"Whenever
I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race," declared
literary time traveller HG Wells. Nothing as grandiose as the salvation of
mankind was on my mind when I packed up my two-wheeled beast of burden and flew
over to Bali for a few days of sun, sea, sweat and saddle sores recently,
however Indonesia does offer cyclists an embarrassment of riches: open ocean
roads, fertile jungle rides, picturesque villages and, of course, vertiginous
hills. There are always hills if you're a bicyclist, there’s no getting around
that.
Day
One - Legian- Seminyak - Kuta - 0-10km
Okay
okay, this was admittedly no Lance Armstrong feat of endurance cycling, but I
thought that it would be best to ease into the tour with a spot of R and R, and
pedal power proved to be an entirely illuminating way of navigating the
shop-and-restaurant-filled micro gangs of Bali Ground Zero. It seems de rigueur
these days to frown upon the crass commercialism and lowbrow vibes of the Kuta
area, however a single day spent here is not without its enjoyment and charms.
Day
Two - Legian - Sanur - Candidasa - 60km
Sixty
clicks in a single day are about my bicycling limit, as I'm not looking to
break any ironman endurance records when I head out on tour. This day's ride
was flat and not too strenuous. There was a fair amount of traffic that I had to share
the road with on the first 12km stretch down to Sanur, however upon arrival I
could enjoy Sanur's famous bicycle-and-pedestrian-only, 4km-long beachfront walk,
which passes in front of a cornucopia of bars, hotels and restaurants and which
offers superb views over the ocean all the way to Gunung Agung in the distance.
After a beachside
lunch and a quick spin along the promenade, it was time to head up to Candidasa.
The road hugged the coast like a blanket, offering some great views, and
thankfully the traffic tapered out to a trickle after 10km or so. Side roads led
down to the beach all the way along the route and I managed to check out a
couple of deserted sandy stretches. Further down the road, the Bali Safari
& Marine Park
Continuing
on to Candidasa, a brief stop in the still charming backpacker zone of
neighbouring Padangbai was in order. As well as boats across the strait to Lombok , Padangbai boasts a sleepy pace of life and a
beautiful little curve of beach. The final run into Candidasa was a slight test
of my mettle, as the road ascends for a few kilometres. It's a thigh-singeing
sting in the tail for sure, but after a beer on the seafront, all was well with
the world.
Day
Three - Candidasa - Tirtagangga - Selat - 40km
The third
day of my Tour de East Bali started with a
ride along the scenic Candidasa coastline for a few kilometres to one of the
island’s best-kept sandy secrets. In fact, it isn't actually so much of a
secret any more, but perhaps this is for the best, as this means that there are
sunbeds, beach umbrellas and warungs selling grilled fish and Bintang.
The turning down to Pasir Putih (White
Beach ), as it's known, can be found
about 5km east of Candidasa, near the village of Perasi
After a
90-minute lounge, it was time for the uphill push away from the coast through
the town of Amlapura , up to the Tirta Gangga
(Water of the Ganges ) water temple. The road
ascends the whole way, although the incline is not too steep, and so I managed
to find a slow, low-gear rhythm and pedalled the whole route without
dismounting once, a source of some pride. I should confess here though that I
stopped halfway up for a warung lunch
of pork, pork and more pork, Balinese style.
Tirta
Gangga itself is an endlessly photogenic place, and after reeling off megabytes
of snaps, I took a cooling dip in one of the ancient pools before heading off
again through beautiful terraced paddies. I cycled west along a stunning
central Balinese road that skirted the bottom of the towering Gunung Agung. The
road offered some breathtaking views but also ascended and ascended, seemingly
forever. I got off and pushed up the ascent for an hour or so here, however this
gave my backside a rest, so it wasn’t so bad. Moreover, my trusty aluminium
steed carried the weight of my gear, in contrast to the spine-compressing
backpacks of the hiker. After a while though, I began to feel like a latterday
Sisyphus, endlessly rolling a 21-speed mountain bike uphill instead of a
boulder.
I passed
through the sweet villages of Bebanden, Sibetan and Duda before reaching Selat,
which lies near the starting point for an assault on the mighty Agung. I
thought I'd give mountaineering a miss though and instead checked into an
amazing little hotel called Great Mountain Views (www.greatmountainbali.com). Not the most imaginative or poetic of
names perhaps but thankfully it does what it says on the tin. Sipping beer in
the lee of Mount Agung
and gazing out over rice paddies, I rested and drank in the beating heart of Bali . I had come a long way, both literally and metaphorically,
from the chaos of Kuta, and it felt as if I had travelled in time as well as
space.
Day
Four - Selat - Ubud - 40km
After a
breakfast eaten in my hotel's paddy-field dining area, I hit the road once
more. The morning's ride was downhill all the way along the quiet Sidemen road
that rolls through some spectacular scenery. All of those Balinese clichés
about verdant rice terraces, plunging mountains and the omnipresent slopes of
Agung in the distance are really re-energised when you are on a bicycle,
freewheeling merrily downhill through the middle of all this sumptuous gorgeousness,
with only the occasional car or motorcycle to disturb the pellucid peace.
I passed
through the lush paddy terraces of Sidemen, an artistic and cultural centre which
is particularly well known for its woven ikat (cloth). The area was also
home to renowned German artist Walter Spies, who lived here in the 1930s and
who had a profound influence on Balinese art.
I
continued my freewheeling down the beautiful River Unda valley and eventually rolled
into the bustling but rather sweet little town of Semarapura
I visited
the Kertha Gosa, an ancient hall of justice and a quite superb example of
Klungkung architecture. I also strolled through the attached Museum Semarajaya
before heading just across the road to the Monumen Puputan Klungkung, a rather
phallic looking erection whose interior is filled with dioramas depicting
Balinese history.
I then pressed
on through the strong sun up towards the ever popular Ubud, passing some
Japanese caves and the colourful studio of eccentric artist Sukanta Wahyu along
the way. As I neared Ubud, the traffic increased noticeably, as this famous
little spot is more of a draw these days than it has ever been. This is where
the wonders of GPS and Google Maps really come into their own however. Simply
keep your smartphone handy and plunge off the main road for some satellite-guided
navigation through some of the area’s gorgeous rice fields.
Day
Five - Ubud - Kuta - 40km
As the
crow flies, this final leg was only around 30km in length, but as the crow
flies is so not the way to do this one. In fact, I fired up Google Maps once
more and spent the entire morning pottering around the endless carpet of green
that is the Ubud sawah (rice
paddies). The centre of Ubud may these days rather depressingly resemble a Kuta
beach for yoga aficionados and people writing their first novels, however
relief from all the hustle and bustle was just a few turns of the pedals away.
I
eventually headed south towards Denpasar. Using the mighty Google once again I
managed to skirt around the edge of Bali 's
choking capital via some surprisingly mellow and enjoyable side roads. I
gradually weaved my way southwest before eventually linking up with the main
Seminyak strip in time for an afternoon refresher and a look through the photos
of my tour.
Do not be
afraid of a few days in the saddle folks. In the right hands it can be a very
wonderful thing.
