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Indonesia & Timor-Leste in Numbers

Some statistical numbers from the 4 sections we cycled in Indonesia on  7 different islands and Timor-Leste.

Medan (Sumatra) to Dili (Timor-Leste)

Cycling Days: 48 days
Distance: 5545 km
Climbs: 67649 m
Average per day: 116 km with  1409 m of vertical climbs

0-indonesia

1. Sumatra

Cycling Days: 17 days
Distance: 2130 km
Climbs: 21357 m
Average per day: 125 km with  1256 m of vertical climbs

sumatra

2. Java

Cycling Days: 17 days
Distance: 1845 km
Climbs: 28484 m
Average per day: 109 km with  1676 m of vertical climbs

2-java

3. Bali

Cycling Days: 2 days
Distance: 216 km
Climbs: 2278 m
Average per day: 108 km with  1139 m of vertical climbs

3-bali

4. Lombok

Cycling Days: 2 days
Distance: 198 km
Climbs: 1276 m
Average per day: 99 km with  638 m of vertical climbs

4-lombok

5. Sumbawa

Cycling Days: 3 days
Distance: 391 km         (longest distance a day: 192 km)
Climbs: 2953 m
Average per day: 130 km with  985 m of vertical climbs

5-sumbawa

6. Flores

Cycling Days: 3 days
Distance: 393 km
Climbs: 6646 m       (longest climb a day: 3283 m)
Average per day: 131 km with  2215 m of vertical climbs

6-Flores

7. Timor & Timor-Leste

Cycling Days: 4 days
Distance: 410 km
Climbs: 4530 m     
Average per day: 103 km with  1133 m of vertical climbs

7-Timor

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Bromo Crater desert

Sharp Peeks

Today’s mountain peeks that we had to overrun where exceptional steep and the tips extremely sharp. Besides the need to force the last bit of energy into the legs to turn the cranks and keep on moving, it was also a battle for the tires. Obviously too much, even for an ‘undestroyable’ Schwalbe. Usually I shoulder my bike and lift it over the top, to protect it from tire damages caused by sharp tips. However, today I forgot to get off my20140923_122258 bike on one of the peeks and got my rear tire completely stabbed, down to the fabric. Luckily I had the extra anti-flat plastic layer inside between tire wall and tube, thus I didn’t suffer a puncture and could continue the ride to camp.DSC_3108

 

 

After dinner I had to perform an emergency repair, moved my front tire to the rear wheel and mounted the Supreme (which is for smooth tar) to the front. Now I need to hunt for a new offroad tire to replace the damaged one.

My 1st Stage Win

Today I wrote my Tour d’ Afrique history: I arrived as first rider in the Camp, which means that I won the stage. It was not only historical because I never compete with the racers, but take my time for photos and interactions with locals, but also because it was the hardest stage ever, due to the last minute change of the route at lunch. Actually I was so early, not even the usual welcome committee (riders who did not cycle and staff members) was around to cheer me in. All were still on theDSC_2598 road, in the cars. Only Bob – who already went ahead to this place 3 days ago, as he recovers from an injury that does not allow him to cycle – was here to witness this historical day. I was already showered and in fresh clothes, when the runner-ups – Chris and Paul – arrived, partially exhausted and still in sweat. They fair congratulated me for my achievement and posed DSC_2601with me for a winner photo. Eric, who arrived 4th, seeing me in civil clothes and best mood, couldn’t actually believe that I was already at camp, ahead of him. Very concerned he asked me ‘are you o.k.?’ thinking I had arrived in the sweeping van, and DNF (did not finish) the stage because I had given up or an accident.  So I had to honestly swear to him, that I really cycled this hard stage into the camp and did not cheat. I was probably the first person who ever crossed this pass on a bicycle.

This story wouldn’t be complete, without some background information.

As a matter of the routing change from lunch, the 3 ‘racers’ Chris, Paul & Eric’ were accidentally DSC_2568released into the wrong (original) direction. By the time this was recognized they were already 10 km further downhill. Now each of them had to hitch a taxi, that brought them back up to the lunch stop. – It must have been a funny picture, 3 cabs with someone sitting inside, arm out of the window and pushing a bicycle outside the car, as the taxis were not equipped or big enough to carry bicycles. – Once the 3 were back to lunch they got on the right track, but Chris and Paul missed the first turn after 1 km (I did not remove the flagging!) and continued uphill into a dead end road, loosing more time. Eric did not get lost, but stayed with Brett, who had a hard day, on the brutal climb. I was still very strong on the steep uphill, although I had to walk a large part of the DSC_2578track with my heavy bicycle. I still took my time to document the roughness of this stretch, took a summit photo at the security post, and wired back to Andreas, about the ‘none-rideable’ climb, to inform the other riders, what to expect on the new route. Some turned around to get on the van, others did not attempt to go into the ‘wall’. Later everyone, who made it through the climb, committed stage-23-bypassthat they had to walk their bicycles most of the steep uphills, as the grade or underground did not allow to stay on the bike. The conditions on the 3 km / 350 m climb with sections as steep as 15% – 22% on loose gravel and boulders or corrugated soil couldn’t be managed without professional skill or extra risk taking

This (partially) explains, why I was all of a sudden ahead of the racer group and never been caught again Smile.

Itinerary

Proposed day-by-day trip breakdown: Aug. 18 – Dec. 19, 2014

  • 8 Sections
  • 124 tour days
  • 93 cycling days
  • 71 metric centuries
  • total distance 11042 km
Day Date 2014 Stage Depart Arrive Dist (km)
Section 1: Sumatra Sutra – Medan to Carita
1 Mon, Aug 18 1 Medan Berastagi 57
2 Tue, Aug 19 2 Berastagi Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) 121
3 Wed, Aug 20 Rest Day – Lake Toba  
4 Thu, Aug 21 3 Tuk Tuk (Lake Toba) Tarutung 158
5 Fri, Aug 22 4 Tarutung Padang Sidempuan 110
6 Sat, Aug 23 5 Padang Sidempuan Kota Nopan 111
7 Sun, Aug 24 6 Kota Nopan Bukittinggi 183
8 Mon, Aug 25 Rest Day – Bukittinggi  
9 Tue, Aug 26 7 Bukittinggi Padang (Bungus Beach) 122
10 Wed, Aug 27 8 Padang (Beach 20k S) Pesisir Selatan 119
11 Thu, Aug 28 9 Pesisir Selatan Mukomuko 141
12 Fri, Aug 29 10 Mukomuko Seblat 143
13 Sat, Aug 30 11 Seblat Bengkulu 127
14 Sun, Aug 31 Rest Day – Benkulu  
15 Mon, Sep 1 12 Bengkulu Manna 141
16 Tue, Sep 2 13 Manna Bintuhan 75
17 Wed, Sep 3 14 Bintuhan Krui 141
18 Thu, Sep 4 15 Krui Gisting 150
19 Fri, Sep 5 16 Gisting Kalianda 142
20 Sat, Sep 6 17 Kalianda Carita 112
21 Sun, Sep 7 Rest Day – Carita  
Section 2: Java Jive – Carita to Yogyakarta
22 Mon, Sep 8 18 Carita Malingping (Bagedur Beach) 90
23 Tue, Sep 9 19 Bagedur Beach Cimaja 85
24 Wed, Sep 10 20 Cimaja Ujung Genteng 79
25 Thu, Sep 11 21 Ujung Genteng Cidaun 118
26 Fri, Sep 12 22 Cidaun Ciwidey 71
27 Sat, Sep 13 23 Ciwidey Cipanas 116
28 Sun, Sep 14 Rest Day – Cipanas  
29 Mon, Sep 15 24 Cipanas Kota Banjar 155
30 Tue, Sep 16 25 Kota Banjar Baturaden 150
31 Wed, Sep 17 26 Baturaden Wonosobo 105
32 Thu, Sep 18 27 Wonosobo Yogyakarta 101
33 Fri, Sep 19 Rest Day – Yogyakarta  
34 Sat, Sep 20 Rest Day – Yogyakarta  
Section 3: Volcanoes & Temples – Yogyakarta to Ubud
35 Sun, Sep 21 28 Yogyakarta Solo 142
36 Mon, Sep 22 29 Solo Sarangan 62
37 Tue, Sep 23 30 Sarangan Tulungagung 126
38 Wed, Sep 24 31 Tulungagung Batu 117
39 Thu, Sep 25 32 Batu Bromo 80
40 Fri, Sep 26 Rest Day – Bromo Tengger Semeru Park  
41 Sat, Sep 27 33 Bromo Bondowoso 157
42 Sun, Sep 28 34 Bondowoso Ketapang 107
43 Mon, Sep 29 35 Ketapang Lovina 82
44 Tue, Sep 30 36 Lovina Ubud 94
45 Wed, Oct 1 Rest Day – Ubud  
Section 4: Spice Island Hopping – Ubud to Dili
46 Thu, Oct 2 37 Ubud Senggigi 69
47 Fri, Oct 3 Rest Day – Senggigi  
48 Sat, Oct 4 38 Senggigi Labuhan Lombok 126
49 Sun, Oct 5 39 Labuhan Lombok Sumbawa Besar 109
50 Mon, Oct 6 40 Sumbawa Besar Soriutu 172
51 Tue, Oct 7 41 Soriutu Sape 128
52 Wed, Oct 8 Travel Sape Labuanbajo 4
53 Thu, Oct 9 Rest Day – Labuanbajo  
54 Fri, Oct 10 42 Labuanbajo Ruteng 126
55 Sat, Oct 11 43 Ruteng Bajawa 135
56 Sun, Oct 12 44 Bajawa Ende 126
57 Mon, Oct 13 Rest Day – Ende / Ferry leaves at 21:00  
58 Tue, Oct 14 Ferry Ende to Kupang  
59 Wed, Oct 15 Rest Day – Kupang  
60 Thu, Oct 16 45 Kupang Soe 108
61 Fri, Oct 17 46 Soe Kefamenanu 85
62 Sat, Oct 18 47 Kefamenanu Atambua 112
63 Sun, Oct 19 48 Atambua Dili 115
64 Mon, Oct 20 Flight from Dili to Darwin  
Section 5: Bike the Outback – Darwin to Alice Springs
65 Tue, Oct 21 Rest Day – Darwin  
66 Wed, Oct 22 Rest Day – Darwin  
67 Thu, Oct 23 49 Darwin Adelaide River 108
68 Fri, Oct 24 50 Adelaide River Pine Creek 115
69 Sat, Oct 25 51 Pine Creek Katherine 94
70 Sun, Oct 26 Rest Day – Katherine  
71 Mon, Oct 27 52 Katherine Mataranka 103
72 Tue, Oct 28 53 Mataranka Daly Waters 169
73 Wed, Oct 29 54 Daly Waters Elliott 153
74 Thu, Oct 30 55 Elliott Renner Springs 93
75 Fri, Oct 31 56 Renner Springs Tennant Creek 160
76 Sat, Nov 1 Rest Day – Tennant Creek  
77 Sun, Nov 2 57 Tennant Creek Wauchope 116
78 Mon, Nov 3 58 Wauchope Barrow Creek 100
79 Tue, Nov 4 59 Barrow Creek Aileron 149
80 Wed, Nov 5 60 Aileron Alice Springs 132
81 Thu, Nov 6 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
82 Fri, Nov 7 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
83 Sat, Nov 8 Rest Day – Alice Springs  
Section 6: Opals, Missiles, and Vino – Alice Springs to Adelaide
84 Sun, Nov 9 61 Alice Springs Desert Oaks Rest Area 169
85 Mon, Nov 10 62 Desert Oaks Rest Area Kulgera 108
86 Tue, Nov 11 63 Kulgera Tarcoonyinna Rest Area 126
87 Wed, Nov 12 64 Tarcoonyinna Rest Area Cadney Homestead 135
88 Thu, Nov 13 65 Cadney Homestead Coober Pedy 158
89 Fri, Nov 14 Rest Day – Coober Pedy  
90 Sat, Nov 15 66 Coober Pedy The Twins Rest Area 125
91 Sun, Nov 16 67 The Twins Rest Area Glendambo 125
92 Mon, Nov 17 68 Glendambo Woomera 120
93 Tue, Nov 18 69 Woomera Bookalo Rest Area 117
94 Wed, Nov 19 70 Bookalo Rest Area Port Augusta 62
95 Thu, Nov 20 Rest Day – Port Augusta  
96 Fri, Nov 21 71 Port Augusta Jamestown 128
97 Sat, Nov 22 72 Jamestown Riverton 127
98 Sun, Nov 23 73 Riverton Adelaide 124
99 Mon, Nov 24 Rest Day – Adelaide  
Section 7: Great Ocean Road – Adelaide to Melbourne
100 Tue, Nov 25 74 Adelaide Lake Albert 159
101 Wed, Nov 26 75 Lake Albert Kingston 148
102 Thu, Nov 27 76 Kingston Beachport 89
103 Fri, Nov 28 77 Beachport Nelson 122
104 Sat, Nov 29 78 Nelson Port Fairy 133
105 Sun, Nov 30 Rest Day – Port Fairy  
106 Mon, Dec 1 79 Port Fairy Port Campbell 91
107 Tue, Dec 2 80 Port Campbell Apollo Bay 96
108 Wed, Dec 3 Rest Day – Apollo Bay  
109 Thu, Dec 4 81 Apollo Bay Torquay 92
110 Fri, Dec 5 82 Torquay Melbourne 146
111 Sat, Dec 6 Rest Day – Melbourne  
Section 8: Wizards of Oz – Melbourne to Sydney
112 Sun, Dec 7 83 Melbourne Cowes 90
113 Mon, Dec 8 84 Cowes Inverloch 55
114 Tue, Dec 9 85 Inverloch Yarram 103
115 Wed, Dec 10 86 Yarram Bairnsdale 142
116 Thu, Dec 11 Rest Day – Bairnsdale  
117 Fri, Dec 12 87 Bairnsdale Orbost 95
118 Sat, Dec 13 88 Orbost Delegate 123
119 Sun, Dec 14 89 Delegate Cooma 134
120 Mon, Dec 15 90 Cooma Canberra 110
121 Tue, Dec 16 Rest Day – Canberra  
122 Wed, Dec 17 91 Canberra Nerringa 118
123 Thu, Dec 18 92 Nerringa Bulli Beach 160
124 Fri, Dec 19 93 Bulli Beach Sydney Opera House 115
Finish Sydney  
11042

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