While most touring cyclists write about places they ride to, I ride to places in order to write about them. Actually, not places as much as people. My books and other writings focus on the stories of common Indonesians struggling to adapt -- usually quite successfully -- to their rapidly changing society.
My first exciting ride was a loop through East Java, encompassing the seldom-visited island of Madura, a stop at the mud volcano in Sidoarjo, and an adventurous, if somewhat ill-conceived, evening crossing of the Sand Sea of Mount Bromo.
I next rode across the full length of Java along the Pantura , the busy road connecting the industrial centers of Java's north coast. While I spent much of my day avoiding the monstrous trucks and buses of this four-lane expressway, I also veered onto side roads to the experience the timeless charm of Java's heartland. One such detour took me to a village in East Java, where I visited the controversial grave site of the Bali Bombers, executed the previous week.
My ride from Jakarta due south to opposite coast, then Java's wild south coast to Jogjakarta, was six days of adventure and personal rediscovery as I retraced motorcycle journeys of my first years in Indonesia.
For my rides around Indonesia, I count of the support of the Bike to Work Community, an association of over ten thousand “Indo Yups”, as I called them in Jakarta Jive. BTW was started by a group of young executives fed up with wasting hours of their working day in Jakarta's horrendous traffic. It has now grown into a national organization actively promoting the cycling lifestyle. As a BTW member, I am assured of finding route advice, help with maintenance, and, thanks to Indonesian hospitality, a good meal and a warm bed, in any city and most towns in the archipelago.
While a bicycle is the simplest form of mechanized transportation, the process of selecting a bicycle and accessories can get complicated very quickly. The staggering variety of components in the marketplace, and the passionate arguments filling bicycle magazines and Internet forums, is overwhelming to the beginner, and daunting even to serious, experienced cyclists. I ride a Polygon Diablo, a production-model aluminum frame with 3/9 Deore gearing and mechanical disc brakes. I selected Polygon, which is based in Sidoarja, East Java, because it is an excellent example of an Indonesian company manufacturing products meeting international quality standards. Considering my long-distance journey and daily rides around the Balinese countryside, I have put at least 5000 kilometers on this bike in the past year, with no servicing required beyond adjusting the brake calipers.