Category Archives: Trans-Oceania

Java Jive, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 21: Java

September 11, 2014 Joachim

Ujung Gesting to Cidaun
Date:	11-09-2014	Time:	07:23 h	Σ Time:	124:44 h
Distance:	141 km	Σ km:	2567 km	Temp:	21/36 °C
Up:	1265 m	Σ Up:	26331 m	Calories:	3225 kcal
Down:	1250 m	Σ Down:	26217 m	Σ kcal:	57364 kcal
Conditions:	A tough one. It was said that the road conditions weren’t good, which turned out to be the case for a major part of the day. But what made it more difficult was the strong blowing headwind, all day long.

The all day blowing headwind from east and the mostly bad road conditions made it a long riding day. However very quiet and scenic once we left the main road and turned into the coconut and gum tree fields. The temperatures felt really comfortable. From km 40 to 105 the road was really bad; loose gravel and rocks required full concentration at every second. However I could play out my ‘joker card’, the full suspension mode of my MTB made me ride the rocks like a Cadillac. I really enjoyed the roughness and difficulty of the ride. Cristiano wasn’t wrong when he announced the bad road conditions during the briefing, the night before. What he did not mention was, that we are riding eastwards and the wind is constantly blowing into our faces. This slowed down progress dramatically and made riding an all day and exhausting fight. Only a few of us made it to the next camp.

Lunch was setup at a nice place in the woods, where a local was boiling palm zap to make sugar and serving us fresh coconuts.

Tomorrow is another ‘killer’ stage: just 71 km, but a constant climb to 1800 m from sea level. I hope that the rest day that we have on Sep 14., will give me enough time to post photos and special reports.

Tweet ##transoceania

Java Jive, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 20: Java

September 10, 2014 Joachim

Cimaja to Ujung Gesting
Date:	10-09-2014	Time:	05:21 h	Σ Time:	117:20 h
Distance:	97 km	Σ km:	2426 km	Temp:	21/35 °C
Up:	1279 m	Σ Up:	25066 m	Calories:	2220 kcal
Down:	1288 m	Σ Down:	24967 m	Σ kcal:	54139 kcal
Conditions:	Another joy ride. Roads good. Climb long but never steep, easy to find a pace to make it to the top effortless. Temperatures moderate. Head wind in the afternoon turning back to sea.

Another enjoyable cycling day. The morning climb after 15 km on the main road from sea level to almost 800 m was a ‘piece of cake’. Easy to find the right gear and pace to finish the 20 km gradual slope in one turn. Thereafter all day long downhill. That is how it should be. The vegetation and landscape changed. Hilly with endless tea plantations, with tea pickers at work. I stopped to ‘chat’ with some of the tea pickers – great fun. Another stop at a school where girls and boys were playing soccer together in heir school uniforms. I ‘crashed’ another school lesson and turned it into a ‘the stranger entertaining the kids’ lesson. At the end the kids formed a quire and sang an Indonesian song for me. The day ended at the Turtle Beach Hotel – nice, spacey and clean. Unfortunately someone must have told them that we must all be Germans! Only Beer at the bar, no soft drinks. We were told that the turtles usually come to the beach at around 8/9pm, so we will have a chance to see them tonight.

Tweet ##transoceania

Java Jive, Sections, Trans-Oceania

At Turtle Beach

September 10, 2014 Joachim 1 Comment

Arrived at the Turtle Beach. A 95 km relaxed ride. A 20 km climb in the morning into the tea fields. Thereafter an all day drop down to sea level, through rice fields, rubber tree plantations and numberless little villages.

I took it really slowly as my coughing does not get better and keeps me from restful sleeping.

Tonight we might go to the close by sanctuary where sea turtles come to the beach and lay their eggs.

Tweet ##transoceania

Java Jive, Photos, Sections, Trans-Oceania

King of the Mountain

September 9, 2014 Joachim 2 Comments

Mastered today’s last climb back to the coastline. Campsite at the beach, onky a 14 km downhill away.

Tweet ##transoceania

Java Jive, Sections, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 18: Java

September 8, 2014 Joachim 1 Comment

Carita to Malinping
Date:	08-09-2014	Time:	05:23 h	Σ Time:	107:02 h
Distance:	112 km	Σ km:	2242 km	Temp:	22/38 °C
Up:	1068 m	Σ Up:	22425 m	Calories:	2471 kcal
Down:	1085 m	Σ Down:	22314 m	Σ kcal:	49379 kcal
Conditions:	Again quick 33 km after leaving campsite. Rather flat with good tailwind. However the smog is still bad – my new mask gave some relief. Turning inland we ‘climbed’ a bit into the green fields. Road mostly good. Turning back to the sea, the wind was blowing strong into our faces.

This was the right starter after the rest day. Time and distance wise short and doable. Very scenic ride after leaving the coast line. The air also turned more consumable after leaving the busy main road. We climbed a bit, but not very steep and long. Ended up in fields of banana and coconut trees and rice. Timber is also a big business. The sawing mills are everywhere and piles of wood waiting to be turned into boards. The people are very friendly but reserved. I stopped at a house with a big satellite dish and was invited to have shade on the veranda with the owner family. The kids were wearing European soccer team jerseys – as so many in the country. So I ended up playing soccer with little Messi and Benzema.

I am still riding with fever and coughing. Temperature control is still not calibrated. I am shivering at 35°C. Hope this will improve within the next few days.

Tweet ##transoceania

Photos, Sections, Sumatra Sutra, Trans-Oceania

Ups and Downs

September 7, 2014 Joachim 1 Comment

The Sumatra Sutra section is over. Yesterday late afternoon I arrived at Carita, the first camp location on Java. A fairly large hotel complex at the beach. Whereas Eric – who was already here for some days, to recover from his fall and broken rips – stated that the hotel was deserted, with him as the only guest; it is now over crowded with weekend guests. two dozen busses with students and adults from all over the place are here turning the hotel into a massive entertainment area, with live music, games and all day BBQs.

As with the terrain – with a lot of ups and downs – it goes up and down with the health. Many suffer from sore throats, colds from A/C and pollution. It is not easy to find the right balance between refreshing cool and a comfortable room climate. Sharing the room with another person require compromises, too. Cycling all day in sweaty, wet fabric and temperatures between 20 and 40°C and the entering the hotel room with A/C set to 18°C is of no good. The filters are probably also not well maintained, spreading germs easily. Well, this will all change in Australia, when I am sleeping in my own tent.

I skipped a boat trip to Krakatau in favor to relax and cure my A/C|pollution cold. It would have been a ~4 hours boat ride to and from the volcanic island, but too much if you don’t feel well. Therefore I went to the village, got some medicine for my cold from the hospital (costs me 0.80€), had passport photos made (for my 3rd application for the Timor-Leste visa), and permanent ‘health mask for biker’ to wear when cycling, replacing the disposable surgeons masks.

Hope internet gets better during the day, so I can upload more photos from the past cycling days.

Tweet ##transoceania

Rest Day, Sections, Sumatra Sutra, Trans-Oceania

Public Viewing

September 7, 2014 Joachim

This night I moved out of the room I share with Brett. It became too hot with the A/C switched off (however no way to get over my cold sleeping with A/C) – The bed sheets were kind of plastic causing more sweat. Mosquitos bugging me all night. No way to fix a net in the room. Not comfortable at all. At 3am I grabbed my mattress and moved onto the table in the living room, bedding me raised above the floor. Mosquito net attached to the lamp, hot tea in a cup and eventually I dozed away for a healthier sleep. I should have done this right away.