Photos of the 2nd stage
Berastagi to Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) – Sumatra
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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!
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
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
2014-08-18 Photos
We are rolling
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 …
Tweet ##transoceaniaRiding companions
I’ll not ride alone on this 4 months trip. A few ‘fellows’ from the ‘neighborhood’ have already expressed their intend to accompany me as mascots and staying with me through thick and thin.
First Briefing
The first rider meeting was held this morning in the hotel conference area. Staff members and riders introduced themselves to the rest. Cristiano, Henry and Yudo did an awful job scouting this one of a kind tour earlier this year. It sounds as if we will have a lot of ‘fun and pain’ on this tour, as we ride a tour nobody did before.
The TdA Staff Team running Trans Oceania 2014
Cristiano (Assistant Director), Andreas (Director, Mechanic), Chelsea (Medic) and Nellie (Comms & Social Networking)
Local Travel Agent and Support Vehicle Drivers
Daniel, Van Danu, Sulis and Yudo (from left)
The riders tensely listening what the ‘directors’ have to say
Stage 01: Sumatra
| Medan to Berastagi | |||||
| Date: | 18-08-2014 | Time: | 04:24 h | Temp: | 22/28 °C |
| Distance: | 55 km | Σ km: | 55 km | To Go: | 10987 km |
| Up: | 1500 m | Σ Up: | 1500 m | Calories: | 2694 kcal |
| Down: | 197 m | Σ Down: | 197 m | Σ kcal: | 2694 |
| Conditions: |
warm, humid, road partially bad in the beginning |
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A typical Cristiano ‘first day out of the camp’ ride: “Ascent to heaven”. A constant climb from the first kick. Air temperature was good, but humidity at 100% after the drizzles stopped. The road on the first km had seen much better days, but is still considered paved in TdA terms. Getting on the main road the long climb started. Traffic was dense but most of the cars and trucks did not take too much risk to save a few seconds …
