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All you need on a rest day

All you need in one place …

German bakery, Bicycle rental, more than enough  Bintang beer (plus lemonade), fresh MMs (the only mushrooms I like Sick smile), massages, my own Restaurant and happy faces wherever you pass by or stop. The people are so nice and friendly – A friendly ‘semalat pagi’ and ‘terima kasi / sama sama’ can open hearts and doors.  DSC_0863  DSC_0871 
  DSC_0916Today I used the rest day in Tuk Tuk to do some extra cycling besides internet, laundry and bike service. The heavy  downpour stopped during the night and in the morning we were greeted wDSC_0879ith great sunshine – Cristiano obviouslyDSC_0901 talked again to the God’s! When most of the other riders decided to stay at the lodge and use internet or go the few steps into the village, I grabbed my bike and explored the nearby surroundings. Not a bad decision. At first up the hill west of town, to watch the paragliding training, then down to Tomok to see King’s Tomb. Thereafter up again to the DSC_0893waterfall and from there to Amberita, then to King Siallagan Stone Chairs site, and along the eastern coast of the peninsular  back to Tuk Tuk through little settlements and alleys of tourist stores. Actually I didn’t ride all the way up the waterfall on a narrow single trail, simply to safe my energy for tomorrow and because I am confident to see many more waterfalls through out Indonesia which are far easier DSC_0918to reach. DSC_0905The kids are always excited to see me with my funny “zoo-helmet”. I met cute little 2 year old Jessie at Joe’s. She is the neighbor’s daughter, but wants to spend all day with ‘aunty’ in the restaurant – the owners brother is married to a DSC_0911German living in Düsseldorf. Yesterday I met Jonas with his brothers and father who are here to spent the vacation at their granny’s. They are from Schorndorf, a city very close to where I live and have relatives  – what a small world.
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Although it was raining hard and long last night the locals tell me that it was a far too dry season and a lot of the harvest did not mature.

2014-08-20 Photos

Photos of the Rest Day

Tuk Tuk / Lake Toba – Sumatra

An almost perfect day

One could see smiles on almost every ones face on this 120 km ride from Berastagi to Lake Toba, our first rest shirley-danday. Immediately after leaving the city Mt. Sibayak waved us a final farewell with a huge smoke cloud. Thereafter the road lead through never ending plantations with oranges and corn. Traffic was very low as we did not use the main road to the lake, so our senses were free to inhale beautiful scenery, the good air and the sounds of nature. We spent a long time riding DSC_0767parallel to the lake on the ridge of the caldera, without getting it in sight. However, a final turn opened the view on the largest crater lake of the earth, which is a result of a giant eruption some 74000 years ago, which resulted in ‘volcanic winter’ killing 90% of the earth population.

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After a lot of rolling climbs the descent to the lake was a gift for legs and mind. A short and cheap ferry ride set us over to Tuk Tuk on the large Samosir Island. Rooms were quickly taken (although not according to TdA plans) but the vans with the bags were still to come. So a bunch of ‘smelling’ cyclists filled the restaurant (luckily  a thatched open building) for the hours to come. Without toiletry, swimsuit and PCs there was not much to do other than to fillDSC_0850 the afternoon with beer, food and talks. It was not before 7:30pm when the vans arrived, not only carrying our bags but an awful load of rain, which is pouring down on us since then. Hope this will stop during the night and we are not trapped in our rooms in the fantastic setup of the Tabo Cottages!

Smoker

What a fantastic ride. The skies cleared over night and revealed a spectacular view of the active volcano Mt. Sinabung. Actually it was said that Cristiano and Yudo hiked up at 2 am, woke up the sleeping giant, moved the clouds and lit up some wood and garbage to give us this fabulous performance – please, give us more of that Winking smile

bypassing Mt. Sinabung

joe-volcano

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Mt. Sinabung (2460 m) @ Berastagi

Stage 02: Sumatra

Berastagi to Tuk Tuk
Date: 19-08-2014 Time: 05:35 h Temp: 15/31 °C
Distance: 119 km Σ km: 174 km To Go: nnnnn km
Up: 1232 m Σ Up: 2732  m Calories: 2661 kcal
Down: 1718 m Σ Down: 1915 m Σ kcal: 5355 kcal
Conditions: perfect cycling weather. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. Road perfect, traffic low.

It was a very scenic ride. First smoking Mt. Sinabung, then the ride through fertile fields and plantations and along the ridge of Lake Tabo caldera.

 

stage-02

2014-08-19 Photos

Photos of the 2nd stage

Berastagi to Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) – Sumatra

Leaving the comfort zone

Hangout is over. Nice luxury hotel but just for 1 night. Time to go ‘spinning’ again … 122km and 1600m climbs ahead to Tuk Tuk @ lake Toba situated in the caldera of a volcano. YEAH, feels like doomsday workouts!

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Berastagi

After an all day climb – 4% average / 15% max – Joachim and his ‘companions’ arrived at Berastagi at the foot of volcano Sibayak (2212m). Here they prepare for the next day, which will lead them to their first rest day at Lake Toba, which is the caldera of a massive volcano eruption, 74000 years ago.

Dinner was fantastic. I am the only rider with ‘special’ diet requirements (vegetarian) and therefore get VIP service – served at the table where the others have to queue for buffet.
The 7 plates are all mine! Smile

dinner

Impressions from the ride …

house1   church

beatle    school
Proteins for lunch?                   Roll call at a village school

Daily Routine is activated

The daily routine that will guide me the next 4 months has been activated: 

Eat – Sleep –Bike

Easy to remember, but not always easy to follow, especially the early wakeup calls …

  • 05:15: Alarm goes off
  • 05:45: Bags stored in the vans
  • 06:00: breakfast
  • 06:45: on the road
  • 18:00: rider meeting
  • 18:30: dinner
  • 19:30: internet, pack  & sleep

getting-ready

2014-08-18 Photos

Photos of the 1st stage

Medan to Berastagi – Sumatra