Posts Tagged ‘Nagari Lolo’


The valley was beautiful, downhill, as Clement and I stood on the back of a pick-up truck, transporting my bike and Clement’s sick bike to the next bike shop. Once on the bike again, today, I lacked energy. The endless ups and downs (several hundred metre climbs and drops) were not inspiring me today, even though the landscape was beautiful. I guess I can’t be bursting with energy every day.

Clement on the back of the truck

Clement on the back of the truck

Beautiful river

Beautiful river

Tea plantation

Tea plantation

We find ourselves tonight in a half built house surrounded by coffee plants, and a few papaya trees. The crickets are out in force, which brings me back to camping in Australia in my youth. I’m in the same hemisphere as that youth now!


I counted fifteen people gathered around us in the little pergoda on the side of the road. Clement’s bike was inverted and we were looking at his wheel. A bicycle expert with teeth pointing in all directions was the first to arrive, and after tapping my bike and feeling the tyres, he started working on Clement’s bike.

Our bike repair place

Our bike repair place

Three washers were added to the back axle to compensate for a bolt ground smooth by some, as yet to be discovered problem. The gears were then readjusted to compensate for the washers. All explanations during the repairs were done by the waving of arms and pointing. Thank-you, kind gentleman, for helping where Clement’s and my technical skills were inadequate.
We fear, however, the problem will return. Clement needs a new axle, maybe a new hub, and a new gear cable that is now frayed.

We woke this morning to hear the pouring rain, and then went back to sleep. One’s desire to cycle diminishes when one contemplates getting that wet. Also, Clement’s panniers are not very waterproof anymore, apparently. When we finally woke up, we were offered another incredible breakfast, including a self picked cocoa fruit from the tree just outside the door.

My first cocoa fruit

My first cocoa fruit

By ten we were on the road, cycling at snail pace up an incredibly steep, unrelenting road. We were cycling up the side of a volcano, we discovered later, when we spotted the volcano evacuation signs.

Volcano evacuation

Volcano evacuation

At the top was a beautiful high altitude volcanic lake with an amazingly steep road climbing and falling through fields of temperate weather vegetables, above the lake and below the volcano.

High lake

High lake

High lake

High lake

It was steep

It was steep

We are camping at a bus food stop about a kilometre from the fateful pergoda.