| Atambua to Dili (Timor-Leste) | |||||
| Date: | 10-19-2014 | Time: | 03:56 h | Σ Time: | 275:37 h |
| Distance: | 134 km | Σ km: | 5545 km | Temp: | 20/42°C |
| Up: | 936 m | Σ Up: | 67649 m | Down: | 1232 m |
| Calories: | 2838 kcal | Σ kcal: | 127910 kcal | ||
| Conditions: | The road in Timor-Leste was for a long time under repair, mostly compact gravel or worse. It was a very dry day and the bad road sections very dusty. Downhill in the morning to the | ||||
The final stage before flying out to Australia.
My morning started with a slow leak. When I left Atambua I found my rear tire to be softer than usual. I pumped it up and continued the 25km to the border, to not delay the border crossing. Luckily the border was still closed, with about 1 hour time before it opened. Time to check the tube. At first I couldn’t find anything, thus I suspected my French friends to play a joke on my and released some air, when I was at breakfast. However when I checked the tire, I found a piece of wire which slightly went into the tube. I patched, got a spare from Gerald and was ready by the time the border opened. Process on both sides was easy. I didn’t expect it that easy after the slow process of the initial application 5 months ago. 30 US$ paid, bags scanned, reloaded to the vans and off we were into ‘new land’. I was probably the first German to enter into Timor-Leste via the land border – ‘history written’. The ride was fantastic. 3 short, but steep climbs in the morning, thereafter rolling along the shore all day. Strong, but cooling headwind made it a tough ride, but the peloton we founded after lunch helped a lot to finish the final 50 km in a comparable short time. However the 90 minute waiting time at the border and the 1 hour time loss, because Timor-Leste is 1 hour ahead, made it a long day. The landscape was beautiful and the people as friendly as on the other part of the separated island. It was a very scenic ride along the north coast. Azure sea and white beaches invited for a quick swim. Pigs, goats and cows were often crossing our ways and kept us alerted, not run into them. We got a lot of dust from passing cars, trucks and motor-cycles on the dirt roads. In camp I needed a steam wash together with my bike. Tomorrow is flying day. A short flight at 11:15am will bring us to Australia. In Darwin I have some important things to do, before I can actually get rest and work on photo selections and blog updates …
