Day 104 - the right direction, waltzing to Daisy's. - Unfinished Business

August 12, 2023

Day 104 - the right direction, waltzing to Daisy's.

I was determined, today, to go in the right direction and so I turned to the best available "app" - the one between my ears. It worked a treat from start to finish on what was one of my incredible days of cycling. And before you all get eager and ask "where were you? I must go there", let me assure you that you would hate every minute. But, that doesn't make it any less incredible.

I was tired last night so I kicked off the day by doing yesterday's blog, sitting on the bed in a room, which now has a four roach bathroom. I had banana cold dogs, snake fruit and melon for breakfast, as I wrote.

It was after 9 that I left but I reminded myself that I had just 65 km to Bogor and then more to get to Daisy's. There was a little catch - a 30 km climb gaining 1200 m to start. Climbs are always much harder in traffic, especially when there is no shoulder and a drop from the tarmac. This road provided both for much of the ride from Cianjur to Bogor. And before you all do that calculation- 4% average gradient, I'll let you know that there were a few flattish bits and even a descent. Also, it's the tropics so use the 1.8743 correction factor. I was drenched.

I have no idea where this came from but it's my ride. Daisy's place is off the map to the west of Bogor.

Here's a few photos from the scenic ascent and a ring-in.

There was a certain thrill in knowing that I had cycled from Canberra to the fringes of Jakarta.

There looks to be a little smog from whence I came.

It's all strawberries 🍓! Actually, it isn't.

Don't worry, there's 30 cm on the left of the vehicles.

The highlight of the ascent. This spider is enormous. Is the tiny spider the male?

Bike of the day. We screamed to each other across the road.

When you see this in Indonesia, you get excited.

Like bushwalking - you're at the top when you can see down the other side.

One bicycle and a bunch of adult's toys!

By coincidence, I had stopped at the appropriate warung; if only they could cook nasi goreng.

It's no longer a window! Many cyclists ride up here from Jakarta and Bogor.

If there's this much tea, why couldn't a warung, a few km back, make me a cup?

The trip down was when I realised that I was both going in the right direction and going in the right direction. The start was brilliant: smooth road, steep, fast - the basic requirements for overtaking a bunch of vehicles. That lasted fewer than 5 km and the rest of the ride - 45 km, taught me all I needed to know about traffic jams. And I soon realised that there's a lot I didn't know. I have seen nothing like it. Even on a bicycle I had trouble moving. But that gave me an excuse.

When hawkers are working the vehicles, that's a traffic jam.

There was a simple cause to this traffic jam. It wasn't anything like a crash. It was simply a weekend thing - thousands of people going up to the pass from greater Jakarta. The cause of the traffic jam was them returning. I was going in the right direction; 90% of vehicles were heading west. This created a great example of the "tragedy of the commons". Those traveling west simply take over the road. It's easy when it's mainly motorcycles coming towards your car! It was tragic in another way: I saw a pile up of motorcycles forced from the road. There were no injuries, but there was a lot of damage.

There's a centre line! This is not a one-way street!

And so, what was my excuse? Australia were playing France in the Women's World Cup, so every so often, I stopped and looked at the Guardian commentary. I also sampled stuff at markets.

Deep fried sweet potato makes a good snack for cyclists.

I even took a photo of one of the offending exhaust systems and a bemo (minibus), similarly fitted, for truck of the day.

How tough is that: no muffler. I might add that many truck and bemo drivers add a device to the exhaust so that it whistles when accelerating.

I know exactly where I was when the vital penalty was taken. I had ridden off the road and leant my bike against a fence. I didn't realise it was actually a gate until a fellow tried to get out! That was Aldi, an electrical worker who was learning English. We had a good chat.

The traffic only got heavier as Bogor got closer. It wasn't until the final 10 km to Daisy's that I got a good run. At one point, the road fed into a toll road. Motorcycles are NOT permitted on Indonesian toll roads except in Bali.

The truck is carrying the first palm oil fruits that I have seen on this trip.

Eventually, I got through Bogor and 10 km further turned onto a quiet road to Daisy's. There was even what seems to be up-to-date art.

I was very pleased to arrive. My airways were extremely sore and remain that way this morning. I have never experienced air pollution like that. I guess I am lucky.

It was great to meet Daisy - a friend of Graham's and contributor to this blog. Her dogs were keen to kill me but they soon became friends.

Today's ride: 82 km (51 miles)
Total: 7,731 km (4,801 miles)

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