19/02/2014 – Cycling SE Asia. Day 63 - The color changing sulfuric lakes of Kelimutu

Distance cycled: 30.3km from Moni to Kelimutu and back to Moni, Flores, Indonesia.
Average speed: 13.1km/h
Moving Time: 2h18m
Elevation Ascended: 1157m
Burned Calories: 1692kcal
Burned Fat: 219g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5599km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,151km
Money spent: $20


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Lucking out with the weather albeit it was slightly overcast I woke at 4am i strapped my headlamp to my face to begin cycling up the 1600m volcano to see the beauty of Kelimutu and its surroundings.
The 800 meter climb up the snaking road to the summit was grueling but the weight of all my gear was not with me today making things easier to manage.
It took just under an hour to reach the parking lot where I arrived dripping with sweat, nursing a stitch and finding it difficult to catch my breath.
I then ran the last of the distance to the viewpoint being greeted by all the tourists who passed in vehicles when I was ascending the mountain. It's always great to have a welcoming committee as it provides me with an almost overwhelming feeling of accomplishment.
Unfortunately the sunrise was not to be seen but despite this the three color changing sulfuric lakes within the craters offered a view worthy of making this place my no. 1 destination of Flores.
At the view point I met three girls, Katherine, Stine and Lindsey (Italy, Denmark and England) we hung out checking out different view points around the lakes and at one point we met an Indonesian photographer, he had tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment and gear and his photos were incredible, his speciality was underwater macro photography and his photos were mind-blowingly incredible... I'm going to have to up my game and purchase some better equipment if I were to be competing against this guy.
His name: Hendro Hioe - google this and you'll see what I am on about.
The downhill descent back to Moni from Kelimutu certainly put a grin on my face as I raced around the sharp corners and hairpin turns; my bicycle is a hell of a lot more agile when I don't have my belongings attached.
I was going to continue today and get half way to Maumere but I got lazy and decided to spend another night here.
I joined the girls for the evening meal at one of the more expensive places in town that only makes a set three course dinner for people who booked in advance and although it was pricey the food was pretty damn delicious; did you know that you can eat the flower from the banana tree? It's texture is incredibly meat-like, and its really tasty.

Here's something to keep in mind and expand you knowledge of the world, a banana tree isn't actually a tree, its a giant herb.

Nuff said…

Lindsey, Stine and Katherine

18/02/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 62 - Living life on the edge.

Distance cycled: 52.7km from Ende to Moni, Flores, Indonesia.
Average speed: 14.9km/h
Moving Time: 3h32m
Elevation Ascended: 1710m
Burned Calories: 2493kcal
Burned Fat: 323g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5569km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,181km
Money spent: $16

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The road between Ende and Moni was easily the most stunning  that I have found in Flores, it mostly ran parallel with a river scattered with shear cliff drops and scenic vistas that passed through quaint traditional villages and friendly village folk.
I was enjoying all what the morning had to offer until everything turned for the worst. As I was being distracted by the beautiful views I accidentally hit a small sharp rock that punctured my tire. I have mentioned before that my front tire is on its last legs and I am in dire need of a replacement; the tread is far from gone and I am cycling on the Kevlar. Only just was I able to repair the puncture using up the last of my rubber cement and so I was able to continue on.
Taking things slow and careful I then was stopped for half an hour waiting for the machinery to clear up the last of a landslide that blocked the road yesterday - obviously the wait could have been far lengthier but as I and the rest of the motorists twiddled our thumbs the afternoon storm clouds moved on in and the downpour began.
I have never cycled in such wet conditions before to the point where the road was more like a river but I spurred on to reach Moni. Continuing on watching the road walls disintegrate and collapse into mud put a scary thought in my mind, something that i saw the remains of just earlier in the day... What if the side of the mountain decided to slip away?
Finally making it to the top of the 12,000meter pass completely drenched I descended quicker than I anticipated into the town of Moni this is because my brakes no longer worked, rainwater and my bicycle really and dangerously do no work well together; however I made it to my destination unscathed, not buried under a landslide but also glad my tire got me this far, I won't be able to purchase another until I arrive in Makassar.
Speaking of which, yesterday i purchased my economy ticket from Maumere, Flores to Makassar, Sulawesi on a 24 hour boat due to depart in 3 days time... Plenty of time to get there... That is that all goes well.
Tomorrow in the early hours of the morning I get to climb another 600meters in altitude to visit Kelimutu for sunrise, perhaps the most iconic and visited sight of Flores. I have my fingers crossed for good weather.

My first puncture in a very long time… I used the last of the tube of rubber cement… hopefully Ill make it to Maumere

Waiting for the road to be cleared of debris

Wet and overcast afternoon… still though, some beautiful views to behold.

16/02/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 61 - Finally meeting some other touring cyclists.

Distance cycled: 87.9km from Ratangamobo to Ende, Flores, Indonesia.
Average speed: 18.6km/h
Moving Time: 4h43m
Elevation Ascended: 1332m
Burned Calories: 2742kcal
Burned Fat: 356g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5516km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,234km
Money spent: $ 12

The blue stone beach

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I'm exhausted so I am going to keep this brief.
Covering some considerable distance and making it to Ende just as a storm passed overhead I, all in all had a good day.
I stopped by the blue stone beach where locals collected the vibrant and smooth rocks that had washed ashore for export into Japan where apparently the demand is high. It was not as impressive as I expected but worth stopping to check out.
As I entered into Ende where I finished up the day I saw from a distance two pairs of skinny bicycle tires that were mounted to bicycles carrying a hell of a lot of gear... TOURING CYCLISTS! Yay! It had been such a long time since I came across people doing a similar thing to myself. It's a relief to share stories and feeling about gear and routes around countries and continents. Steve had cycled 62,000km around the world over 4 years, and his girlfriend Claire had joined him over the last 4,000km.
Both from England we shared much advice with one another but as we were all exhausted, we polished off out single beer at the hotel and went to bed.

Steve’s blog can be found at www.cyclingthe6.com

And Claire’s www.thebicycletracks.com

 

A little bit of everything, Volcanoes, Coast and mountains.

A quick stop off at the blue stone beach

 

Just as the rain clouds settled in as I was so close to Ende

… also, this last image is of a statue on the side of the road… I suppose the artist didn’t think of what the backside of the peace sign was gesturing.

15/02/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 60 - Rain, rain and more rain.

Distance cycled: 43.3km from Bajawa to Ratongamobo, Flores, Indonesia.
Average speed: 19.8km/h
Moving Time: 2h11m
Elevation Ascended: 473m
Burned Calories: 1197kcal
Burned Fat: 155g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5428km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,322km
Money spent: $14

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It was pleasant to have spent the last 2 days with Illja, she and I got along very well and we had quite a lot of fun together despite not being able to leave the hotel all day yesterday due to the terrible weather.
Today, the heavens decided to continue dumping down rain water on us mere mortals that completely ruined my enjoyment of the downhill descent towards the coast.
I had to take things slow because if i were to have cycled as fast as i would normally the rain would pummel my face and eyes, blinding me from the imminent dangers of the Indonesian roads. However it was relatively difficult to achieve these slow paced speeds because my bicycle really doesn't like the rain, more specifically its the brakes that don't work all that well when they are wet... this always makes for an interesting ride - but don't you worry mum, I'm safe... and eating my vegetables.
I waited out the rain when it was unbearable entertaining locals with simple magic tricks that I know and ended up the day speaking to this young woman who directed me to a cheap hotel.

The view over Ruteng, Flores, Indonesia

13/02/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 59 - Fatigued = Grumpy

Distance cycled: 60km from near Aimere beach to Bajawa, Flores, Indonesia.
Average speed: 13km/h
Moving Time: 4h40m
Elevation Ascended: 1807m
Burned Calories: 3119kcal
Burned Fat: 405g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5385km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,365km
Money spent: $22

That’s the mountain Ill be cycling around.

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Once again like the time in Bali, I had a colony of ants invade my tent. Not only did they bite several holes in the ground sheet but also kept me awake as they crawled over my body biting me.
As I wrote in yesterday's post I really was in desperate need of a good nights sleep; over the last few days I been finding myself becoming progressively more irritated with the little annoyances I encounter throughout the day whether it be constantly replying to locals always saying the same thing "HELLO MISTER" or being charged 'bule' prices for food and drink.
Today was no exception to my foul mood due to the invasion of the aforementioned insects that kept me awake for the majority of the night.
Regardless of this I needed to get to Bajawa because I was meeting her there this evening. To get there though I had to endure perhaps the most difficult pass I have encountered in Flores. It took more than 3 hours to get to the top of the pass (1,300meters) where I entered Bajawa. Here I met up with Illja as she was making her way back to Labuanbajo and wanting to spend a few nights with me.
Hanging out in one of the more luxurious (just fractionally nicer) hotels in town albeit pricer we took advantage of the comfortable but creaky bed and slept... At least there were no ants crawling on me this evening.

Aimere to Bajawa and what amazing views to behold along the way.

12/02/2014 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 58 - Some people here are so stupid!

Distance cycled: 81km from Ruteng to beside Woko Munde mountain on the Trans-Flores Highway
Average speed: 19.3km/h
Moving Time: 4h11m
Elevation Ascended: 1183m
Burned Calories: 2444kcal
Burned Fat: 317g
Total Distance on Current trip: 5325km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 14,425km
Money spent: $6

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Last night I stayed at the Rima hotel in Ruteng, it wasn't cheap even for the economy room I selected and it was swarming with mosquitoes; predictably I did not sleep all that well. Even the breakfast was lousy being given a lukewarm coffee and two slices of toasted bread with nothing to spread on them, after a complaint to the manager I received an overcooked, deep fried, cold egg (yes, apparently this is possible); if the breakfast is going to be this terrible why bother advertising the room with the inclusion of it. The only good thing about this hotel was that the Internet was fast, fast enough for me to leave a single star review on tripadvisor.
Still hungry, exhausted and keen to leave I packed up my bike and continued east across Flores.
I have now found the best way to jolt my body awake from lack of sleep and that's simply with a shot of adrenaline; the 1300m downhill decent to the coast stretching 30km worked wonders. Just beautifully breathtaking views on either side of the ribbon of asphalt that threw me on a plethora of hairpin turns that considerably wore down my brake pads - what a rush!

I should be more cautious than I am riding my bike at the moment as my front wheel is ridiculously close to wearing through to the Kevlar and for whatever reason it cannot be pumped up to an adequate PSI level. I have perhaps, but no more than 500km left on it before it will be unusable.

So, about the title about stupid people; having this issue with my front tire I have now got an eye open for a new one at any bike shop, however the bike shops here don't have much, if any variety of quality parts and the bicycle mechanics you would think they would have a clue about the things they are assembling and "repairing" all day long really don't know what they are doing, for example; The shop owner said he had  28 inch tires which widened my eyes, I was surprised to the fact they had such an item, but he then suggested to somehow stretch out a 26 inch badly manufactured Chinese plastic tire to fit over my rim. Obviously I would not agree to this and even if my bicycle was unridable at the time I still would not even attempt to do this. What was going through his mind? Even if it did work I would have transformed my bicycle into a death trap with me later found dismembered on the valley floor below a mountain pass.

The afternoon climb to 500 meters was slow paced but pleasantly mild so I found a decent place to pitch my tent for the night and I do hope to rest well.. I really need this.