{"id":5218,"date":"2014-03-10T05:21:01","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T04:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=5218"},"modified":"2020-01-04T14:56:38","modified_gmt":"2020-01-04T19:56:38","slug":"long-live-tarmac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/long-live-tarmac\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Live Tarmac"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Thanks to all those Aussie tax dollars, Sulawesi’s got some first rate roads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Indonesians, with a little monetary support from their Aussie neighbors, have embarked on a road building bonanza.\u00a0 Silky smooth tarmac roads soon will link most of the coastal settlements.<\/p>\n

This is a good thing.\u00a0 We love riding rough (maybe not as much as the\u00a0Pikes on Bikes<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Cass Gilbert<\/a>, but we\u2019re up for shakes and rattles when it\u2019s worth it\u2014which is most of the time).<\/p>\n

The thing is, on Sulawesi gravel sucks.\u00a0 \u00a0The coastal climbs are often way too steep on a rough and rocky surface (at least if you\u2019re seriously over-loaded like we are). \u00a0\u00a0In a few cases we ended up slipping and sliding, eventually having to push.\u00a0 That\u2019s never fun.<\/p>\n

The best part of a big hill is getting to rip down the other side.\u00a0 The problem with gravel on Sulawesi is that building up the necessary momentum to get your bike flying effortlessly half way up the next hill will likely get you a broken collar bone (or worse) after the big crash at the bottom.<\/p>\n

We have ZERO desire to see the inside of a remote rural clinic manned by folks with limited medical training.\u00a0 So long live tarmac.<\/p>\n

Once we got out of the busy Manado area (and its highly exotic markets) we were in for more stunning coastal riding.\u00a0 Tiny fishing villages, lush forests, emerald rice paddies and the big blue sea around every bend. \u00a0\u00a0Thankfully, the grades weren\u2019t quite as steep as what we\u2019d experienced around ToliToli, Buol and Paleleh.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say we didn\u2019t suffer.\u00a0 We did.\u00a0 But as usual, the wide open views out over the sea lessened the pain in our screaming calves.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Grilled bats are just one of Sulawesi’s exotic specialties. Dogs and cats are also find their way to the dinner table.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
I’ll stick with the grilled fish.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As one blog reader recently pointed out, it\u2019s the people, not the places, that really count.\u00a0 While we certainly can\u2019t fault Indonesians for any lack of friendliness (foreigners are granted instant fame on arrival).<\/p>\n

But, as we all know, stardom has a dark underside. In Indonesia, annonymity\u2014even for moment \u2014would be bliss.<\/p>\n

Popping out to the corner store (sans fully-loaded bicycle) garners a slew of Hello Misters and sundry questions (Dari mana, mister?\u00a0 Mau kemana, mister? Mau cari apa, mister?\u00a0 Tujuan apa?\/ Where are you from? Where are you going? What are you looking for? What is your goal?)<\/p>\n

Leave me ALONE<\/i>, I want to shout.<\/p>\n

The incessant gawking and greeting is just too much attention for introverts like us.<\/p>\n

Luckily, there are those unforgettable moments of genuine kindness to keep our morale and attitudes in check.\u00a0 Seeing us hunker down to a desolate dinner of instant noodles, a village women returns an hour later with a platter of fresh seafood and rice.\u00a0 Now that\u2019s just really, really nice (tasty, too).<\/p>\n

After that kind of experience, posing for another round of cell phone snapshots with locals excited to have a Real Live Foreigner<\/i> in their midst is a little less painful.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The kids are always friendly and fun, but they really go berserk sometimes. In the west, they’ll probably all be diagnosed with ADD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
One of the best parts of riding is that you just never know what kind of strange stuff will pop up on the road. This guy operates his human-powered carnival ride in small towns and villages.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Who can ever tire of a good sunset? Sulawesi’s got some of the best yet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Family pet at one of the small roadside restaurants we pulled into in order to shelter from a tropical shower. Rain comes in short, intense bursts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Lucky us, a rainbow as reward for sticking it out through the downpour.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Pancake flat for change. That didn’t last long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
We’d like Indonesia even more if they banished all those noisy motorcycle taxis with their broken exhaust systems and everybody had to use cycle rickshaws instead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
The last hills before reaching Gorontalo! Tonight we hop on an overnight ferry to Pagimana. Next we’ll make our way towards Makassar. The highlight should be Lake Matano and the coastal road from Pagimana to Uekuli. More mountains ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indonesians, with a little monetary support from their Aussie neighbors, have embarked on a road building bonanza.\u00a0 Silky smooth tarmac roads soon will link most of the coastal settlements. This is a good thing.\u00a0 We love riding rough (maybe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[115,148,49],"tags":[211,25],"yoast_head":"\nLong Live Tarmac - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/long-live-tarmac\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Long Live Tarmac - Worldbiking.info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Indonesians, with a little monetary support from their Aussie neighbors, have embarked on a road building bonanza.\u00a0 Silky smooth tarmac roads soon will link most of the coastal settlements. 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