Thursday, 27 December 2012

Indonesia - MTB touring

 Last week I went to Indonesia to do a little MTB riding. Garuda Airways asked myself and Akira-san to travel down there and check out a few different places they are considering for using for a MTB tour. Over 6 days we visited 3 different locations, the first was the Island of Bali.

  Bali is well know for its beaches and culture. We were met at the Airport and driven to our hotel in Kuta, watching all the scooters and cars work their way through the city was super entertainment , I was happy to be a passenger.  There are  a few  adventure tour companies offering some whitewater rafting and MTB tours. After a  nice breakfast with an excellent view of Lake Batur we were driven to our ride starting point The ride  we did was quite easy, mainly downhill on dirt roads with a bit of single track through the rice fields. We saw villages and some beautiful countryside that you would not find without a bike and guide Personally I would like to spend much more time exploring the area around Mt. Batur where I saw lots of good looking roads and trails that I think would make for a more challenging ride. Day 2 saw us meet in the morning for our Balinese Village Tour. First we rode through an Elephant camp then through some typical rural villages. It was nice to stop and check out a local family's living compound as it was much different than anything I had experienced before. When we rode past some kids playing in the local swimming hole I wanted to jump in with them, the water looked perfect. The rides we did here in Bali were set up more  tourists than cyclists , nice easy rides but for a cyclist with some fitness I think we need to work on making the rides longer and more challenging.

 
 


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