Camping spot

Day 385. 107km. Candikusuma – Kuta

Posted: June 8, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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I thought it was a long way, and so got up early. It wasn’t that far, and the hilly landscape was easy after Bromo and Ijen, so I flew all the way to Kuta. Now I can see where all the Australians hang out. ☺

Bali beach

Bali beach

Day 384. 60km. Ijen – Candikusuma

Posted: June 7, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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When we returned from the crater at about 7am, we had another sleep, marking my change of days. I started cycling at 1 careering down the super-steep mountain back to the heat. A slow boat to Bali saw me with only an hour of sunlight to try to eat some of the kilometres to Denpasar. I should make it there tomorrow.

Steep on the way down

Steep on the way down

The road down was mighty steep. I was able to test my new brakes as I hurtled down through the beautiful, green rain forest. I said goodbye to Harry who is going to a little island tonight, and I’m on the bigger island of Bali, camping in a lovely restaurant on a beach.

On the way down

On the way down

On the way down

On the way down

Day 383. 80km. Bondowoso – Ijen

Posted: June 6, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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They cheered and jeered from far and wide. ‘Tidak pakai baju’ (not wearing clothes). ‘En poile,’ cried the French couple. Amongst the cries of ‘DINGIN!’ – cold – I realised just how different my body is. It was 2am, and I could power up to the top of the volcano crater in the dark. I passed everyone, rugged up like they were going to the arctic, but, my clothes were already drenched in sweat. Hence my decision – tidak pakai baju – and hence all the (quite fun) attention. (I was still wearing pants.)

Sunrise at Ijen

Sunrise at Ijen

What a reward after the super-hard climb. Blue light making the sulphur fumes look like flames of blue fire. Miners knocking off blocks of solid sulphur and trapsing back up out of the crater, passing all the exhausted tourists. And then the most spectacular sunrise – one side looking out over the coast and across to Bali, and on the other side a volcanic lake. When the wind died, the volcanic fumes created a dense fog, and we could make angel shadows, playing with the morning sunlight. Everyone put on their gas masks and reminded me of my favourite Doctor Who story. It’s dangerous – I was told by the guys trying to sell gas masks. Most Indonesians weren’t wearing one though.

Sunrise at Ijen

Sunrise at Ijen

Angel

Angel

The fumes rise

The fumes rise

These volcanos are hard work – but so beautiful. As we climbed Ijen, we passed through so many different climate zones with different vegetation – from rice fields to sugar cane to coffee to forest. We climbed to 1600m, dropped to 1100m and climbed to 1900m. Totally exhausted we arrived in the dark at the camp-site and collapsed. I set up my tent – the first time I could use it for months. It’s not too hot at 1900m.

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

On the way up

It’s nice to not be the one to stop demanding food. Clement is never hungry. Harry is – at about the same time that I am. We were crawling our way uphill through the forest. No sign of people. No restaurants. Time for cooking. We got quite some attention from the people coming past on their motorbikes on the way to the top of the volcano. It was good we ate – there was another 7km of steep climbing before the first big drop.

Before the drop

Before the drop

Tomorrow is Bali. Yay!

Day 382. 90km. Gending – Bondowoso

Posted: June 5, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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There he was – Bob Marley, walking along the side of the road, stark naked, his penis swaying as he walked. A walking stick in hand, and a little frilly black lace piece of fabric wedged between his arse cheeks was all he had in the way of clothes. ‘Are there lots of naked Bob Marleys in Indonesia?’ I asked. ‘Some,’ was the reply. There seemed little interest in this strange dredlocked man. Indonesia has all kinds of people.

The beach

The beach

Today we visited some more welding stations – they’re everywhere in Indonesia to fix the millions of motorbikes buzzing around. I met with Harry several times during the afternoon as he walked and hitched his way to the bike shop in Bondowoso where his back hub was finally fixed. With all our technical problems we’re meeting the cycling community of East Java.

Bike shop in Bondowoso

Bike shop in Bondowoso

This morning we met up with our friends from the bike shop in Probolinggo for breakfast and a ride to a beautiful little beach. The main road was busy and dangerous, plied by trucks and busses – all in a hurry. The view on the side of the road was spectacular – although it was an effort to cross the road to photograph it.

RIce fields

RIce fields

Beach

Beach

And yet another new fruit – a relative of the coconut. They have a very strange tasting fermented drink made from its juice. Eating the fruit, you pull the geletounous segments out from shell. Weird.

New fruit

New fruit

We are now (hopefully) ready to scale the Ijen volcano and see the ‘blue fire’. Looking forward to it!

Day 381. 51km. Cemara Lawang – Gending

Posted: June 3, 2016 in Cycling, Indonesia
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Today I acquired new skills – braking without brakes. I used my shoes to slow me down, and I walked a lot coming down the volcano. I am now the proud owner of standard brakes. Maybe having fancy everything on my expensive bike that noone can fix is not always the best strategy..

Bike team in Probolinggo

Bike team in Probolinggo

I left our place of sleep in the park ranger’s office to look out over Bromo as the sun was rising. I thought – ‘that can’t be snow – it is cold but not that cold.’ I looked up – it was raining ash. Looking over the edge of the mountain before it dropped down to the sandy volcanic plains below, I watched Bromo spew ash up into the heavens above.

Bromo

Bromo

When I was able to stop, I took some photos of the descent. It was very beautiful.

Descent from Bromo

Descent from Bromo

Descent from Bromo

Descent from Bromo

Thanks to the bike team in Probolinggo who helped both me and Harry out with our ailing bikes. Great work!

Bike repairs in Probolinggo

Bike repairs in Probolinggo

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