jogya03 cycling memory

Bromo Volcano, super trip 2011

2011-07-01T18:17:00.009+08:00

If there are something that I will retain from my rides on 2011,
then ultimately my trip to Bromo Volcano will be one of them.

Bromo is located on East Java, about 3 to 4 hours driving from Surabaya.
So we were 4, I am the only native Indonesian, the other are French,
somehow, one of them knows cycling route around Bromo much better than me..!

Four of us start riding around 8 in the morning,
First decent from our hotel to the caldera was the best decent I ever made,
the bikes were struggling for a grip on wet loose sands,
with riders put their body way behind the saddle....
I kept braking almost all times..
I just dont want to knock myself out on the first round

then we climb the other side of the caldera,
my lungs were working hard to cope with 2300m of altitude here,
and after few hours, we were going around the ridge of the caldera.

By noon we went down to the caldera again,
at that time the loose sand was not wet anymore,
and the wind blew those sands constantly,
passing thru this mini sandstorm,
we returned to our hotel from the other side,

This round circuit was only about 26km,
but I never, ever imagine that this "soft" sandy place
was so demanding...

leisure MTB ride

2011-05-15T12:29:00.003+08:00

In the last few months I join a group of recreational MTB riders in my
neighborhood.
simple reason, after commuting inside city with my road bike or folding bike,
then riding on trails little bit away from city traffic is good.

The MTB that I am using is not a brand new one,
in fact it is old hardtail MTB of the club (not even mine.....),

but the bike got a decent frame, disk-brakes, and Deore combo shifter.

Most of us passed our forty already, so we are not racy rider,
only sometimes we participated in "semi competitive" event
like Le Grandeur Bike Jamboree.

Our rides mostly are on the outskirt of Balikpapan,

sometimes the track is hard, but it never long track,
longest one takes about 3 hours to finish.

The best part of our weekend ride is table in club house,
where we can have few beers before heading home.

Electric Assistance Bike

2011-04-03T20:35:00.003+08:00

I have seen some advertorial of electric bicycle,
but none of them is make me interested.
They are heavy and weird, look more like kids toy than a bicycle.

But recently I found something different,
one online shop in Bandung is offering a conversion kit
that could be installed easily on conventional 26" mountain bike.

For me that was a good news,
since what I want is a bicycle with electric assistance,
rather than electric toy with pedal.

I placed an order for their cheapest model, 250W/24V, front wheel kit.
My order arrived in about a week time,
in a well packed 25kg carton box, 77x68x20cm.

Inside the box I found front wheel set
with electric motor hub and wide tire,
battery box-controller-rear rack,
brake handles and accelerator control, and charger.

Those are heavy, front tire weights 7kg, battery box alone 9kg,
rear racks–controller and cable about 2kg easy.

Few things to be considered:
1. This kit is NOT compatible with disk brake,
2. Old bicycle with lugs for rear rack will suit better for installation.
3. I have to buy another set of shifter, the reason is I want to use
the supplied brake handle since it is equipped with
power cut-off switch. So I bought a set of cheap friction shifter.

Installing the kit is not too difficult,
I managed to install in less then 4 hours,
including swabbing tire with 26x1.75, and installing new shifter.

After installation, final weight of my old MTB is whooping 30kg
compare to 13kg before.

While this kit is easy to install,
instruction and video provided with the kit are not providing enough
information.

I also found few loose spoke and experiencing loose cable connection,
so I have to open the battery box.
Good thing is the seller is helpful,
he replies to my mail and help me trouble shooting the installation.

Guess who is delighted with this kit installation,
yes my 11years old daughter, she can climb uphill with much less effort,
and she becomes the fastest rider among her friends.

Lombok , a solo trip on my Hasa

2011-01-30T07:44:00.012+08:00

After Manado, Bali, Perth, and Palu....
just all in the sudden Lombok comes across my mind,

few of my expatriates colleagues praised Lombok,
as nice, quite and natural place, so different from crowded Bali.

Lihat Peta Lebih Besar

So on one Saturday morning, Jan 2011,
I board on Lion Air flight, with my backpack.
my only baggage was my folding bike.
after a short transit in Surabaya,

I arrive in Selaparang Airport, Lombok at 14:30.

As usual, I assembled the bike in the airport,
pumped the tire, rearranging my luggage,
using the bike bag as big backpack,
and I was ready to cycle to the hotel around 15:00

The weather was nice, little bit cloudy, and not too humid,
The road from Ampenan to Senggigi was not too wide,
but it was nice paved and smooth.

Even though the road was next the shoreline,
it is not always flat, there are few hills that demands power.
Cycling slowly and enjoying the scenery,

I arrived in Sheraton Hotel Senggigi at about 16:15,
it took me an hour for 12km distance....

after checking in and deposing my luggage I continued to cycle north
and my colleagues were right, Lombok is still green and natural,
and cycling along the contoured coast line is a real pleasure.

after passing Mangsit beach I came back to Senggigi,
wandering around the village, having dinner and came back to the hotel.

On next morning, breakfast in Sheraton was wonderful,
while some guests were checking out,
I prepared my bike for a trip to the south.

At 08:30 I headed south, passing Ampenan, Mataram, and Praya.
I arrived Praya almost noon time, then passing Batujai dam
and new airport that was still under construction.

The scenery is different,
if the north of Senggigi is shoreline and green hills,
in area south of Mataram is relatively flat land with rice field.
there are more traffic in south then the north.

Few sections of the road is still under improvement,
some heavy equipment working on those sections.

Rain fell when I was at Sade, Sasak Village.
It was 13:00, and Kuta is still 8km further to the South.
but this time I did not insist, I stopped there.

After few minutes waiting I put my bike on small pick up car,
and heading back to the town, I had to change the car 2 times,
but finally I arrived in Cakranegara around 14:30.
Having lunch there at 2M restaurant, and heading back to Senggigi.

Next morning, it was Monday morning and my last day in Lombok,
I check out around 10:00,
and cycling out of Senggigi with big bag on my back.
I wandered around the Ampenan and Mataram,
asking a shoe fitter to patch my bike bag,
and finally big rain fells at the time I arrived in the airport

It was 14:00, so I have enough time to pack my bike and checking in.
my flight was at 17:00, with an hour transit in Surabaya,

I arrived back home at 21:30,
somehow something still wondering my mind,
should I come back to Lombok, just to take hills north of Senggigi....???

Cycling around Palu

2010-10-31T12:19:00.006+08:00

I have planned this trip few months ago,
spoiled the first attempt,
cargo mishandling in Palu airport,
so my bike was delivered to Makassar rather than Palu.

This time, everything was perfect,
I was not alone, we were 4, all of us working in Balikpapan.
Sriwijaya Air flight from Balikpapan departs at 12:40,
so four of us took half days off on Friday afternoon.

Palu is only 45 minutes flying from Balikpapan,
and the hotel arrange a car to pick us up at Palu Airport.
We stayed at Palu SwisBelhotel, located at the beach in Silae,
about 5km from Palu city center.

The weather was good, and the air was not too humid neither,
On the first day we attempted to go to Wera Waterfall,
it is only about 30km from Palu, but we did not make it all the way,
it was almost dark at the time we reached last village before waterfall.

We hired a car to brought us back to the hotel,
and we arrived at the hotel about 19:30

Next morning we were little late,
after breakfast and checking out,
we were ready to cycle to Donggala.

Our colleagues will stay in Donggala,
so we hired car from Palu to send their baggage to their cottage in Donggala.

Road was nice, it is the main trans sulawesi road.
We had to stop for almost 30 minutes since it was raining heavily,
but other than that everything was fine.
There were few moderate climbs, we did not push for speed,
we were just enjoying the scenery of hills on our left and Palu Bay on our right.

We arrived in the cottage at 11:00, there was heavy rain,
so we took a rest at cottage lounge drinking few beers.
When the rain stopped we were wondering around the beach,
and after lunch, me and Yoyok were heading back to Palu,
while our colleagues stayed in Donggala.

Me and Yoyok arrived back in Palu just before dark,
we have enough time to wandering the town,
and preparing ourself for the flight back to Balikpapan.

I made almost 150km during my visit to Palu,
and it was with all pleasure.

Crossing the bay on another day

2010-08-21T16:09:00.007+08:00

Penajam is one of my favorit cycling trip around Balikpapan.
we can make it on a half day trip,
taking wooden boat, followed by cycling around coconut plantations

This time there was no exception,
we started on Saturday morning around 07:30 from office parking lot,
and after few minutes waiting, finally our group were ready on 07:45

The special thing about this trip was the participants,
we have 2 ladies and 12 men, with mixed nationalities.
There were 7 indonesians, and the rest are French, Spanish,
Venezuela and Canadian,...

I was the group leader, and on the previous day I had told them,
that it would be an easy ride, no uphills nor extreme track,
and up to some point they were happy with me,...

but then we arrived at the end of a road which was still under construction,
instead of simply taking the opposite direction,
we were tempted to find a short cut,........

so we had to cross a swampy coconuts plantation,
I was on my small folding bike, so no questions,
I have to lift my bike crossing that area,

after about 30 minutes of mud and bush,
finally we found a firm soil again, and from there we went back home,

All of them said that it was a good ride,
anyhow I am not sure that some of them ever come to ride with me again....

Perth, some references

2010-08-04T14:07:00.004+08:00

To rent a bicycle in Perth is easy, I rent mine from AboutBikeHire,
their shop located at Point Fraser car parking area,
not too far from Causeway Bridge.

GPS coordinates of their shop is
E 115.87967 deg
S 31.96443 deg

Their website is www.aboutbikehire.com.au .

We can rent either basic hybrid bike to go around the suburb,
or a mountain bike with associated accessories
for outing few days on Munda Biddi Track.

On their leaflet, they suggest some rides around Perth
that can be done easily on basic hybrid bike,
like Kings Park, Fremantle, Guildford or Mandurah.
Mandurah is about 45 minutes by train from Perth,
but it is easy to bring along our bicycle on train,
which is convenient if we only have limited time to go around.

Bikes and equipment for more challenging tracks are also available,
and it will be suitable for rides on Munda Biddi or John Forrest National Park.

With my limited time,
I only take a tour around Perth with basic hybrid,
and so far, this is one of the best cycling experience I ever have.

Cycling on Perth, a Cyclist Paradise

2010-07-09T10:07:00.009+08:00

I have heard that cycling facilities in Perth are exceptionally good,
they have special bike lanes, rest areas, friendly traffic,
special ramps to climb up main road crossing bridge, and so on....
Hearing so much about this cycling paradise from my expatriate colleagues,
I could not resist to "run-away" from my family,
while we were visiting Perth for 2 weeks this July 2010.

First of all I was not really there for an overseas cycling trip,
I was there on Perth for family visit for 2 weeks.
However, I have to confirm what I had heard,
so I managed to sneak out from family agendas, and stole full 3 days,
only to cycling around all by myself.

What I did first of all was searching for bike shop and rental on the net.
And guess what, it was so easy to find.
AboutBikeHire is located next to causeway bridge, on Point Fraser corner,
just next to Swan River.
A nice guy called Fai, AboutBikeHire staff,
checked the weather for me and suggested me to rent for 2 days.
I paid 50AUD upfront for 2 days rental and Fai register my ID and credit card.
He also prepared a backpack for me with pumps, tire lever, punchure kit and spare tube inside.
He found me a helmet that suit my size and suit the color of the bike too.
Last thing he gave me before let me go was a combination chain lock.

So I went on without special destination,
I just follow the beatiful bike lanes around Swan River,
from Point Fraser where I took the bike from down to Mathilda Bay.

The weather was sunny and was not too cold in that day.
However, I just came from Balikpapan, hot and humid equator,
so I still need to put my jacket to survive this 15deg C perfect weather,....

I cycled slowly at my pace, stop over for taking pictures and really enjoying the sight seeing. From Mathilda Bay I went further uphill to Nedlands, and at this area I could not follow the Swan River shore anymore.
I followed the Stirling Hiway instead,
and at Cottesloe I stopped over to take coffe and sandwich.

Off the Cottesloe, still following Stirling Hwy, I passed Foster Brewery,
WW II tunnel site entrance, and finally Stirling Bridge.
Crossing the Stirling Bridge, I rejoined the bike lanes along the shore,
took another coffe at one corner next to the river,
few riders passed me on their very nice road bikes with their colorful jersey,
and continuing at my pace, about 4 pm I arrived at Canning Bridge.

My inlaws family, with whom we were staying with, is living in Applecross area.
Nobody at home at that time, and obviously I did not have any key with me.
So while waiting for someone to open the door,
I stopped over at Clancy's Bar to enjoy local beer.
And sure that was one of my classic excuses for a beer,.....

Cycling and Hypermiling

2010-05-07T15:11:00.005+08:00

In search for improving fuel economy of my motorcycle,
I found “hypermiler” community,
a group of people who develop driving technique to reduce their fuel consumption,
whatever vehicle they are driving. Instead of relying on additional tools
and gadgets, hypermiler rely mainly on mastering the control of the vehicle
they are driving to reduce its fuel consumption.

I found that some of those hypermiler techniques,
are really close to what cyclists are doing.

Cyclist commuters will minimize the effort while cycling,
will coast freely downhill, keeping their cadence constant
and shift to lower gear whenever climbing,
and hate “stop and go” situation since it demands more energy.
Cyclists are also keen to avoid pot holes and uneven road surface,
and conserve their momentum while making turn on corner.
Instead of braking – turning - and then accelerating,
cyclists will coast down, taking long smooth turn without braking too much.
Cyclists are checking tire pressure and know that less pressure means heavier effort.
They care to lube bicycle chain and align the brakes correctly,
since any friction will increase the pedaling effort.
They also leave home earlier and give ample time for the trip, avoiding rush situation,
since going faster on bicycle will make the rider tired very quickly to.

After finding technical similarities of cyclist commuter and hypermiler,
then I start to apply those techniques while I am riding my motorcycle.
And guess what, it is not too difficult.

First thing to do is planning the route,
while commuting on bicycle I avoid hilly area,
I prefer to take little longer distance rather than big climb uphill.
Luckily I have passed those routes around already on my bicycle,
and I remember well which one is requiring more effort on my feet,
so that route is to be avoided.
While planning the route, I also estimate the timing,
and ensure that I will have enough time for this route.
Departing earlier helps, we simply cannot economize any fuel if we are in rush.

Second thing is checking the motorcycle, ensure that tires are properly inflated.
I always put maximum pressure on my motorcycle even if it is slightly less comfortable.
I also ensure that the chain is well lubed.

Now come to riding, I always gentle on throttle,
I am asking for “minimum energy” from my motorcycle.
Instead of open the throttle more to climb uphill,
I will accelerate before climbing,
then maintaining the throttle position while going uphill,
speed will decrease, and I will downshift the gear and keeping same throttle position.
If the uphill slope is long I may need to downshift further,
but I will not open more throttle
and asking more power from my motor engine, unless I have safety concern.

Going downhill, I will coast the motor all the way down,
often by pull the clutch to disengage the engine from the rear wheel.
Attention, we will not have engine brake in this condition,
and it is not always possible to do,
and I only do this if the traffic condition and road condition allow.

Consequently, the speed while I am riding will not be constant,
I am going slower and slower uphill,
and I have to take the most outer lane not to disturb other drivers behind me.
And while going downhill it will be the inverse.

On flat road I will not go fast,
as in bicycle if I push myself too fast I will be tired even faster,
and probably I have to stop before arriving.
So I limit motorcycle speed to a “minimum comfort cruising speed” at highest gear.
This speed will vary from one type of motorcycle to another,
but usually it will be around 4000-4500 RPM at highest gear.

With bicycle I learned to anticipate the traffic,
I will not pedaling with full effort if there is an obstruction ahead,
since I will only braking hard later.
And I apply the same principle on my motorcycle.
Whenever I approach traffic light, I will adjust the speed,
so either the light turns green at the time I arrive,
or the motorcycle stopped by itself without applying too much braking.

Once I arrive at home on motorcycle I will check the brake by hand,
if the brake disk is hot means that the adjustment is too tight,
or I just applying the brake too often.
Be careful, the brake disk can be extremely hot.

Applying those hypermiling techniques above on my motorcycle,
I can have a good fuel economy.
Before applying those techniques, my fuel consumption at it best was 1ltr every 40kms,
and now it is almost constantly 1ltr every 50kms, so about 25% more economic.

I did few other things as written in hypermiling discussion in the internet,
that also help to improve my fuel economy:

- Facing the motorcycle to the road before starting the engine,
avoid repositioning the motorcycle with engine running.
- Avoid parking motorcycle under direct sunlight to reduce fuel evaporating.
- Fully closed helmet will reduce wind resistance, which is good.
- Always minimize frontal exposure while riding, beware of feet and body position.
Tucking the body in even at relatively low speed, say 50kph,
still helps to reduce drag.

Applying those hypermiling techniques above while riding motorcycle is not too difficult,
and some techniques could be applied on car driving as well.
With little practice and patience, we all can reduce our fuel consumption.
It just seems easier for cyclist to practice hypermiling,
since there are natural similarities between the two.

Trip to Borobudur

2010-03-28T06:54:00.010+08:00

March 2010, this month the first group ride of our cycling club was realized,
we went to Jogjakarta and cycling to Borobudur.
There were 14 of us participated in this ride, including 2 ladies.

We chose an easy route out of main traffic, and not too many climb neither.
In this trip we cycled for 46km in about 4 hours including some stops.

The participants were devided into 2 groups,
first group arrived in Jogja on 12 March,
and the second group arrive on 13 March in the morning.

I was with the second group, there were 8 of us,
taking the first flight of Batavia Air from Balikpapan to Jogja,
departing at 07:15.
Our bike was packed and registered in our bagages,
6 of us brought folding bikes, and the 2 others brought their MTBs.
The plane arrived on time at Jogja, and after recovering the baggages,
we started to re-assemble our bikes at the airport corridor !!

We left the airport on our bikes at 09:00,
cars from our hotel bringing our bags and other bagages.
Those cars were also escorting us, following our group,
all the way to Borobudur.

We rode from Jogja airport for about 8km downtown,
and met the first group at their hotel at 09:30.
Shortly after re-start from hotel we left the main road,
and following a canal known by the local as "Selokan Mataram" upstream.
We rode on the relatively smooth and quiet canal path,
with classic Javanesse countryside scenery around,
rice field - farmers - irrigation canal and water stream.

The temperature was rising quickly after 10 o'clock,
and we made some stops to take pictures and regrouping.
Some of us had problems with their bikes,
but they were "usual problems" like flat tire and loosen pedals.
We fixed those problems while others was taking rest,
and at 13:00 we arrived safely in Borobudur.

It was very hot day, and at the end,
none of us willing to cycle back to Jogja.
So after finding a restaurant for lunch,
we just sent our bikes to Jogja on one of our escort car.
Somehow, a small Suzuki pick up was enough for 14 bicycles.....
On the rest of the afternoon we made a tour inside Borobudur temple complex.

We had to find another car to bring us back to Jogja,
and it was not too difficult to find a car around Borobudur.
For 200 thousand rupiah we found extra car.
We arrived at the hotel at 18:00,
we all worn out but we all have big smiles.

Thanks to all participants
for their positive cooperation and team spirits.

Many thanks to Pambudi from Indraloka Guest House,
Jl. Cik di Tiro Jogjakarta, for arranging cars and accommodations.

And also special thanks for Bakhtiar(www.scottmerah.multiply.com),
Qardian, Tonny, Yoga and Alex for sharing pictures and GPS records.

packing a bike

2010-03-11T09:24:00.016+08:00

Here is an old bike that I want to pack, old road bike with 700C wheel set and threaded type headset with quil bolt.
First strip all accessories out of the bike (cyclometer, lighting, bell, fender, bottle cage etc)

We will need multitools with allen key, hex wrench to remove pedals (mine is 15mm), tape and used newspapers.
My old bike has hi-ten steel frame and the paint is not so nice anymore, so I don’t mind if it takes more scratches…
If you have nicer bike with nice paint etc,
then you will need some insulation foams to protect the frame.

First remove the wheel and DEFLATE the tire.
To remove the rear wheel, put the derailleur on the smallest cog position.
If your bike is MTB or equipped with fat tire,
then the brake caliper need to be opened first.

Put the bike upside down, take the pedal out using hex wrench.
With bike in upside down position as in the picture,
we need to push the key down to release the right side pedal.
Remember that left side pedal has left hand thread.

Remove the RD (rear derailleur) too,
to avoid protruding part on the bottom side of the bicycle.

Wrap the RD with used newspaper,
and secure it in between bike’s rear triangle.
To avoid losing the RD nut,
put the RD nut back in its place once the RD has removed.

My bike has quil system,
so by loosen the main nuts I can remove the handlebar and the stem completely.
Bolts that securing bar ends, brakes and shifter need to loosen too,
so they can be rotate and reposition easily later.

Put the handlebar on the bike’s top tube and secure with tape,
if you have a nice paint on the bike frame,
then you need to protect the frame first with insulator foam.
Mine is old beaten bike,
so I just tape those parts together without extra protection.

After attaching handlebar,
attach the wheels to the front triangle,
do it so with the cassette on the inner part.

With this configuration, the dimension is 120x80x35cm,
rear rack and saddle could be removed to save more space.
The fork gap (and also rear triangle) could be protected
by inserting a long nut or wooden spacer.
Use only thick carton to box the bike,
put piece of plywood on the bottom of the carton box to protect chain ring.
We can put our tools in the carton box too,
at minimum we will need pump, multitools, hex wrench,
and some parts like tube patch kit etc.
The nicer your bike is, the more protections you are going to need.

IMPORTANT for carbon/aluminum bike,
the cassette needs to be wrapped with foam/rags/used papers
so it would not chipping the frame.
ALSO for bike with disc brake,
we will need extra protection for the disc too !

January 2010

2010-02-03T15:56:00.004+08:00

January 2010 was really busy month for Balikpapan bicycle communities.
The first event was folding bike ride right on the new year day,
and then a ride across the bay to Penajam on 10 January.
At the end of the month, there were also bike ride,
B&C fun ride with custom officers on Saturday 30 Jan,
and then Ambalat ride with our group folder on Sunday 31 Jan.

But the biggest event was Bike Jamboree ride that was organized by Le
Grandeur, one of the main hotel in Balikpapan.
This event took the whole weekend days on 23-24 Jan. On Saturday
afternoon, right after the rain stopped, we were cycling across the
town for show-off ride.

There were about 50 riders, and 16 of us were there with our folding
bikes. There was a coverage about this ride on our local newspaper.

And then next morning, Sunday 24 Jan, on the Jamboree main event,
there were about 600 riders there, ready to follow the 26km of cross
country track.

The ride started at about 07:10, and less than 2 hours later some
strong riders showed up already on the finish line.

The weather was sunny on that Sunday morning, but parts of the track were still wet
from the heavy rain on Saturday morning. A lot of begineers could not
finish the ride, but the military rescue team taking care of them
right away.

I used my MTB for this ride, but two of my riding buddies were crazy
enough to push their folding bike passing those offroad trail till the
finish line. Other folding riders were making short cut, so they were
not following the offroad session.

As usual in every bike event, after reaching finish we were welcomed
by fresh drinks. And during the doorprize drawing session, the band
from Le Grandeur pub entertaining us till lunch time. In this drawing
session, 2 of our team won the prize, one was voucher to go to
Starbuck Coffe, and the other was DVD player.

After lunch we went going home happily. One thing that impressed me
was the hard works and the professialism of the committe.
Even the track itself was not too hard, with so much participants of
various ages, various skill levels and using various bicycle types,
there were always big potential of having problems.
Luckily, the committee was very well prepared. They prepared
everything, from simple aerobic and stretching session before the
ride, little snack, stop points with ample supplies of free drinks and
fresh fruits, medic and rescue team from military, and also policemen
on every intersection with main traffic.
On the finish area they also provided mobile toilet and several water
hoses to clean up our bicycles.
For me this was a really top class Jamboree, those people who run 4
stars hotel definetely know how to organize bicycle Jamboree.
Kudos for the committee, and thanks for many friends, Pak Muttaqin mactaqin@gmail.com, Alex apurwoto@yahoo.com, Qardian, and others for your contributions in this posting.

Around with Balikpapan Folder buddies

2010-01-17T16:24:00.019+08:00

It all started on end of November 09. There were a fun bike gathering,
where I met some of folding bike users in Balikpapan.

We exchanged our mails and phones numbers, and shortly after,
on Dec 18, 2009, we managed to make day trip together.
Our destination was Manggar beach, about 20km from town.

There were about 15 of us, riding various folding bikes.
we had a good time on this trip,
and at the end of the trip we made a plan for another one...
So the ball is rolling.......

On the new year day of 2010 we went to wooden village in Kampung Baru area
The houses there were build above the shallow water, on thousands of wooden piles.
They called the wood as "kayu ulin", a native borneo wood,
that known for its resistance against sea water and hot weather.

The village serves as local ports, connecting the remote villages further inside
Balikpapan Bay with the main town.
Other activities there are tradings and fishery,

On our first visit we did not have enough time to cross the bay,
we only spent few hours there,
looking around talking to local people and taking pictures,
the local fishermen showed us a big shark that they just catch

But we came back about 10 days later,
some riders were joining us on their MTB
this time we spent enough time so we can take a boat to cross the bay.
Our bikes were loaded on the wooden boat that has a noisy-noisy diesel engine.

The boat brought us to Penajam, town on the other side of the bay
and from Penajam we went to Nipah beach, crossing unfinished road,

one of our friend, Alex, logged this trip on his GPS,

The complete trip report could be seen at Alex pages :
http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/597153

We went back to balikpapan in the afternoon,
and everyone seems to be happy with the trip

Seeing the enhusiasm of the group, I hope this group will last
and we will continue to have another story to tell.

Thanks to all of our friends, especially Pak Mutaqqin, Alex, and
Bakhtiar,
http://scottmerah.multiply.com

for sharing pictures and trip informations.

Manado, some references

2009-11-14T16:48:00.001+08:00

Maps of MANADO,

basic city map available at www.north-sulawesi.org/maps/manado.gif

google map:

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Budget Hotels in MANADO:

1. Manado Bersehati Hotel, at town, close to city center
+62 431 855 022
Jl. Sudirman No. 20
coordinate on my GPS (old garmin !!)
1º29'23.6'' N - 124º50'31.5'' E
you need to pay 100k - 150k rupiah / night for basic room
alternatively more comfortable room is available at 250k rupiah

2. Vina Hotel, about 1km outside airport
not an option if you want to go around town
but ideal if you need to catch a flight early next morning
+62 431 812 874
at about the same rate as Bersehati,
with 140k rupiah / night,
we will have a bigger room, but no television and not air-conditioned.

Restaurants in MANADO:

Several restaurants located around Jl. Boulevard, close to Ritzy hotel

- Raja Sate, sea food, typical manado dish, and sate
- Angel Fish, sea food
- Sapo, chinese food
coordinate on my GPS ( 3 resto above are really close)
1º28'51.5'' N - 124º50'05.5'' E

Just in front of Raja Sate, behind Sapo, we can find amusement area,
go-cart rental, karaoke, shopping malls, futsal field, etc.
Close to this amusement area,
there is other restaurant too which is also well known.

- d'Terrace, sea food, typical manado dish
coordinate on my GPS
1º29'14.4'' N - 124º50'05.3'' E

Restaurant in TOMOHON:
I forgot the name
on the main city street, next to big fish pond
coordinate on my GPS
1º19'48.2'' N - 124º50'19.2'' E

Flight to Manado
Batavia Air:
departure from Balikpapan 19:00, arrival in Manado 20:35
return from Manado 07:00, arrival in Balikpapan 08:40

Other domestic flights available to Jakarta / Surabaya / Ternate etc.
Garuda, Lion Air, Merpati, Wings Air, Sriwijaya, Xpress Air, etc.

To Minahasa with my Hasa

2009-11-14T14:14:00.001+08:00

I made several trips with my folding bike already.
But some of those were turned to be not too much bike trip.
Often they were just going to the bus station or airport,
fold the bike, get into the vehicle,
arrive at the destination, unfold the bike and go.

But this time, I have long enough holiday,
so I take the opportunity for a special bike trip around Manado.

Flight from Balikpapan arrived in Manado at 20:50 local time,
I recovered my Hasa folding bike, my only luggage,
unfolded the bike and heading to town.
The good thing is, Manado airport located at higher plateau,
about 80m above sea level, so I just needed a minimum pedaling
to go to town and find my hotel.

I have stayed several nights there,
but the best bike trip I did was on the last day,
where I biked from Manado, going uphill to Tomohon and Tondano,
and back to Manado via Airmadidi.

I started early in the morning, checking out from Bersehati Hotel at 08:00.
The hotel let me left my belonging with them,
so I can climb uphill to Tomohon with no backpack .

Tomohon is just 25km from Manado, but it took me 3 hours
to climb 700meter, using the grainy gear of my 16" Hasa.
My speed while climbing were merely 7-8 km/hr,
and I had to stop to take a breath for several times.

Luckily the scenery was superb,
green hills and big trees with a view to the sea below,
going uphill at Tinoor was something that
will stay long in my memory.

At my stop points I bought local fruits, manggis,
which were very sweet, that cost me merely Rp1000 a piece.
Few kilometers before Tomohon the road get flatter,
and I gained some speed.
In Tomohon I took a coffe stop at small warung,
and heading to Tondano.

Arriving in Tondano just slightly before 13:00,
Tondano was located at high plateau, surrounded by mountains,
with a big lake next to it.
Just before the town, beautiful rice field welcoming me.
The town was almost flat, the mountains around look so close,
and the big trees on its ridge were so clear, as if we can touch them.
The weather was nice, and the temperature was around 25C.
Car traffic was rare, but lot of horse cart were around,
just too bad I did not have enough time to take a tour on it.

I took my lunch there, again in another small warung,
the menu was yellow rice with dried fish and big cup of coffe.

Here I got 2 options, go back to Manado via Tomohon,
just like my way in, or continue to take a route via Airmadidi.
A local shop owner told me that the road to Manado via Airmadidi
is decending all the way down,
so it did not take me too long to decide.

Yes the road was decending, but not all the way.
The first 4kms from Tondano to Tonsea Lama was climbing,
and then it went down sharply,
with lot of sharp turns around the cliffs.
I was just coasting down for almost 40minutes,
hoping that my brake pads last.
Just before Airmadidi, the road was climbing again,
and I was just pedaling patiently,
and at 14:30 I arrived in Airmadidi.

From Airmadidi, joining the main road from Bitung to Manado,
I took a short cut to airport via Dimembe village,
and I arrived at Vina Hotel, next to airport at 16:00.

I was tired after biking for 80 kms in the mountainous route,
so I hired a car to go to town to recover my bagpack
that I left on Bersehati Hotel.

I considered that taking Vina hotel in the last day was a good decision,
since the hotel was so close to the airport,
and my flight back to Balikpapan was so early next morning.

I am happy with this trip,
The green hills and mountains around Manado are still full of big trees,
People are so friendly, they smiles alot,
especially while looking at my 16" Hasa bike.
Foods and hotels are not expensive neither,

Definitely I will come back to this area someday.

Sungai Wain cross country ride

2009-07-09T12:13:00.001+08:00

I rarely do a cross country with mountain bike, however, whenever
opportunity arises, I cannot refuse to participate in cross country
ride.

The latest opportunity came on 28 June 09, it was a cross country ride
around Sungai Wain area, about 20 km outside Balikpapan.

In general, the track was not too hard, not too hilly, and at that
time it was relatively dry too. It was about 11 km ride around Sungai
Wain forrest park, and all participants were able to finish the ride
safely.

I managed to finish at moderate timing using my "semi" mountain bike.
I said so since my Polygon Premier is a ladies version, with twisted
grip shifter, and equipped with touring tire 26 x 1.5".
To help me climbing, the chain ring had been modified, from 48-38-28 to 42-32-22.
We were 6 in our group, using various mountain bikes, from a simple
basic hardtail bike like mine, to advance full suspension bike like Specialized.

About 200 people were participating in that ride, and at finish line we were
welcomed by singers, food stalls, and various prizes.
One of our colleagues even won one of the doorprizes and got another bike.
So we went home happily at mid-day with more bicycles on the pick-up truck....

Water Source

2009-06-04T12:09:00.001+08:00

Not too far away from my parents home in Malang,
I can find a small piece of special rice field,

it is a small piece of heaven in its simplicity
it is small portion of rice field, irrigated by natural water source,
the water flows out from the bottom of the cliff
and just before joining the main river below,
the water stream makes the lower land wet,
so the farmer can grow the rice all year long.

and this the only rice field irrigated by natural water source in this area
all of the others rice field around there, are irrigated by man-made irrigation

many years ago, here was my run-away place,

whenever I lost motivation at school,
whenever my brother or sisters did not respect my privacy,
whenever my parents asked me un-believable things,
whenever any nice girl refused my phone call,

I would go here, washing my face on water source,
and often I stayed for a while to talked with the farmers there,
and everytime I gained my spirit back,
and I could face my world with better view.

I arrived there around 10 am, parked my bicycle on the shade,
there are still a lot of trees there, even there were more in the past,
the farmers are there too, but they dont know me anymore,

I walked for couple meters and find the water source,
the water still flows out of the ground, even it is not as strong as before,
but at least, the water that coming out is as clean and as clear as before

there were young couple washing their clotches in the source
they smiled to me and put their stuff aside, and share the place with me,
even before I asked them,

I lowered my hand on the water stream,
and using palm of my both hands to take water and washing my face,

I closed my eyes,and let clear, fresh and cool water flowed over my face,
splashing my polo shirt, and made it wet almost immediately
my face was in contact with flowing water for few seconds only,

but in that short time,
the water from the source was showing me its magic,
I felt that every spash crossing my face flows with fresh spirit,
washing my tired face and mind,

No, I am not running away from anything this time,
Back in Balikpapan, I have a job and a family, and ordinary middle class life,
and for sure my wife never refused my phone call neither.

However, I would never refuse the magical effect of this clear water neither,
I just let it works, my hand repeately taking more water,
and on each drop of water,
my mind is filled, by a nice combination of fresh and peaceful feeling,

When I am done, I opened my eyes,
the couple who were there to wash their clotches were still smiling,
I thanked them and heading back to my bicycle

pedalling my bike back to my parents home was easier and lighter,
as if the water source has bringing me a new life, like it always did
in the past.

Earth Day

2009-04-29T14:44:00.001+08:00

Last year I bought this DAHON MUP8, 20" folding bike, I chose turqouise color.
I ordered the bike by phone to a bike shop in Jakarta,
transferred the money thru ATM, and about 10 days later,
the bike was ready for me. Like every new bike,
I had to adjust the brake, cables, changing the seat, and adding few accessories,
before making the bike comfortable to be used for commuting.

Within a year I logged 1200km, mainly by commuting to work.
My other folder, 16" Hasa F2, now is used by my eldest daughter,
Carla, who turns 9 this year.

This Dahon MUP8, is more comfortable to ride than Hasa F2,
mainly due its longer wheelbase, and I believe also due to its bigger tire size.
But it is also true that my Hasa F2, is more portable.
I found out that to fit inside my wife's car, Toyota Rush,
the MUP8 seat post needs to be pushed down and steering post needs to be folded.
The height of Toyota Rush cabin on the back is just not enough to accomodate
the bike if we only fold it on its main hinge.

I forced the bike inside the car once with the steering post
and seat post sticking up, I ended up scratching car's interiors
and got good comments from my wife for my stubbornness.

The bike was drawing some attentions too, and some of my colleagues
also bought folding bikes of various brands after observing mine.

I also found new friends with this folding bike,
one that I am still remember is,....

one day there was a pizza delivery boy who put a pizza on top of my rear rack.
I asked him who ordered the pizza and he said a name of a young lady.
Soon the pizza was gone, but when I saw the lady later on,
I told her that I want a slice of pizza,
since I had seen the pizza was sitting for a while on my rack,
...she just smiled and we started to talk, and to my surprise,
despite her elegant appearance and nice-chic-classy look,
she is also a down to earth person, and very pleasant to talk with,
and we becoming friend after.

Who said that ladies care only flashy cars,
some of them interested in folding bikes too,...!
So my 2 cents is,
suppose we have more ladies like her,
there will be more men getting motivated to ride bicycles,
instead of driving cars.......
again, it's only my 2cents for Earth Day.

Bali, my nostalgic trip

2009-04-28T06:06:00.001+08:00

Bali, this island means something to me, back to 1979, before my 12th birthday,
I made my first holiday trip, without my parents, to Bali.
It is still living in my memory, I climbed to bus from Malang
on one early evening with my schoolmate Wayan.
One of Wayan's relatives, few years older than us, went with us,
accompanying us all the way. Without him, our parents would never let us go.
We arrived in Gilimanuk early morning, then took a smaller bus
to continue our trip to Singaradja.
And from Singaradja, we took another car, modified Mitsubishi pick up,
to go uphill further north to Suwuk, a village outside Singaraja,
Wayan's home.

For 2 weeks we were there,
we were doing what kids at our age doing on the country side,
wandering around rice fields, disturbing birds, grabbing fruits from Wayans garden,
and watching wedding ceremony in the neigborhood.

In fact, apart of wedding ceremony which was slightly special,
we were doing things that we could easily do in Malang, my own home.
But still, being in Bali made the whole things special.

Back home my parents seemed happy, they were smiling all the times
and they listened to all of my stories with enthusiasme.

Now, in 2009, 30 years after my first trip, I made another trip
to this paradise island. And I went there ,,,,A L O N E,,,my wife granted
a permission to visit his younger brother, and helping him
moving his family to another house.
To make the trip nostalgic, I started my trip from Malang,
took the cheapest bus I could find that late afternoon,
and tried to sleep while the bus heading East to Bali during the night.

The bus arrived in Denpasar around 8 am, and my brother in law picking me up.
After quick breakfast in his place, the first thing I asked him was my folding bike.
And yes, my folding bike (...well, one of them..), has arrived there earlier than me,
and it was ready. So I wandered Sanur Beach, and after running around for a while,
I decided to stay in one of the hotels there.
I could see a puzzle in my brother in law's eyes, but he let me go.

It was amazing to biked around that area, there is a bike path next to the beach,
just between the beach and hotels, where we can enjoy nice environment,
with a lot of trees protecting us from hot sun.
At night time Sanur area is alive with its restaurants and live musics,
sure I could not resist the temptations and stayed around for few beers.
Next afternoon I was too tired to take a bus to Surabaya, so I took Lion Air flight,
and heading home. I left my folding bike in Bali since I am planning to come back soon.
But maybe I will have to change the plan, at home my wife was slightly quite,
she listened to me, but not as my parents did 30 years ago,..
I kept talking about how nice it was biking around the beach with my folding bike,
and being in peace with myself since I was alone,...
Finally she smiled, and said that I can go back to Bali anytime I want.
It just too good to be true,...so I know from the way she smiled,
that next time it will be impossible to go there alone,....

my ZOOM folder

2009-02-15T16:30:00.000+08:00

Few years ago, I was working in a remote Iranian island in Persian Gulf. There was a big project on that island at that time, and there were about hundreds foreign workers, working on rotational basis.
Kharg island, where we were in, is not too big, it has an airstrip, and tanker loading terminal. The Iranians using this terminal to load the oils to big ships for export.

As strategic island for Iranians, it has special rules for foreigners; we must stay in a special camp, away from the locals, and we are not allowed to drive any car.
After work, our life was rather boring, gym and recreational room inside our camp were too small, and we could not going out of the camp easily because the driver was not always available.
One of my colleagues there got an idea to buy a bicycle to explore the island, and once he showed me photos of his bike trip around the island, I was sold.
Casual cycling ride is always one of my interest, and it was also good to do some kind of outdoor activities after work.
So not too long after that, I brought a bicycle into the island, ZOOM folding bike, a typical low end folder, with 16 inch wheel and 5 speed.
This Zoom folders I bought in a shop close to Changi road, Singapore. In that time, on every trip to Iran, I made a few hours stop over in Singapore, and another stop overnight in Dubai.
Going from Spore was not a problem, bike was inside the box, tires being deflated, and SQ check in staff handling and labeling it quickly and efficiently as usual.
On terminal 2 arrival in Dubai, I have to wait almost 15 minutes since it was cleared through special bagage section. However, once it came out, Dubai custom officers did not even give any looks.
After staying overnight in Dubai, the next day I took another flight to Iran, this was a charter flight, chartered by a company that hiring us.
On transit in Busher airport in Iran, we have to check out all of our baggage and Iranian custom officers checking them in a long table. All of the passanger baggage must be opened and examined by the officers. Some items need special clearance, like western magazines, discs, and electronics. They checked my bike, exchanging few words with our translator there, laughing, and passed the bike on. Our translator did not even translate officers comments to me, he just gave me a big smile and continued his job. In short, I have no problem to bring the bike all the way from Spore to Iran.

As typical low end bike, it's frame was so flexible and filmsy, the brake was poor, and it's 5 speed freewheel was over geared. The seat post was also slipping, and I have to insert a piece of rubber to avoid it slips further.
I adapted my ridding style for this bike, pedaling gently, no push-pull on the handlebar, and braking lightly.
But for the price, the bike served me very well. At first I used it to run around our camp during lunch break. Once I was familiar with the bike, then I used it to visit working sites too. Instead of calling the driver and waiting for a car, I just biked and got to the site myself. It took more or less the same time, but the greatest thing was a feeling of being free and independent. And it is also released me from being bored passing the time in front of PC at work and television in my room after.
I did not install cyclometer on this folder, but by counting and timing my cadence, I estimate that I can maintain around 16-18 km/h with easy riding style.
My colleague who used MTB, at full pace, could cycling around the island for 2 full laps during lunch break. I did try with this folder, and I made one lap with enough spare time to take shower before going back to work. From my timing, I thought the distance that I took was just slightly more than 20km, mostly along the coast. Here we could see remainings of old tanker that was hit by Iraqi bombs during Iran-Iraq war long time ago.

Several weeks later, few of other colleagues started also to cycle around. Most of them bought low end MTB available at local bike shop in the island. So on few occasions we were having group riding around the island on the lunch break.
This Zoom bike served me for several months, and during the time it was almost trouble free except few flat tires. But then it ended so sudden in rather bizzare circumstances.
One colleague came from Dubai but he could not do his job right away and he must wait the others to finish. I saw him waiting for long days, and as courtesy I allowed him use my bike to go around.
He just used my bike for 2 days, but apparently he pushed it just hard enough to break the steering post, just below the post hinge.
Strangely, for me it was not a big loss neither, since it happened just when I was about to be transferred back to my home country. So finally, at the end of my 3 years assignment there, I have one less baggage to take home, my broken ZOOM bike.

inside cars, 2

2009-02-13T19:08:00.000+08:00

Here is a picture of my 16" Hasa inside the other car, Isuzu Panther. This compact Hasa, with 90cm wheelbase, is taking small enogh space of the bagage compartment. Anyhow, due to the car design, the most rear row of the passenger seat must be folded up to make space. Otherwise the bike, or any other bagage with big size, just won't fit inside.
So the capacity of this Isuzu Panther is reduced from 8 to 5 people in this configuration.
Apart of this, my car does not have a proper holder for its spare tire, so the tire cannot be stored underneath the body, but it has to go inside the car, reducing the available baggage space further.
But I never have any problem to put small Hasa inside the Panther, thanks to its small wheel and short wheelbase.

inside cars, 1

2009-02-13T15:09:00.000+08:00

Here are some pics of my old 20" UNITED folder, inside Suzuki Wagon R, locally known as Suzuki Karimun.
We can see that by just folding the frame in the main hinge, this United folder can fit inside the car. The seatpost and steering post can stay as it is, no need to retract them in. However, the handlebar of this United model is integrated with the post, in a form of a welded T bar. So to avoid the handlebar touching car's backdoor, the steering post need to be folded too.

Some accessories installed on steering post, like handlebar bag and bottle cage, need to be oriented properly to avoid interference while folding.

The other way to do this is to rotate the steering post, so the handlebar will be more or less paralel to the frontwheel axis. But I prefer to fold the steering post since aligning the handlebar wil take longer time once the bike is unfolded.
It is not too dificult to fit a 20" folder inside Karimun, in overall it takes about 1 minute, and the car will be ready to go.
Good thing about this old Karimun, 2002 model, is that it has enough height to accomodate the bicycle.

a bike that moving around

2009-02-11T03:30:00.000+08:00

This is our Bridgestone bicycle, heavy steel frame, belt driven with unique transmission, 4 speed internal gear on its crankset, and equiped with child carrier.

This is the first bike I amused with on my adult life. At that time we were back from an assignment in France, and we stayed in my sister in law house in Jakarta for while. My sister in law, Rina, wanted to clean her garage out, and the bike, that she bought in Japan, was included on her list.
Rina was using the bike daily when she lived in Japan, going to groceries, bringing her kids to school, running errands, etc.
Once she came back to Jakarta, soon she realized that around her neighborhood in Fatmawati area was almost impossible to bike safely. So the bike was abandonned for a while in her garage.
My wife asked her if we could use the bike, and to our blessing, Rina didn't mind. So we transported the bike to Malang with the rest of our personnal belonging, and I found a bike shop in Malang to recondition the bike.
It required a new tire set, truing, greasing and cleaning,....and it was ready to go. Few months in Malang and we moved again to Jogyakarta, and again we transported the bike to Jogya.
The bike showed its greatest utility when we were in Jogya. At first we lived in a small house with a small access alley, so the bike was much more practical than our car.
Our daugther Carla, she was 3 years at that time, was our regular passenger on this bike.
After moving into bigger house, I bought another bike, a UNITED 20" folder, for myself, and then just like an addict, I bought more bicycles. A low end MTB - Polygon Premier, then road bike, also a low end - Polygon Wonder, and then a nice build folder, 16" Hasa F2.
With so much bikes, this Bridgestone still had a lot of usage, mainly for my wife. It served us very well at that time in Jogya.
End of July 2006, new chapter started, we moved again, this time from Jogya to Balikpapan. I packed all my newer bikes, and I planned to left United folder and this Bridgestone behind. Sure enough my wife complaining, saying that she was never enjoy any bike I bought more recently and the best one for her was the Bridgestone.
So the bike went to Balikpapan with the rest of our belonging.
Few months passed by in our new home in Balikpapan, I gained milages on my other bikes, except this Bridgestone. It was too heavy for hilly area of Balikpapan where we lived, and its 4 speed was just in-adequate.
Soon it was left on one corner, and finally I asked a good friend to send the bike back to Malang.
So here it is now, the bike hanging in our stairs in my parents home in Malang, waiting for us to come.
It still looks strong and sturdy and heavy,..it is buit for last, and it will,...
It has been in Nagoya, Jakarta, Malang, Jogya, Balikpapan, and back to Malang,..and maybe more cities next time.

pertamina housing balikpapan

2009-02-08T05:03:00.000+08:00

One of my favorite ride in Balikpapan is around Pertamina housing complex. It is located on hills, close to Semayang, principal port of Balikpapan, with nice view to the sea and the city below.
So on one Saturday in Feb 09, we have a nice day after one rainy week. I rolled my Polygon Stratos out, gave the tires few pumps, and rolling out from housing complex near the airport.
I passed downtown Balikpapan with a breeze on relatively flat road. Further down I reach Lapangan Merdeka, the city squarre.
It was almost 10am when I got there, so people who usualy jogging around the squarre were retired already.
From this Merdeka squarre, I took the road uphill, passing thru the guard house, and climbing into the Pertamina Housing Complex.
The houses there were nice, big and spacious, it has green grass, trees, and gardens, also quiet and pleasant, really not a common thing in Indonesia nowadays.
The road was quiet and smooth, but I have to use the lowest gear available on my Stratos to climb.
On one spot I stopped to take a breath, and enjoy the view around, looking to the calm sea, and also to the growing city below. Really nice view, especially in a clear weather.
Balikpapan, like all other cities in Indonesia, is growing, and it grows far too fast for itself. I can see some construction activities from upthere, and dense houses on the kampung below.
So this Pertamina Housing Complex, part of old Balikpapan, with its green trees, nice hills, quiet surroundings, and beautiful view to the sea below, is becoming one oasis in town. And it always be one of the best corner of Balikpapan.

One day around malang

2009-01-31T14:27:00.000+08:00

I found someone attaching another bike to the one he was riding. He rode along Celaket, going north to Belimbing.

On my latest visit to Malang, this January 09, I was lucky enough arriving there on a good weather.
I took my old United folding bike around the town. Going down from Dinoyo area to city stadium, passing across Sumbersari and military cemetery, where main universities in Malang are located. I went further to city stadium, passing Ijen street, and after joining Kayutangan, I went north.
This north-south street, Celaket and Kayutangan is the main artery of the city, the main buildings and public services are located around this axis. City public hospital and main police station, and further to south we will find post office, regency office, and also mosque and church.
In ther past, before opening of some shopping malls, this area was much more alive with shops and even some cinemas.

So I went north up Celaket road, the good thing is part of Celaket road has special lane on its most left side for slow moving vehicles including bicycles. And the lane is not too exposed to the sun by a good number of mahogany along the road.
Sure enough just like any other city in Indonesia, cyclist still need to deal with angkot ; a stop and go public vehicles, parked cars, potholes, and street vendors selling foods like bakso or soto on their charriots.
I passed 3 hours riding along, going back to my parents home in Dinoyo area taking the reverse way, arrived there noon time, folding my bike and stored it, keep it in the corner upstairs until my next visit.

manggar bridge

2009-01-18T19:05:00.000+08:00

I am biking again to the bridge, just like taking Sunday rituals. The bridge is about 12km from Sepinggan housing complex.
Riding my Stratos road bike, it takes about 25 minutes, on a flat road along Balikpapan east coast.
Like other area in Balikpapan, this road is getting more crowdeed, with more buildings popping up. A lot of companies supporting mining, constructions and oil & gas activities built their base-office along Manggar road, between the Airport and the bridge.
Once we reach the bridge, the area looks different. Traditionally, Manggar is fishermen homes. Local fishermen built their houses above the water, supported by wooden poles. Their boats, mostly less than 10 meter long, tied along one another below their homes. And just next to the bridge, there is a local market, selling fishes, fruits, and other daily stuffs. Some shops are playing pirated music on their 'loud' speakers.
Like my other visit to the bridge, I just go there, make 180 degree turn, take pictures and heading back home.
My remark this time is seems that the bridge is vibrating more anytime a heavy loads passing by, soon it has to be upgraded I think.

old folder

2009-01-18T09:52:00.001+08:00

Met my old folder, UNITED, that I bought in Jogya few years back. It was single speed, with small 44T chainring, and short seatpost.
First to modify was seat post, I asked a welder to put an extension to suit my height. Second my LBS put 48T chainring and a new sealed BB on. Last modification was changing single speed freewheel to 3 speed coaster brake hub.
True those modifications cost more than the bike itself, but for me the results were satisfying.
Now this humble UNITED has enough gearing to ease my feet taking few slopes.
When I moved out from Jogyakarta to Balikpapan, I did not bring this bike with me. I left it in Jogya, but then I brought the bike to Malang, since I visit Malang more often.
And till today, whenever I am in Malang, I will be rolling around on my UNITED.

Trip to Kiskendo

2009-01-17T12:13:00.000+08:00

I made a trip to Kiskendo about 3 years ago, on one rainy day early 2006. Kiskendo is not too far from my home, about 30km to the west, but this was one steep climb I ever made around Jogya.

Starting point

2007-06-30T18:01:00.000+08:00

At the beginning, I created this blog to memorize few of my short bicycle trips around Jogyakarta between 2002 and 2006. Living for four years in this town, having some spare time to wander around, made me back to bicycling. Bicycle in Jogya is really parts of daily life, everywhere you go in the morning you will find people around with their bicycles. Bicycle has been first choice of transport for most of street vendors and commuting workers.
After moving to Balikpapan on 2006, I continue to cycling, and log around 50km per week, mostly commuting from home to office.