Posts Tagged ‘Cacaven’

Day 415. 38km. Cacaven – Pointy House

Posted: July 13, 2016 in Cycling, Timor Leste
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About 5km of bad road he said. Another said 100km of bad road or 12 hours by bus. Well, we haven’t left the crappy road yet, and it is spectacularly dreadful. It also bucketed down today as we pushed our bikes up and down a steep, rocky, muddy, riverbed-like surface.

The bumpy road

The bumpy road

We also changed our brake pads, and have almost used the new ones. Even walking next to the bike as it bumps and jumps over the rocks and slurps through the thick mud, you have to use the brakes – and they squeak and scream out as they die, killing the rims in the process. Then pushing the bike up the river floes requires stopping (with full brakes) on a rock before mustering energy to scale the next one.

We are staying with a lovely family in a traditional house – I’ll call it a pointy house. A really cool wooden structure on stilts – high above the ground.

They tell us that the crap road ends in 10km. I kind of think the good road that may or may not follow will be of the quality of the roads yesterday. This means cycling may be possible, and reaching speeds of 10km/h is also on the cards.

Our humble abode for the night

Our humble abode for the night

Day 414. 56km. Tutuala – Cacaven

Posted: July 12, 2016 in Cycling, Timor Leste
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And there we were, on the road in the middle of the jungle in Timor Leste, practicing Tae Kwon Do with 30 students. They held out the pad and I executed a turning roundhouse kick. We did some forms (patterns of movements) together on the road. They did the same style that I had studied 25 years ago – and this in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Timor Leste keeps surprising.

Tae Kwon Do class

Tae Kwon Do class

‘That road doesn’t go to Lospalos,’ said one guy. Another said it does, but not for cars – only for motorbikes and bicycles. We gave it a try – a beautiful road through grassy plains bordering a lake, dotted with houses here and there. Oh – and there was a challenging bridge.

The tricky bridge

The tricky bridge

The tricky bridge

The tricky bridge

The tricky bridge

The tricky bridge

Grassy plain

Grassy plain

Satellite dish

Satellite dish

Again today was not rich in kilometres travelled – the road was muddy and bumpy – and peaceful, tranquil and beautiful. After the high altitude plain we passed into the forest exactly on the border between two weather regions. On the right was sunshine. On the left were the darkest of clouds and rain. Tomorrow the road leads south. More rain is in store.