the next morning we went shopping. i only got half of the items on my list and the most important one, new brake pads, was sold out. we tried our luck at another rather exquisite place. with a stylish interior… and some machines to be the envy of them all. campagnolo was present but not… Continue reading not your usual cycle store
Author: mat
friday night ride
we started with a small group from b2w and met with other cyclists at a central building. more and more cyclists joined, mostly decorated with blinking lights. the motto was ‘kelap kelips’ and almost everyone was illuminated like a christmas tree. photographers on the way took pictures of the event. drivers seemed to be already… Continue reading friday night ride
ragunan zoo jakarta
the next day i met up with dorit and timor at a friends home close to the zoo. after a phone call a meeting with the people at the orangutan refuge was arranged. dorit and abi from the bike to work organization playing with one of the orangutan ladies. then we met ulrike freifrau von… Continue reading ragunan zoo jakarta
bike to work
the organization moved to a bigger venue just recently and, after assigning office and meeting rooms, had still some space to spare. so they now offer a place to stay for travellers coming through jakarta. an indonesian couple was staying there as well who just finished their tour around the country. they are both deaf… Continue reading bike to work
bengkulu – manna – bintuhan
from bengkulu it is an amazing ride to the south. half of the time with view of the ocean and small villages with friendly people along the way. after a whole day riding through the rain, my camera broke down once more. it seems a plastic bag is not enough protection in these conditions. so… Continue reading bengkulu – manna – bintuhan
circumnavigating traffic jams
i started with another culinary recommendation into the day and had lontong for breakfast. it gave enough energy to last through an off-road trip i had to take as the road was blocked with cars because of a market holding up the traffic. i just followed the motorcycle drivers which drove through the fields, someones… Continue reading circumnavigating traffic jams
train expedition to sawah lunto
half past seven? no, half past six. bad start into a day. i mixed up the times and it seemed impossible to reach the train station at padang panjang in time to get on the weekly train to sawah lunto. colonized by the dutch in 1888, it grew as a mining town until 1940 and… Continue reading train expedition to sawah lunto
canyon walk
the next day we went down the sianok canyon that we looked upon from the panorama spot the day before. it is amazing how close to the city the life of the village there is seemingly unaffected. after leaving the village and making some warm up moves at a volleyball net, we quickly found other… Continue reading canyon walk
bukittinggi
i took the bus as the traffic was slightly mad and sumatra is too big to cycle entirely with just one month of visa and plans to visit other parts of indonesia as well. i arrived during the night some five kilometers outside town at a typical bus stop. as it was raining and i… Continue reading bukittinggi
dumai
just across the strait of malacca lies dumai, the port on the indonesian side. with the fast ferry the crossing takes just over two hours. i applied for a visa on arrival as i could not apply for a visa up front without a ticket out of the country. i had a bad time at… Continue reading dumai