Upon my first visit to Bogor, way way back
in October (seems like so long ago now), fresh off the boat from Canada, I was
pleasantly surprised to see a dude on top of a mountain bike – a decent-looking
bike at that – whizzing by me on the streets of Bogor, styling the latest mtn
biking garb. Hmmm, there could be something to that, I thought. And so it was
when I asked around the office. Pak
Jarot (remember Pak = Mr.), the wildlife guy, confirmed that yesiree Bob, there
is a Bogor mountain-bike scene. Nice!
OK, let’s get real. This is not
Whistler/North Shore-downhill we’re talking about (but, I have spotted a few
armoured-up full-facers – could be more about image than safety though, not
sure yet). However, it is mostly off-road, and it is performed on a mountain
bike. I like to refer to it as “kampung mountain biking”, since much of the
time is spent riding through tea plantations, villages, connector trails, and rural
back alleys (kampung = village). For us bules, it actually is a very cool weekend distraction.
On my first mission with Pak Jarot and his
Uni buddies, I was impressed with the bike they lent me. When Jarot said he
would get me a bike, I imagining a K-mart special or related vintage, perhaps
one of those Chinese tanks you see the 80+ crowd riding in the streets of
Vietnam. But, to my surprise, it was a decent hardtail that rode like any other
quality mtn bike I have ever ridden. One guy had a full squishy that looked
amazing. When the conversation turned to prices, I really started to take
notice. Cheap! (by bule standards). This could be good.
Here’s the long story short: Indo makes a
brand of bikes called “Polygon” (www.polygonbikes.com). Check it out if yer a
gear head and curious (hi BA!). These are German-engineered and designed bikes,
but made right here in Indo, land of an infinitely deep pool of cheap labour
(not slaves or children, just cheap). Result: good bikes, for about half the
cost of the same bike in Canada. I know cuz I bought one! (check out: xtrada 6)
If yer looking for a mtn bike, consider buying a Polygon in Indo – the savings
would pay for your flight here.
OK, nuff gear talk for now. Back to the
riding. There’s really no “road riding” culture here (at least in Bogor). Anyone
who has spent 5 minutes on the roads here intuitively understands why. Terrible/no
pavement, no shoulder, no rules, little old ladies with chickens, buses passing
buses on blind corners, bumper to bumper congestion, guys pushing food carts, carbon
monoxide poisoning….you get the point: no such thing as a cruisy ride along the
side of the road. It’s possible, in theory, just not fun (so why do it?).
The riding here is all about hardtail
mountain bikes with front suspension, which is the perfect rig for the chaotically
bad roads and alleyways of rural Indo. No pavement, no problem. Chickens, bring
‘em on. Gotta ride in the ditch for a bit, all good. It’s actually really fun
once you figure out how not to die while doing it (careful, baby steps though).
I distinctly remember my first ride to work. I was shaking when I got there,
and was sure there was no freakin’ way I could do that ride daily and live to
tell the tale. Now I do my taxes enroute. The Flying Bule they call me (Ok, no
one calls me that). J
Right then, back to Puncak (pronounced pun-chat). Puncak is the
big prize around here. If you’re serious, you do Puncak. “Puncak” means “summit”.
In this case, it’s actually what we would call a “pass”, but whatever, the
point is that it’s the high spot in the road leading out of Bogor which winds
up and over a pass between two local gunungs (remember, gunung = mountain =
volcano). The standard Puncak routine is to grab an empty ankot – the little
minibuses that clog the streets of Bogor – and load it up with people and
bikes, and off you go to Puncak. The drive takes about an hour and a half +/-,
depending on traffic chaos, and the guy lets you off at the top (i.e., Puncak,
and hence the name).
After a good Indo breakfast of “soto ayam”
(chicken noodle soup), it’s on the bike and back to town, which, if you’re
following the logic, is pretty much all down, which is fun. The idea, of
course, is to stay as far away from the oppressively congested highway as
possible, and stick to the trails, tea plantations, rice paddies, and back
alleys that spiderweb their way through the Indo landscape. The challenge, of
course, is knowing where the h you are in the spiderweb, which is pretty much
impossible unless you were conceived in one of the nearby rice paddies (the
“local knowledge method"). That, or you have google maps in your palm with a
previous track loaded into it (the “bule method").
The 5-hour +/- ride back to town is a blast. Basically it’s a combo of dirt trails, cobblestone tracks, back roads, and
alley ways. The first few hours is spent up high in the tea plantations of the
Puncak, and in and out of remnant patches of jungle. A lot of the trails
contour just below the line demarking the jungle above us, so it’s surprisingly
scenic, even for a couple of B.C. scenery snobs like us. In fact, it’s
remarkably devoid of people, has crisp fresh air, and sometimes, just sometimes
lulls you into thinking you’re somewhere else other than in the middle of one
of the highest population densities on earth. All in all, a great way to spend
a Sunday. The best thing is riding right back to our door for an ice-cold Bintang. Nice!
