Day 101 - a classic coastal ride on the south Java coast - Unfinished Business

August 9, 2023

Day 101 - a classic coastal ride on the south Java coast

If anyone ever mentions that they did a classic coastal ride, I know what they mean. They probably dived down to bridges and crawled up the other side over a headland. It's rare for a coastal stretch to be long and unbroken by rivers or by headlands. It happens occasionally - yesterday's stretch from Pangandaran to Cipatujah, being an example.

The lane where I stayed last night. The place was alright, but most people would like a door that closes and electrical fittings that don't stray from the wall.

The coastal plain at Cipatujah is wide. This river on the edge of town does not form a gorge.

Thus, I thought that I might get similar conditions today, and I did for the first 15 km. The next river was bigger and had cut through the landscape. The road went inland and up, and after 4 km, I was at the top, 300 m above sea level - an average gradient of 7%.

There was nothing average about the climb. I was either going up ridiculously steep stuff, on the flat or descending. Not only did it set the pattern of the day but it gave me a chance to list all of the things that make cycling in the tropics hard. Most relate to being drenched in sweat (that does not evaporate due to the high humidity): an increased chance of chafing, blinding by sweat running into one's eyes, difficulty using a grip shifter to change gears, fogged glasses, difficulty using a phone. The position of the sun is a factor too: it's directly overhead, making it hard to find shade and to see a screen. So, I'm battling up a steep hill, using everything I have, mental and physical, when there's the deafening sound of a motorcycle without a muffler.

That was my day. I cycled 110 km, climbed 1300 m and was pushed to the edge by who knows how many such motorcycles on what is otherwise a relatively quiet road. It's unbelievable that an industry can exist just to make motorcycles loud so that someone can say " mine's louder than yours".

So, yes, I had one hard day, with more dark spots than bright ones. The scenery was pleasant - a little like yesterday, but hillier. I saw fewer paddies, bananas and coconut and the land seemed less fertile in places. That's where aquaculture was common. Here's a few scenery shots.

A crop that I saw for the first time on this trip was rubber. It's always interesting when it's being tapped. A couple of fellows were walking rows emptying the pots into 20 L buckets. It brought back amusing memories of Cora and I camping in rubber plantations in Laos.

I saw a lot of other interesting agriculture too.

A herd of wallowing water buffalo on the edge of Mancagahar. I was just about to get a shock.

A flock of milking sheep. The question is: what happens to the milk?

This may not look like agriculture but they are steps, very steep steps, going from the road to a field.

I loved the pattern rather than the plastic. I didn't take note of the crop.

And now for some really interesting stuff that I have yet to mention in the blog, although I could have done way back in Sumbawa. And thanks to Daisy, for some help on working out the function of these buildings. Yes, they could be Nazi architecture but they have a purpose - an agricultural one. These buildings are designed to attract swiftlets, of which there are about 30 species in four genera, that form a tribe in the swift family. Swifts and swiftlets are birds with long, thin wings that hawk insects on the wing. They are somewhat like swallows.

Swiftlets are remarkable for two reasons. Being cave nesters, they have developed echolocation to navigate in the dark. Secondly, swiftlets use at least some saliva to construct their nests. The species of interest here, particularly the edible-nest-swiftlet (Aerodramus fuciphagus) uproduce translucent nests built almost entirely from saliva. And somehow, nests made from a largely tasteless substance, have become a billion dollar industry thanks to the Chinese (could it be anyone else?) penchant for birds' nest soup, in particular. The nests were formerly harvested from caves but they now come from these purpose-built facilities. Just remove the nest and the male swiflet will start anew. I think that's called slavery in most languages.

A swiftlet breeding hotel. The pole supports a speaker that broadcasts the swiflet call to attract the birds. The broadcast is at a ridiculously high volume, compared with the natural call.

There's always a decent dose of weird stuff.

We moved from marlin, through sharks to crocs today.

There were many examples of these effigies. Note the string of plastic bags

There was the usual conventional stuff too that's so easy to overlook.

All over Asia you see these roadside fuel stations selling 500 mL or 1 L bottles of fuel. In Indonesia, they sell fuel at the same price as a fuel station.

I thought the plastic decoration were overdone yesterday. They are growing by the day.

I had done 45 pretty hard kms, had got a smile from seeing the water buffalo, was looking forward to a break in Mancagahar and when I crossed the river I saw this.

Our river, our planet! I have no idea what the fellow was doing with the net.

There must be millions of plastic bags being used for celebration and it won't be long before they're in the river and, with the next rains, the sea. I'm just being pragmatic.

I just kept going and had done another 30 km when I needed food. But, my main requirement was to be away from the noise of the road.

I sat at the back of this restaurant and stared at the sea.

I still had another 30 km to reach a town with accommodation. They turned out to be half hard - a big climb and then a big descent. I did 75 kmh a couple of times today.

I did not get a vendor of the day but I did stop to watch this fellow at work. It reminds me of the beginning of the ride.

Unfortunately, I can't offer a bicycle of the day, but I do have a truck.

"Bamboo", the driver said. He's not wrong.

Today's ride: 110 km (68 miles)
Total: 7,486 km (4,649 miles)

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Zhoujing YangAmazing journey Ian! Shoutout for you from Canberra. Ride safe and have fun!
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1 year ago

Ian WallisTo Zhoujing YangDear Zhoujing, thanks for the kind comment. I need them today!!
Have we met? Ian
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1 year ago

Zhoujing YangTo Ian WallisWe haven’t met, but today your friend shared your story with me. Love it!
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1 year ago

Ian DouglasCoincidentally, the day after this journal I learned about the amazing insect hawking, echosteering, spit nesting swifts on an infoboard at Mossman Gorge!
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1 year ago

Ian DouglasMy experience with headlands riding from Batemans Bay to Broulee was engaging management of momentum and run ups. Trickier with a touring load of course.
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1 year ago

Ian WallisTo Ian DouglasIan, enjoyed your comments. I have been doing exactly that. The load is fine but it's the effort in the conditions that's hard.
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1 year ago