Photos of Stage 4
Tarutung to Padang Sidempuan – Sumatra
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Category Archives: Sumatra Sutra
First section from Medan to Carita
A peaceful night
I had a peaceful night on the couch in the corridor. Took my inlet, ear plugs, mosquito repellent and lookily had 5 hours uninterrupted sleep 
My back is a bid sour but that will cure on the ride …
My luxury sleeping room with the tiny official room in the back.
Tweet ##transoceaniaStage 03: Sumatra
| Tuk Tuk to Tarutong | |||||
| Date: | 21-08-2014 | Time: | 08:59h | Temp: | 14/31 °C |
| Distance: | 155 km | Σ km: | 329 km | To Go: | nnnnn km |
| Up: | 1618 m | Σ Up: | 4350 m | Calories: | 4140 kcal |
| Down: | 1547 m | Σ Down: | 3462 m | Σ kcal: | 9495 kcal |
| Conditions: | A rewarding climb. Rain in the morning and afternoon. Climb stunning. | ||||
tbd
What a Rewarded Ride
The rain that set in yesterday evening never stopped. Everyone showed up in more-or-less rain gear. Even Cristiano (freshly shaved) could finally wear his new ‘dry sack’. After a wet 40 km ride along the shores of the Samosir Island we crossed on a bridge back to the ‘main land’ where shortly after the expected ‘rewarding climb’ should start.
Guess what, not only the climb was rewarded, but the complete ride was rewarded more than once.
1. The waterfall at Tuk Tuk, which yesterday could only be guessed that it exists, was running in full power.
2. The climb was fantastic. Steep, countless switchbacks, still drizzling rain, low clouds and stunning views! If it wasn’t supposed to be a long riding day, I would have been tempted to stop more often, to enjoy the scenery and the incomparable beauty of the valley.
3. The food at the summit lunch stop. In addition to the usual fruits, veggies, white bread and peanut butter, we got fresh cooked baby potatoes. What a treat!
4. The long rolling downhill. A 90 km long drop from 1800 m to 900 m, with a few more minor climbs, which added another 500m to todays total. However, the strong head wind on the last 50 km to Taruntung was a bit challenging with the legs and body getting more tired with every kilometer.
5. The afternoon monsoon rain shower that finished as fast as it appeared. The dark sky could be seen from a distance, but little time was left to jump into the rain clothes. I would have been soaked wet, if the little shop wasn’t exactly were I needed it. Downside: My bike wasn’t naturally washed and I had to clean it myself at the hotel *)
*) Our rooms for the night are booked in the Bali Hotel in Tarutung. Read more in my soon to come Bali Hotel post …
Tweet ##transoceaniaTrapped in the rain
I am currently trapped in a heavy downpour. Too risky to continue. Got schelter in a road side shop. 8km to go. Let’s have a Coke.
Mastered today’s Climb
At the top of the rewarding climb. What a fantastic ride so far. Rain turned into drizzle and finally stopped. Stunning views down to the lake and the rice fields. More later from camp … Now it is the time to enjoy the all day downhill
Paul and me at summit lunch stop
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A rewarding climb
The waypoints, directions and the profile of todays ride has been published at the rider’s meeting. We will add another 1600m to the total climbs. What will be the reward? We all hope there is more than a Coke-Stop reward at the end of the climb! 
First rest day Resume
My first rest day is almost over. Although I was rather busy with fighting the environments and getting everything setup to be able to stay connected with all of you, I did find some time to explore the neighborhood, as posted earlier.
Due to the late arrival of our vans yesterday, there was some left over work to be done today. It was basically I fight with the slow and instable internet connection to get my blog updates done. I decided to use my Samsung as a hotspot for my Thinkpad and speed and reliability is like hell. With just 4$ / 2 GB data volume this is well invested money and gives me a lot of extra spare time, when fellow riders are still waiting for a network response on their first click of the day. I also managed to get my Garmin GPS tracks linked to Google map, such that you can follow my tracks on the daily Stage Detail entries (stage 01, stage 02).
Now everything should be in shape to finish write ups, photos and maps much quicker. However do to the limited internet accessibility I do not permanently maintain the photo sections of the blog, but enrich the daily posts with more pictures as usual.
No I need to get some rest, to regain energy for the long 150+ km with a huge climb ,,,
An Indonesian ‘clored bull’ – Kratingdaeng – don’t know if they would give me wings, too?! I found the bottle in a ditch next to the road with so much more debris that is dumped into this beautiful countryside. Most part of Africa is in the meantime miles ahead in respect to environmental concerns and tidiness.
Tweet ##transoceaniaAll 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 
), 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. 
Today 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 w
ith great sunshine – Cristiano obviously
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 
waterfall 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 
to reach. 
The 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 
German 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.
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.
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