Breakfast at the sea. Nice fruit salad, pancakes with banana, honey and chocolate souce. Unless as on other mornings nobody seems to be on a rush …
No for a short turn away from the coast an a return later in the afternoon.
Tweet ##transoceaniaMonthly Archives: August 2014
caught red-tat
Who said there are no thieves on Sumatra? So far I felt very safe to drop my bicycle anywhere and anytime to take photos, 
without fear to miss something by the time I return. However this seems to have changed now. Arriving at the sea the rules are different: “Watch your belongings, when there are ‘pirates’ around!”
This little gangster tries to steal one of my water bottles from the bike. He was pulling hard, but couldn’t figure out how to outsmart the bottle holder system.
Tweet ##transoceaniaIn love
Now I know what Henry and Nellie were working out yesterday during the rest day (at Bukittinggi) – The Wedding Planners?
I stopped at a gas station to take a photo of the long lineup before the pump. It reminded me of former Eastern-German 
queues for rare goods … But this was obviously only a setup and I was immediately persuaded by two youngsters to go 
into the Hotel opposite of the gas station, for a nice reception with local beauties, music and dance. It is really hard to not fall in love with this lovely country and its nice and beautiful people.
Stage 07: Sumatra
| Bukittinggi to Padang | |||||
| Date: | 26-08-2014 | Time: | 05:01h | Temp: | 15/38 °C |
| Distance: | 119 km | Σ km: | 844 km | To Go: | nnnnn km |
| Up: | 686 m | Σ Up: | 9650 m | Calories: | 2271 kcal |
| Down: | 1788 m | Σ Down: | 9874 m | Σ kcal: | 20617 kcal |
| Conditions: | A short riding day, awarded with an arrival at the Indian Ocean. | ||||
A hot, but enjoyable day. A huge drop from 1150 m to sea level made the ride fast and scenic. At the end, the streets get very busy and air turns bad from smoke and exhausts. The bypass wasn’t probably really faster or less frequented than the main road.
2014-08-26
Can you smell the sea?
Can you smell the sea?
Indian Ocean bound
Copying todays directions to the next destination: Padang. 122 km, a 1000 m drop to sea level.
Final minutes of comfort before getting back on the hard seats.
Tweet ##transoceaniaBukittinggi
“High Hill” is the meaning of the city name, located on the peak of the easy to defend ‘Jirek Heights’, 930m above sea level, our location for the second rest day. With its cool climate it is the most comfortable city West Sumatra’s; with the usual 3 pm afternoon shower.
Henry and Nellie ‘designing’ the highlights for the forthcoming stages
Museum in the Bukittinggi Zoo, with the
Emperor’s Wedding Throne
If you ever wanted to know, how your text messages are delivered 
A Monster of a Ride
This was the longest riding day of the tour (distance wise; 178 km), and the longest accumulated climb so far (2408 m), I’ve never done such a long distance on my MTB with that much of a climb! TdA, you make me break all my records. However, one never knows what Cristiano & Co. have been setup ahead of us.
We got it all in one day – a perfect Sunday workout! Morning mist, sunshine and heavy rain; steep uphills and fast downhills; spectacular views and scenic landscapes; white water rivers from the nightly rains. I left my DLR in my daily bag today, to be able to carry extra water and knowing it will eventually be raining and there is little time to stop for extra photos. Thus my GoPro & Smarphone must do it.
The morning climb out of camp was fast and kind of easy going, until the sun was starting to heat up the air. Midday temperatures were at a boiling 37°C until the first equator shower cooled us down a bit. The roads were deserted in the morning, everyone seem to be sleeping or at church on a Sunday. Later the roads got busier.
Equator Crossing–123 km into the day
The last 45 km and 800 m of climbs in the pouring rain I ‘supported’ Eric, who had a bad crash over his handlebar the day before and was cycling with pain from his bruised rips and chest.
The roads and clothes dried up quickly as we entered Bukit Tinggi
And we did it! Made it to the top and Bukit Tinggi, with an extra loop around the hotel, as we missed the last right turn.
