Tag Archives: timor-leste

Sections, Spice Island Hopping, Stage Details, Trans-Oceania

Stage 48: Timor to Timor-Leste

Atambua to  Dili (Timor-Leste)
Date: 10-19-2014 Time: 03:56 h Σ Time: 275:37 h
Distance: 134 km Σ km: 5545 km Temp: 20/42°C
Up: 936 m Σ Up: 67649 m Down: 1232 m
Calories: 2838 kcal Σ kcal: 127910 kcal  
Conditions: The road in Timor-Leste was for a long time under repair, mostly compact gravel or worse. It was a very dry day and the bad road sections very dusty. Downhill in the morning to the

The final stage before flying out to Australia.

My morning started with a slow leak. When I left Atambua I found my rear tire to be softer than usual. I pumped it up and continued the 25km to the border, to not delay the border crossing. Luckily the border was still closed, with about 1 hour time before it opened. Time to check the tube. At first I couldn’t find anything, thus I suspected my French  friends to play a joke on my and released some air, when I was at breakfast. However when I checked the tire, I found a piece of wire which slightly went into the tube. I patched, got a spare from Gerald and was ready by the time the border opened. Process on both sides was easy. I didn’t expect it that easy after the slow process of the initial application 5 months ago. 30 US$ paid, bags scanned, reloaded to the vans and off we were into ‘new land’. I was probably the first German to enter into Timor-Leste via the land border – ‘history written’. The ride was fantastic. 3 short, but steep climbs in the morning, thereafter rolling along the shore all day. Strong, but cooling headwind made it a tough ride, but the peloton we founded after lunch helped a lot to finish the final 50 km in a comparable short time. However the 90 minute waiting time at the border and the 1 hour time loss, because Timor-Leste is 1 hour ahead, made it a long day. The landscape was beautiful and the people as friendly as on the other part of the separated island. It was a very scenic ride along the north coast. Azure sea and white beaches invited for a quick swim. Pigs, goats and cows were often crossing our ways and kept us alerted, not run into them. We got a lot of dust from passing cars, trucks and motor-cycles on the dirt roads. In camp I needed a steam wash together with my bike. Tomorrow is flying day. A short flight at 11:15am will bring us to Australia. In Darwin I have some important things to do, before I can actually get rest and work on photo selections and blog updates …

stage-48

Misc, Photos, Spice Island Hopping, Trans-Oceania

Smiley has a new Friend

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GOPR5573My little smiley, which accompanied me since the arrival on Sumbawa, and was the highlight of the kids and adults on every cycling day, once spotted, has a new friend. I couldn’t get an Australian visa for him, thus he had to stay behind with a foster family in Timor-Leste. All day I had to escape from young boys chasing me uphill to get the ‘ball’. At the second to last Coke Stop before Dili, there was a single boy with his father, and Smiley finally changed ownership. The young boy is now happy owner of the yellow smiling face. He did not realize, that it is a present for him until we got back on our bikes and left. Then his face changed into a big smile, competing with smiley.

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Other than Sponge Bob, who exploded in the thin, hot air of Mt. Bromo, and Angry Bird, who was killed by a goat at lunch, when he accidentally left the van, Smiley survived the long, hard cycling days and even made a border crossing to Timor-Leste.

Let’s see, what Australia has for riding surprises.