Round the World Bicycle Tour since 2006
Almost six months ago we rolled off the Pelni from Malaysia and set out to circumnavigate Sulawesi. We survived that (but just barely) and went on to bike the length of Java (which turned out to be much better than
A little to the left, a slight move to the right, a minor change of saddle angle…nothing stopped the bolts of pain in my underside as we bumped along Sumatra’s backroads. Turns out we still have a few things to
As we crested the summit, a gust of wind brushed away a thick tangle of clouds and our eyes fell upon a spectacular sight: Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano. Rising almost 3,000 meters (10,000 feet), “Fire Mountain” has been
We made it (to our own great amazement)! A whopping 3,563 kilometers around just one of Indonesia’s 18,307 islands. In comparison, London to Istanbul measures 2,994 kilometers. Maine to Florida just 2,560 kilometers. So we’ve covered a lot of kilometers
The Indonesians, with a little monetary support from their Aussie neighbors, have embarked on a road building bonanza. Silky smooth tarmac roads soon will link most of the coastal settlements. This is a good thing. We love riding rough (maybe
That’s a bold claim to make. But we believe it’s true. As any keen touring cyclist will know, there’s stiff competition in the best coastal road category. Over the years, we’ve had the good fortune to bike some of the
Hello Mister! Hello Mister! Hello Mister! And so it goes from dawn till dusk. The attention never lets up. Gangs of teenage girls on motorbikes screech to a halt and demand a photo shoot with the odd foreigners. Shy kids
Complete chaos. That’s the best way to describe boarding procedures on the slow boat to Sulawesi. Passengers debarking in Nunukan stumbled down a steep, metal plank while porters loaded down with goods simultaneously attempted to squeeze and shove their way
Despite dire warnings (You’ll sink! You’ll be crushed by the crowds! You’ll catch a nasty disease!), we’d survived half a dozen Indonesian ferries. The trip to Timor was to be our last. The journey was slated for a mere 18
A few superhuman cyclists with legs of steel manage to traverse the island too, using local buses to get up the worst hills and freewheeling down, but the topography of the island rules out cycling for all but Tour-de-France trainees.