One could see smiles on almost every ones face on this 120 km ride from Berastagi to Lake Toba, our first rest day. 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 parallel 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.

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 fill 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!

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

Mt. Sinabung (2460 m) @ 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!

Impressions from the ride …

   
Proteins for lunch?                   Roll call at a village school

Final countdown is on. Vans are loaded everyone is excited to get on the road.

As everyone is waiting for the green light the light morning rain sets  in …