Indonesia Volcano Run Day 2

Waking up, it's light outside!  The sky is blue and we can see all the things we missed in the dark when we arrived last night. 

We're just outside Bandung a major city in this area and the area looks like it would have been worth seeing. There's a strange looking tower that dominates the immediate area. 

Alan has decided to sit out today as he's not feeling well. He's chosen to risk his life and eardrums riding in the support truck instead!

We fuel up, being served by two ladies in bright red uniforms.

It's rush hour so the roads are super busy.

It's a long climb to our first stop, a steaming sulphur pit inside a volcano crater. Sounds dangerous, but the most dangerous part was the ride there, dicing with cars and scooters, and breathing in black smoke spewed from trucks, and then the drive up to the volcano itself in an incredibly noisy minibus with open side panels. There's a slight smell of sulphur at the top and you can see the vent smoking

Rob and I recreate a pose on one of the promotional posters at the crater.

Back into the mountains we pass small villages and small holdings included terraced land and some lovely views

From across the valley we can see poly tunnel fields that look like futuristic metallic cities in the mountains.

We cross a pontoon bridge. It's a long wooden structure. Quite a novelty; of course we stop for photos. 

Moving on, we stop for lunch. I notice that my top box is loose. In fact it's only held on by two of four bolts. As the mechanic is not with us until later, we do a running repair using my mini tool, with cable ties provided by Christopher. The fix seems strong and much more secure than it was - that's not coming off....   Later, it comes off... 

We're bombing down a bumpy track next to a new tarmac airstrip (Christopher almost has his own Top Gun moment.

There's a thump and a crash as my box goes flying. Fortunately it stays shut, but the mounting bracket is kaput. It had survived more dicing with traffic, me getting lost (missed a junction marked by Tom), me recovering the group and a crossing of a pontoon bridge. But now it has had enough. 

I manage to attach the bracket with some tent guy rope cord from my tool kit. The box stays secure until the whole box is replaced at the coffee stop.

Then tentatively back on the same track, taking extra care to minimise any bumps; I've put my backpack on, to reduce the load in the box itself.

It's an intense blast through dense two-way traffic, dicing once again with incoming traffic, none of the other drivers or riders seems to mind. Probably because we are rank amateurs at this, the locals carve their way through traffic much more aggressively and effectively than we do. Cary has a Gillette moment overtaking a slow moving van, and has to perform an evasive manoeuvre avoiding three kids pulling out in front of the van.

The extra delays, from me getting lost and the box falling off, mean that we have to bypass a planned volcano stop, but Charlie thinks we can add the missed volcano to our route for tomorrow. 

We head directly to our lunch stop - but it's now 4pm! So we just have snacks and juices.

Some (one) is not a happy bunny and almost throws his toys out of the pram fearing the extra volcano visit would lengthen an already very long day (300+ km). But we calculate that by leaving earlier we can add the short detour which will only take 30 minutes. Much of the 300km will be on faster roads, so won't take as long as the shorter distance first day, which had to contend with Jakarta traffic. 

We are arrive at the hotel which is another grand affair, yet also devoid of other guests. It has an outdoor pool, which the local frogs seem to appreciate. Our room has ac resident lizard, that we can hear making noises at odd times - I hope our little friend keeps the mosquitoes at bay.

I go for my first run in Indonesia. But it's hard work as now I have to avoid being hit by traffic as there are no proper pavements. Only 5km today, slight downhill followed by an intense steep uphill section. The rest is survival. I meet several runners coming in the opposite direction to whom I wave, and they smile. 

Bed now, another early start, up at 6am.

Indonesia Volcano Run Day 1 - the never-ending day

We're lost! Tom and I are separated from the group and off course - Jakarta is manic! 

We left at 05:30 to 'avoid the traffic' but it's still crazy at that time. Corner man goes out the window. In the scrum, it's every man, and woman, for themselves. Our leader, Miller, has a totally invisible black helmet and in no time I've lost the person I thought I was following, Alan Alan? At one point,  following a car and the general traffic, at a traffic barrier, I discover I'm actually on the wrong side of the road - I quickly nip back at the first opportunity. 

I'm sure I saw one of our group turn right (turns out it was Rob), but we're going straight on, Tom is following me now. After about ten minutes with none of the group in sight, I decide to stop and get my phone out to check the map. We've all been given gpx files of the route and my phone shows we're off track. 

I put my phone in the holder on the bike (should've done this at the beginning) and we backtrack to get back on course. Still no sign of anyone, but I know we're going the right way. 

Traffic lights here have incredibly long hold times and eventually I choose to switch off my engine while waiting, it must be close to two minutes of red. Huge throngs of scooters gather ahead of the waiting cars and when the lights turn green the solid mass of two wheelers dissolves as they shoot forwards. (The picture below was later, on a level crossing, but gives the right idea)

There's a big junction ahead and it looks like we turn right onto a main road. Being cautious I decide to stop to check where people are. Charlie has called and Christopher has messaged me. We swap locations and I'm surprised we're way ahead. We stay out and wait for the others to catch up. 

Finally reunited after a 30 minute wait, we restart. At the next stop, Charlie buys a snack packet of chicky balls, conveniently coloured yellow, which he promptly empties into the bin. We tape the bag to the back of Miller's helmet to make it stand out. It works after a slight repositioning and now he's much more visible from afar. 

Eventually we clear the worst of the traffic and are on winding single carriageway roads on an generally upward trend through the trees.

The roads are mostly concrete with fine channels running crossways, presumably to clear the water when it rains.

The hills are terraced in places and at one point a picture perfect view emerges. I stop and some others follow suit. 

Lunch stop. Avocado shake went down well. Before we leave, the owners want a photo with us. Back on the bikes and we are ushered onto the road by the restaurant staff. Here it's the done thing, to help people feed into the busy traffic. It doesn't always work, as some drive around the waving traffic attendant. At night they use an illuminated wand.

 

We detour to see a waterfall, but it's dry. 

On the way up to the waterfall, Charlie spots what he thinks is the nicest tea plantation he's seen. Unfortunately, I miss it so no pictures... 🤦🏽

We turn back the way we came and get back onto our gpx track. It's fast tarmac now, broken in places but mostly smooth and well maintained. Further on we do see a proper waterfall. 

A local rides by on a strange looking contraption, an adapted moped used to transport goods piled high.

We speed along, slowing for towns and villages, but no matter how fast we go, there's always a local on a scooter trying to overtake us, often three aboard!

Waving has begun and it funny to hear the groups of young girls giggling as they wave back.

The sky looks ominous. We stop at a shop (no more then a hut selling basic snacks and drinks) and while there it starts raining. We shelter under shop front and deliberate on whether to put our waterproofs on. With all the rain and wet boots, the tile steps become super slippery. One of us, who shall remain nameless, slips suddenly and ends up crashing down, destroying some of the shop's pot plants in the process. He's fine but sits down while we make sure he's ok. No damage (this time..... can you guess yet?). I leave 50,000 rp as a gesture for the damage, which they seem to appreciate.

We don waterproofs, usually the trigger for the rain to stop, and indeed, stop, it does. Back on the winding road and we can see lightning in the distance. But the rain holds off, for now. Eventually we catch it and road is wet, so we need to take more care. It's getting dark too and by the time we reach the main road the sun has gone to bed. So not only do we have to contend with rain, but also dazzling headlights. But despite that we seem to make good progress. I'm following Rob, who's following Cary; she's riding fast and pulls us along. Later tells us her lights were not working well, so quite the impressive ride.

We try to avoid riding in the dark, but sometimes it happens. Having set off at 5:30 this morning, we've now been on the road for about 14 hours! That's our longest ever day of riding and yet we've only covered about 265km!

We rock up to the hotel and some of us eat dinner before even changing. The food is good, but Steve subdues his annoyance that there's no Coke Zero, his favoured beverage. 

Early to bed because we'll be on the road by 7:30 tomorrow...

Indonesia Volcano Run Day 0

Breakast buffet in the hotel and then we "Grab" a taxi to what we think is the harbour area. The old port is a recommended spot to see.

Christopher has dropped his phone in the back of his taxi, so he and Rob wait for the taxi to return, and they'll catch up with us later. 

We're not quite at the port, so end up winding our way northward through narrow alleys that get narrower as we go. 

It's a populated area with tiny shops and workshops tucked away to the side, and bare living room floors open to the street - people lying down, under their fans, only an arms length away from us strolling by. It's a whole community condensed into a small space. 

Like most of the developing countries we've visited there's plenty of rubbish strewn around. Plastic dominates; it's mankind's curse that scars environments globally, but much more so in places like these. 

That's a river under that crap!

The noon call to prayer guides our way past a local mosque and there's now space for cars and bikes. It's 1130 so seems early, but the Indonesian timezone seems weirdly out of sync with Jakarta's location.

We seem to be in Jakarta's rubbish central and that unmistakable putrid rotting smell permiates the air. We reach the edge of Waduk Plait a local lake with a very narrow channel opening to the sea. It's essentially an open dump and plastic lines the shores. 

What has mankind done to this planet, and where did society go so wrong in regard to treating the environment?... In developing countries, they're so busy trying to survive until the next day, that the environment becomes secondary. But I fear in the west, with unchecked fly tipping, we are heading that same way.

Steve spots a monitor lizard gliding into the water, and there's another creeping through the detritus that I eventually see too.

This is not the Old Port and we decide this area doesn't warrant further exploration, so we pick up three tuk tuks and head for the actual Old Port. 

But even that turns out to be an anticlimax; yes, the old ships are there, lined up, but that's it, there's nothing else in the area. Five minutes of photos and we scoot. 

We now head for the Jetski Cafe, but the tuk tuk drivers don't have a clue how to get there, but still confidently drive in the opposite direction! So we bail, and Grab two cars which know the way.

A pleasant lunch there, on the edge of the harbour, sitting inside in front of a massive A/C machine. I enjoy fresh coconut from a fresh Jetski Cafe branded coconut. I scrape out the succulent lining with a spoon, but need a plastic straw to drink the liquid. I feel uneasy about using the plastic and wonder if it will end up in the sea.

Grab back to the hotel. We regroup there and then head out to collect the bikes, which we ride about 500m back to the hotel in minimal gear, but maximal traffic, so top out at about 15 kmph. Mine is a Kawasaki Versys 250cc. Feels comfortable and should be fine for the mild trails and tarmac we'll be mostly riding.

Out to dinner in two cars at a swanky resto in the Financial District. It's far nicer here and more like a modern city should be. One wonders: if the people that live and work here spent some time in the rubbish strewn areas, out of their air conditioned cars, whether the "Kampung" areas would be so unpleasant.

I end the evening with Charlie, Tom and Shane. Riders who I'm meeting for the first time, but I'm sure will get to know well - in addition to their stories! What goes on tour, stays on tour, right. 

Half a Day around Goa

I'm attending a meeting in Goa, and before it starts decided to hire a scooter for the afternoon. 

After a brief pootle around Donna Paula where I'm staying, I decided to head south to the home turf of the legend that is Alex Pirie, the owner of Nomadic Knights, the company with which I started my overseas biking adventures many moons ago in India. 

Unfortunately Alex is away on a tour up in the Himalayas, but I visit his manor, Colva, as I meandre my way south and imprint BD on the neighbourhood. 

Lovely beaches - I can see the attraction of life in Goa!

I'm used to manic driving from my many trips in developing countries, but apparently Goa has the highest accident rate. Doesn't seem anything out of the ordinary from what I can see, your still need to use the horn judiciously. 

I keep heading south to Benaulim where an ex-work colleague from my GEC Hirst Research Centre days now lives with her husband. While they finish watching the Wales Japan rugby I visit their local beach. Very nice. 

But the weather is closing in, looks like a storm is on the way. 

The half fuel tank I had at the start now indicates into the red, so I fill up. I ask for 500Rs worth, but only 350Rs goes in. That's only a few litres. The attendant tries to short change me, but a lady on a scooter behind intervenes and I'm issued the right amount - thank you!

I head further south and come across a sandy track that emerges into a much quieter area with the best beach I've seen and very few people around. 

But in the distance I can see the waves are white topped and a few rollers land on the beach. There's a power boat that jumps the waves heading out!

The match over, I meet up with Bee and husband Dave for coffee.

They moved here years ago and are well settled, even starting up a local rugby club for the kids. They've handed that down to others now, but still follow the local tournaments as guest VIPs.

Time to get back, as I have to return the scooter by 8pm, so I set off on the small roads leading to the NH66 trunk road. But before I get there the heavens open and it's now really pouring. On top of that it's now dark and rush hour! With car headlights on full beam and the rain inside and outside of my visor it's hard work. I stop under a bridge to shelter for a bit.

Restarting, the rain has eased a little but it's still challenging. It's probably also good practice for the rainy season in Indonesia whose adventure follows in a week's time - stay tuned.

I join the NH66 but traffic becomes clogged in places - Google says a 14 minute delay, but I make good progress in gaps, and on the dirt at the roadside, leaving the traffic behind me. 

Traffic and weather cleared, and this little locally produced 125cc Yamaha is not a bad little mount. I've not ridden scooters much, but this one is agile and can do an indicated 90kmph.

I eventually get back to Dona Paula and return the bike, somehow, with 30mins to spare. 110km today and the petrol gauge still indicates almost full despite the crazy ride back. These really bikes barely use fuel.