leisure MTB ride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.